A colleague and I step outside into the sun, clutching our keep cups, and head over to our spot which overlooks the University of Sydney’s oval. We sit facing the grounds, and on the far side I can make out the blurry figure of a man reclining on a bench, disappearing occasionally behind a cloud of vape smoke.

Grant and I chat over our coffees in the shade, debriefing on our day’s progress so far. He asks what I’m working on next, and I mention I am about to commence writing this piece. However, I am struggling to settle on a suitable hook—hooks are important things in academic writing, and it seems important here, too, to fabricate a coherent, unifying theme around which to frame my reading practices.