The Times They Are A Travelin'

If you're on the internet (and you are) you've by now heard that today, October 21st, 2015 is 'the day'.  The mythic day to which Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel in the classic 'Back to the Future II'.  This has, of course, led to all kinds of festivities, from cross-promotional branding to 'how far we've come' think-pieces to jokes about the Cubs.  It's...honestly kind of nauseating, and I say that as someone who's got real affection for the movies.  Maybe it's just minor inner hipster screaming about liking something that's popular.  Luckily, nothing soothes my inner hipster like recommending some obscure crap, and boy do I have that lined up.

You see, time travel is a fun subject, and while 'Back to the Future' as a series handles it quite well (and with some very welcome humor), it doesn't quite top my list.  That honor goes to Science Fiction visionary and all around prolific author Robert A. Heinlein, and his short story " '-All You Zombies-' ".

'Zombies', which I will stylize because the punctuation on that title is practically unbearable, is an incredible little tale of time travel, told by a Bartender and his miserable and drunken customer, the 'Unwed Mother'.  It's also an absolute breeze to read - the reason that Kindle link up there is only $1.25 is that the thing is probably no more than 10 pages.  It's also one of those amazing works that just drips with spoilers, so with that in mind, I'm literally not going to say another word about this book.

Take 15 minutes today, on this day we celebrate time travel fiction.  Read it.  I promise you won't regret it.