There are so many books out there, and my GoodReads “Want to Read” list is long. And, that list doesn’t even include all the books on my nightstand and queued up on my Kindle Paperwhite. Therefore, there are very few books I read more than once.

I have an undiagnosed reading disability, which makes me a slow reader. But, I also have a thirst for knowledge. I love what books do to my mind. The Infinite Jeff (TIJ) is a cumulation of many of the books that shaped who I am. Most of the books Jeff hands out were important in my vertical growth. The concept of vertical growth itself was from a book I read while writing TIJ. To me, that concept summed up the idea TIJ was trying to convey.

This is my third time reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZMM). Why? Because it feels like I didn’t get all that was in there. It felt like there was more to learn from it. I found it fascinating the first time, even though much of it was a dry read. It felt like some parts drug on forever.

The second time, many years later, it didn’t feel that way. I was older, more mature, and had grown a lot since the first reading. In some ways, it was a very different book the second time. The parts that were dry before were interesting.

Now, maybe 20 years later, I decided to read it for a third time. A big reason was that I had just taken a very long motorcycle trip after releasing Connect: Part 4. I have an idea for a book that relates to ZMM and wanted to try to capture that idea while the motorcycle trip was fresh in my mind. I had always planned on reading it again, and now seemed like the time to do it.

I’m about 40% into, and one of the things that strikes me most is that I’m reading it totally differently than I did the other two times. Why? I wasn’t a writer the previous two times. I find myself thinking about his storytelling choices. The other difference is, I’ve spent a lot more time with motorcycle maintenance. The story is the motorcycle trip with his philosophy mixed in. Many books use the story as a vehicle to convey a philosophy. Think of Richard Bach’s Illusions or Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. The story is built around the ideas. TIJ is the same. I created situations, wrote scenes, specifically to convey the idea I wanted to talk about. One compliment I often get is how well TIJ does that. ZMM does it much differently than I did. I find his philosophy fascinating. I also find myself interested when talks about changing the carburetor jets or adjusting the chain. And, I find myself fascinated with how the two relate. And, I think about how it relates to my recent trip.

I’m about to get to the part I thought was dry the first and interesting the second time. If I remember right, the story becomes secondary to his in-depth dive into what quality is. The story is autobiographical about his journey into insanity, which leads to involuntary shock therapy. What drives him nuts? The concept of what quality is. The story is about him taking a trip back to meet who he was. The shock therapy gave him a different personality, and he’s now curious about who this other person was.

That is where I am and what I’m thinking right now. If you are thinking about it, I highly recommend it, but it isn’t always an easy read.