#a psalm for the wild-built

[layaart]

mosscap psalmforthewildbuilt and levi scavengersreign, they would be friends

#a psalm for the wild-built #monk and robot #scavengers reign #the teacups have sugar water in them. or something #for the Bugs #also that's my way of drawing levi without being super spoilery I guess #illustration #art #2023 fanart

[opulentquotes]

I do not have a purpose any more than a mouse or a slug or a thornbush does. Why do you have to have one in order to feel content?

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

#Becky Chambers #A Psalm for the Wild-Built #quote #lit #literature

[transbookoftheday]

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.

One day, the life of a tea monk 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're going to need to ask it a lot.

Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

#a psalm for the wild-built #monk and robot #becky chambers #nonbinary #agender #trans book of the day #trans books #queer books #bookblr #booklr

[aroaessidhe]

anyway mosscapp psalmforthewildbuilt and levi scavengersreign would be best friends send tweet

#monk and robot #scavengers reign #for mosscap fans SR is not cozy it's a bit fucked up and emotionally devastating (but in a good way) jsyk #laya talks #a psalm for the wild-built

[lilmagiceverywhere]

ok psalm for the wild-built does NOT need to hit this hard

#a psalm for the wild-built #i saw ppl reccomending it in the solarpunk tag so i went to read a sample of it #and yeah i want this book!! #gonna see if i can get it from my library #original #solarpunk

[whilereadingandwalking]

“You do not need permission to rest. 

 You do not have to justify your weariness. 

 You do not have to earn the right to be alive or safe or comfortable. Or at least, you shouldn’t have to. It’s a bit cruel to sum up what so many of us are feeling as burnout, as though we just pushed ourselves too hard, didn’t eat enough kale or do enough yoga. 

 What we are is exhausted and grieving in a world that tells us it is lazy and entitled to take time to heal. That human lives are less important than the bottom line. That we’re just a collection of siloed off individuals who don’t have to care for or protect those around us. 

 Everything about this societal machine that chews us up and spits us out day after day after day is contrary to our most central nature: that we are fragile, living beings that need each other, that need space to think and time to love. 

A world that values these truths above all else should not exist only in works of fiction. It makes me angry that it does. It is my hope that one day, people won’t have to be angry about that any more.” 

—Becky Chambers in her acceptance speech after winning the Hugo Award for Best Novella for A Psalm for the Wild-Built. Speech was read in-person by host Annalee Newitz. 

#becky chambers #a psalm for the wild-built #marge piercy #hugo awards #monk and robot

[aurorawest]

Reading update

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - 3.75/5 stars

I hate myself a little bit for using this word to describe this book, but it's a meditation on modern (western) culture, the drumbeat of living a purposeful life, and, imo, the millennial condition.

It also, separately from that, made me think of the song 'New Constellations' by Ryn Weaver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13EX7qGdUGI

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles - 5/5 stars

This book features Gareth Inglis, a member of the gentry whose father shipped him off to his uncle when his mother died. Gareth never saw or heard from his father (who remarried and had another child) again, and no one knew he existed because his father was a piece of human garbage. Which meant I couldn't stop thinking about my former father-in-law, who had two sons from his first marriage whom he, as far as I could tell, never had any contact with after remarrying and having another child. Life imitates art?

Anyway, it's KJ Charles, so you pretty much can't go wrong. I saw someone refer to this as enemies-to-lovers and realized my toxic trait is railing against people who want to apply enemies-to-lovers to everything. Spoiler alert, this is not enemies-to-lovers. But it is lovely, and includes Gareth and Joss Doomsday (a smuggler) bonding over beetles.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by SA Chakraborty - 4.5/5 stars

It was no Daevabad Trilogy, but then again, I remember finishing City of Brass and being like, yeah, it was fine, I'll probably pick up the sequel at some point. It wasn't until Kingdom of Copper that I grew to really love the series, so I'm hoping the same happens with this. This book was a lot of fun, and the fact that all the characters were middle-aged was pretty delightful. I'm definitely excited to see where this series goes.

The Long Run by James Acker - 5/5 stars

Excellent YA book about two lonely jocks in New Jersey.

Feel the Fire by Annabeth Albert - 3.75/5 stars

His Accidental Cowboy by AM Arthur - 4/5 stars

Brida by Paul Coelho - 1/5 stars

One of the reviews for this book on Storygraph says it 'aged like milk' and I can't put it better than that. This is a soul mate AU where souls undergo cell division, essentially, and your soul mate is from your same base soul from before the soul split in half. Okay, great. Oh but wait, the soul always divides into male and female. And your soul mate is always someone of the opposite sex, even though that doesn't make sense because as souls divide again and again, that means there are a lot of people out there who came from the same original soul as you. Also, witchcraft? Also also, even though the book is called Brida and is ostensibly about the title character, her whole journey was really just to serve the unnamed male character, the Magus. This isn't implicit either, it's completely explicit. At the end it's like, 'sometimes young women come along to show men the way' (I'm paraphrasing but...not much).

This went straight to my give away pile, and I hated it so much that the rest of my Coelho books joined it (except The Alchemist).

Enlightened by Joanna Chambers - 5/5 stars

Or, For The Love Of God Please Give David Lauriston And Murdo Balfour A Break, And Preferably A Happy Ending.

They got one, btw.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao - DNF

Honestly, the Mad Libs YA title should have warned me off of this one, but I always give my Illumicrate books a try. Cartoonish villains and protagonists I find myself liking less the more we get to know them. The prose is quite good but not enough to make up for the character deficiencies.

Solomon's Crown by Natasha Siegel - 5/5 stars

Blurbed by no less than Tamora Pierce (Song of the Lioness supremacy!), Rainbow Rowell, Freya Marske, and CS Pacat. Did I go into this book with insanely high expectations? Yes. Did it mostly meet them? Yes! If you're a Captive Prince fan, this one's for you.

Siegel tells us up front, before the book even starts, that it's a romance and not historically accurate. So don't go into this expecting a historically accurate love story between King Richard of England and King Philip of France. It is, however, a gorgeous romance. The world-building is top notch. Even if it's not totally accurate to the High Middle Ages, it feels accurate, if that makes sense? Siegel really captures the feeling of being in a different world. Lush writing, amazing sexual/romantic tension, lovely sad boys. Highly, highly recommend.

Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots by Cat Sebastian - 4.75/5 stars

I docked .25 stars because it bugged me that they didn't move in together at the end. Idk, just felt too 'look, I'm subverting romance conventions!' Still good, obviously.

Like Real People Do by EL Massey - 4/5 stars

A very wholesome and low stakes hockey romance. I found myself often thinking that the interactions of the men on the hockey teams seemed unrealistic, but it was charming and sweet enough that I didn't care.

The book reads like fanfiction, which is because it was fanfiction—but it's in a mostly good way, not a bad way (*cough* All The Way Happy *cough*). Apparently the original version was Check, Please! fanfiction, which I am vaguely familiar with as a thing that exists. Apparently it's a web comic? Anyway, I enjoyed the book enough to pick up the sequel.

#a psalm for the wild-built #becky chambers #monk and robot #the secret lives of country gentlemen #kj charles #reading tag #the adventures of amina al-sirafi #sa chakraborty #the long run #james acker #brida #paul coelho #enlightened #joanna chambers #song of silver flame like night #solomon's crown #natasha siegel #daniel cabot puts down roots #cat sebastian #like real people do #el massey

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote YES if you have finished the entire book.

vote NO if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

#scifi #books #A Psalm for the Wild-Built #Becky Chambers #Monk and Robot #poll #result: no #l: English

[ilikereadingactually]

Monk and Robot

A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

please read these books. like right now, request them from your library, order them from your local indie, borrow them from a friend. they're swift and bright and breathtaking. they brought me, for a little while, to a world so quiet and gentle it's almost impossible to imagine--and even in this softest future, being human still comes with pains and sorrows, existential and mundane. these books comforted me the way Dex the tea monk comforts everyone who comes to them for a tailored brew and a cathartic conversation; these books comforted me the way the robot Mosscap comforts Dex in a moment of crisis. these books comforted me the way Dex and Mosscap comfort each other, because even when we think we need for nothing, we're still struggling with the need to understand ourselves, and to be understood.

as you might imagine, i cried a lot. i want to mail a copy of these to every person with the political or financial or positional power to make significant change in the ways we treat our environment. i want to become a disciple of Allalae, the god of small comforts. i want to tuck these books into bed with me and rest.

the deets

how i read it: i read both of these from the library via Libby, but i'm adding them to my definitely-buying list. i regret not buying both the last time i was in a bookstore, i want them in my hands more fiercely than most other books right now.

try this if you: want to imagine a better post-apocalypse, long for beautiful books where not a lot happens (this is what i said to my best friend, right before she told me to read these), enjoy thinking about the human condition, or are tired.

a line i really liked: read: a line that made me weep lavishly

Dex would never forget. "You walked out of the woods, and you said, 'What do you need, and how can I help?'"

Mosscap smiled at this. "I remember, yes."

"Well, I didn't know then," Dex said, "and I still don't. But what I do know is...you help. You're helping me figure it out. Just by being here. You help."

"Then we have the same answer," Mosscap said. "I don't know, either. But you are my best help, Sibling Dex."

#books and reading #book recs #book reviews #bookblr #a psalm for the wild-built #a prayer for the crown-shy #becky chambers #you are my best help

[tinynavajoreads]

Tiny Navajo Reads: A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Okay…I know that it’s been a while, over a month. But let me just say, this past month has been absolutely crazy, not in a good way. An interesting, mind you, but I would greatly love another vacation. But that’s not for a while yet, so we’re going to be heading onto our review! A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ Such a short…

View On WordPress

#a psalm for the wild-built #becky chambers #book #book review #reading #review #science fiction #short story

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Solarpunk

Viral Airwaves by Claudie Arseneault A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys The Free People’s Village by Sim Kern Foxhunt by Rem Wigmore

View On WordPress

#A Psalm for the Wild-Built #Becky Chambers #Claudie Arseneault #Foxhunt #Ruthanna Emrys #Sci-Fi #Solarpunk #Viral Airwaves

[layaart]

Mosscap to celebrate A Psalm for the Wild-Built winning a hugo :)

#A Psalm for the Wild-Built #monk and robot #becky chambers #wanna do a full background but no clue if/when that'll happen #so have this now #books #book fanart #2022 fanart

[beartrice-inn-unnir]

Hello! Number 4 and 6 of the book asks, please?

4. What are your top 3 comfort reads?

For me, a comfort read is something that helps me feel at home in my own skin and/or remind me of things that are important to me and/or make me laugh. Three of my top choices are probably:

Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold (or a Civil Campaign, or Memory; all are in her Vorkosigan Saga and all are DELIGHTFUL) - this series is deep in my brain. Quotes from it have helped me make hard decisions and supported me during times of change. But also, Bujold is a great writer and these books are funny and witty and honest. These three are from the middle of the series, when the protagonist is facing down more domestic issues than he has in his military past, and he’s struggling more than ever.

The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard - I was hesitant to list this one because I’ve gone off on this one before and there are so many good books out there, but this one is comforting because it makes me believe that better worlds are possible. In a 900+ page book about love and identity and culture, Goddard also managed to fit a beautiful depiction of what universal basic income can do for a society. It’s really hard to make something happen in real life if we can’t vividly imagine it first, and she’s done a great job making that imagination possible. This book helps me sleep at night.

For a fun third, I’m going to pick Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith. I’m a low-key Beowulf nerd (never formally studied it, wasn’t my language or region of focus) but I have a lot of affection for it and actually own 4+ translations into modern English. And while I love the rhythms of Headley (“made sashimi out of sea-monsters”) and the steadiness of Heaney (“in the night-sea/slaughtered sea-brutes”) and the straightforwardness of Raffel (“hunting monsters/out of the ocean”), Weinersmith is playing a very different piece of music on a whole new kazoo, and it’s FUN.

6. What is your favorite book to recommend?

I am basically an evangelist for Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. I have bought copies just to have it on hand so when I talk to someone who I think should read it, I can just hand it to them. It’s short, it’s about the meaning of life and pursuing purpose and what it means to be a person. It’s also about making tea and being in nature and valuing comfort.

#reader asks #Komarr #a civil campaign #memory #lois mcmaster bujold #the hands of the emperor #victoria goddard #bea wolf #zach weinersmith #a psalm for the wild-built #becky chambers

[torpublishinggroup]

The future is vast and unknown, and the role of technology within it is ever in flux. Here at Tordotcom Publishing, we specialize in crafting literary windows to glimpse potential futures. What robotic creations will clasp hand in metal hand and walk with us into tomorrow? 

Take this quiz and read a book lmao

#robots #silly little quiz #the archive undying #emma mieko candon #murderbot #martha wells #all systems red #a psalm for the wild-built #becky chambers #emergent properties #aimee ogden #books #science fiction #tbr

[krakenartificer]

I’m not saying you’re wrong to recommend it, given what you know about me, but that is NOT the next from the series

#Image #undescribed #a psalm for the wild-built #a prayer for the crown-shy #the locked tomb fandom

[sharry-arry-odd]

"What's the purpose of a robot, Sibling Dex?" Mosscap tapped its chest; the sound echoed lightly. "What's the purpose of me?" "You're here to learn about people." "That's something I'm /doing/. That's not my reason for being. When I am done with this, I will do other things. I do not /have/ a purpose any more than a mouse or a slug or a thornbush does. Why do /you/ have to have one in order to feel content?"

A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers

#page 138 #a psalm for the wild-built #a psalm for the wild built #monk and robot #becky chambers #scifi #sibling dex #dex #splendid speckled mosscap #mosscap #meaning #quote #quotes #literature #book #booklr #reading