I love science fiction. I love sci-fi movies, tv shows, and books: Star Wars, Star Trek (I am an equal opportunity nerd!), Doctor Who. I love time travel stories and space exploration, robots, A.I, and more!
So after hearing lots of people talk about loving the novella, A Psalm for the Wild Built, and reading the description**, I listened to it through my library recently and loved it! Then I decided I wanted to read more from this author.
I have now finished reading the first two books in her Wayfarer's series and have determined that Becky Chambers is my new favorite author! (I have many favorite authors, it's allowed!)
Here are my very short reviews Goodreads:
**Official book blurb description**
"Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend. Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?"
This book felt like a hug! The definition of a cozy, comfort read! I only wish it were longer and I can't wait for the sequels!
I also did not expect this sci-fi fiction novella to be so relevant to pastoral ministry!
Dex wants to be a tea monk and help people. On their first day of trying to actually do this, a woman comes to him crying because her beloved cat just died. If this passage doesn't speak directly to those entering some kind of pastoral ministry after seminary then I don't know what does:
"Dex realized with a stomach-souring thud that they were standing on the wrong side of the vast gulf between having read about doing a thing and doing the thing. They’d been a garden monk until the day before, and in that context, their expressions of comfort to the monastery’s visitors came in the form of a healthy foxpaw crawling up a trellis or a carefully pruned rose in bloom. It was an exchange expressed through environment, not through words. Dex was not actually a tea monk yet. They were just a person sitting at a table with a bunch of mugs. The wagon, the kettle, the red and brown, the fact that they were clearly well past apprentice age—all of it communicated that they knew what they were doing. They did not.
Dex did their best to look sympathetic, which is what they wanted to be, rather than lost, which is what they were. “I’m sorry,” they said. They scrambled to recall the written advice they’d spent hours consuming, but not only had the specifics evaporated, their basic vocabulary had as well. It was one thing to know people would tell you their troubles. It was another to have an actual flesh-and-blood stranger standing in front of you, weeping profusely as means of introduction, and to know that you—you—were responsible for making this better.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finished reading on 3/1/2022
I also did not expect this sci-fi fiction novella to be so relevant to pastoral ministry!
Dex wants to be a tea monk and help people. On their first day of trying to actually do this, a woman comes to him crying because her beloved cat just died. If this passage doesn't speak directly to those entering some kind of pastoral ministry after seminary then I don't know what does:
"Dex realized with a stomach-souring thud that they were standing on the wrong side of the vast gulf between having read about doing a thing and doing the thing. They’d been a garden monk until the day before, and in that context, their expressions of comfort to the monastery’s visitors came in the form of a healthy foxpaw crawling up a trellis or a carefully pruned rose in bloom. It was an exchange expressed through environment, not through words. Dex was not actually a tea monk yet. They were just a person sitting at a table with a bunch of mugs. The wagon, the kettle, the red and brown, the fact that they were clearly well past apprentice age—all of it communicated that they knew what they were doing. They did not.
Dex did their best to look sympathetic, which is what they wanted to be, rather than lost, which is what they were. “I’m sorry,” they said. They scrambled to recall the written advice they’d spent hours consuming, but not only had the specifics evaporated, their basic vocabulary had as well. It was one thing to know people would tell you their troubles. It was another to have an actual flesh-and-blood stranger standing in front of you, weeping profusely as means of introduction, and to know that you—you—were responsible for making this better.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky ChambersMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finished reading on 3/1/2022
I have a new favorite author in Becky Chambers! I loved this story so much! There's this whole found family/chosen family thing going on which was lovely! I can't wait to read everything else she has written!
I wasn't sure about this one at first. It took a little bit for me to get into it because even though it picks up right after the first book ended, we are now following two characters we didn't get to know much in the first book, and leaving the rest of the crew behind. But before too long I was hooked and I was constantly looking forward to when I had time to listen to the audiobook. I can't wait to read the other two books in this series!
