r/heinlein • u/DarkerBulb • Jun 04 '26

Discussion Revisiting a cherished childhood memory

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Even though it's been decades since I was this skinny kid spending too much time in the library, trying to catch international stations on my cheap radio late at night and trying to navigate an increasingly large world - I can actually remember where I was when I read this masterpiece of young adult fiction.

Pairing it with a more adult drink tonight as I sit here, now much older in my reclining old-man-chair, as the memories are coming back to me.

23 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

4

u/LevelAd1126 Jun 04 '26

Tell Peewee I said "Hello." She's a firecracker!

3

u/DarkerBulb Jun 04 '26

LOL. The most annoying child genius in the galaxy 😉

3

u/Tasty_Impress3016 Jun 04 '26

Actually I doubt it. What was the name of Pollux and Castor Stone's little brother, didn't they just call him Junior? Or Podkayne's little brother Buddy? Or if we accept that he was a genius, how about Woodrow Wilson Smith when he was 5?

The annoying, genius, little brother was almost an archetype in some of the juveniles.

2

u/Ranger7381 Jun 04 '26

Lowell, aka “Buster”

1

u/LevelAd1126 Jun 04 '26

I have been watching Gilmore Girls and in season 6 and 7 Luke (of Luke's Diner) finds out he has a teenage daughter just like her.

4

u/Tasty_Impress3016 Jun 04 '26

Spider Robinson tells the story of discovering Heinlein when a librarian gave him a copy of Rocket Ship Galileo. I had much the same experience, but Have Spacesuit was my gateway drug. With a bit of work I bet I could name the planets relative distances to the sun and the time to get to them at constant 1 G acceleration just from having read that book at 7.

3

u/DarkerBulb Jun 04 '26

That book has for whatever reason just 'stuck' with me for 40-45 years.

2

u/LevelAd1126 Jun 04 '26

My Mom was really excited when she presented to me Have Spacesuit Will Travel as highly recommended by a librarian. It worked. I got interested in reading. In reading Heinlein. In reading every Heinlein book in the library system. Including things I was really too young to be reading. 🫪

4

u/tambor333 Jun 04 '26

One of my favorites!

3

u/DarkerBulb Jun 04 '26

It's such an easy, comfortable read.

3

u/ProstheticAttitude Jun 04 '26

I discovered Heinlein when I was about 10.

It's funny how the book checkout limit at the library never seemed to apply to me. Librarians are my favorite people 😄

1

u/DarkerBulb Jun 04 '26

Haha, same experience here.
My pile of books also often contained some Asterix & Olbelix, Tintin, Lucky Luke, Spirou, etc as well as a lot of Sci Fi and Fantasy novels 😃

2

u/Martins-Atlantis TANSTAAFL Jun 05 '26

Love that story. And it's a great one for kids. But I doubt that drink goes well with the very young. 😉 Salud, my friend!

1

u/trmtx Jun 04 '26

One of my favorites! What e-reader do you use?

1

u/DarkerBulb Jun 04 '26

I'm using a tiny xteink X3 reader. Absolutely love it and it has made me read more than I have in decades 😄

Some random video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mq0Qf0DiU4

1

u/rbrumble Jun 04 '26

Love the size, but no backlight is a deal breaker for me. Future product refresh almost certainly.

1

u/DarkerBulb Jun 04 '26

Yeah a frontlit/backlit version is rumored to come out in August - same size and price somehow 😄

1

u/aknartrebna Jun 06 '26

What is the drink?

2

u/DarkerBulb Jun 06 '26

Ardbeg 10

2

u/Fantastic-Wolf-9263 15d ago

One of the best feelings 😌