A Psalm for the Wild-Built | 
I came for the monk-robot meet-cute and stayed for the robot philosophy lesson. The purpose of life: just existing. Such a beautiful story in which once the robots became self-aware, humanity allowed the robots self-determination and while learning to exist without robots, man learned to live in harmony with all creatures and eco-systems.
Short novellas seem to be my vibe as I‘m still organizing the house after the move. A robot and unsatisfied monk: yes please.
pickFirst I enjoyed Dex's & Mosscap's conversations about existence & identity. This has been described as "cozy sci-fi" which I think is very apt. But I could have used more world- building & plot. Also I loved the descriptions of Dex's wagon, the towns in Panga, & the tea "ceremony" itself but I was invested in their journey to becoming a successful tea monk & felt short changed that we're just told it took two years & lots of experimentation. ?♀️
The morning is chilly (which is awesome because that means it isn't hot), the tea IS hot, and the book has a catchy first line that's already pulling me in. I ❤️ weekends #BackPorchReading
#Bibliophile #Robot 🤖
I love this duology! Such a cozy comfort 🫖🍵
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
pickPicked this to read a robot book for #gottacatchemall
I actually ended up really enjoying it. I‘m going to pick up the next one too! A tea monk goes into the wilderness, because they feel they‘re missing something and meets a robot.
pickA cozy sci-fi for anyone who needs a reading brain break. The audiobook was wonderful. I love how slow-placed and soft the book was. It was perfect for the moment and helped me to feel refreshed in my personal life and in my reading journey. It reminded me of my trip to China in 2016, we got to tour a Buddist Monastery. Just beautiful. Wow.
Listened to this a while ago. Starting book 2 A Prayer for the Crown-Shy now. 😁
Anyone else enjoy these?
panDex was having an existential crisis that led them to leave the life they had known, twice.They embarked on a journey with a robot who lived in the wild. The lack of world building had me rereading pages trying to get my bearings and understand what was going on. The overuse of they as Dex‘s pronouns was distracting. Sometimes the story would summarize years in just a few sentences but then spend pages lingering on just a few days. Book#21 in2025
The theme for this year is gonna be 'manageable' vs. 'unrealistic' or 'overambitious'.
"The House in the Cerulean Sea" will be a reread for me, but I feel it best to have its details fresh in my mind before diving into its sequel.
The covers on the far right belong to the manga for "Your Name".
#SeriesLove2025
@Andrew65 @TheSpineView
pickLiked this a lot. Becky Chambers stories always give me that certain feeling of belonging even though it‘s a weird and foreign world.
Well this is exciting for the Becky Chambers fans!
Out 6 May 2025, one book with both Psalms and A Prayer For the Crown Shy all in one book! I can never justify buying her books, they are so small and cost the same as a full length book but with 2 in one I will definitely pick this up!
pickWhat a wonderful little story! Can't wait to read the second book.
pickIt arrived just time, right before this month ended. And of course I started it immediately and finished it just as fast.
This one aimes for your heart and it hits. At least it did with me. So beautiful and meaningful. I helps me seeing our times not as dark as I tend to, and therefore helps healing my soul. But it also digs into our society right now, where we always have to deliver. We all need a break every now and then
#queerbc @PuddleJumper
#ihavequestions @RaeLovesToRead
Spring- A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
Summer- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
Fall- Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
Winter- The Starless Sea by Erin Morganstern
Enjoy!
pickA tea monk (a sort of itinerant counsellor/therapist) meets a robot in the wilderness - the first meeting between a human and a robot since robots gained self awareness many centuries ago.
I found the initial worldbuilding a bit clunky but the book was very enjoyable once the actual story got underway with lots of interesting exploration of ideas.
pickTo battle their burnout, tea monk Dex decides to explore the Wilds to find an abandoned monastery. They instead find a robot seeking to understand humanity.
This hit me just as hard the 2nd time round. Dex‘s frustration/confusion over their burnout, the desperation to find something that brings joy, was all way WAY too relatable. & the realization that sometimes you just need someone to recognize you‘re struggling & offer help.🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
This little SF novella is just an absolute warm delicious hug of a book. Cannot recommend it enough.
#WickedWords #rings @AsYouWish
pickI cannot describe how much I loved this book. It may be the coziest book I‘ve ever read. Zero stress, it was like sitting in complete peace for an hour and a half.
Mark your calendars. We all enjoyed the book club book. (AND we got goat cheese.) What was your book club‘s last hit?
pickWhat can I say? Just lovely.
“Dex had only needed to repair it five times in the [15+] years that it had traveled in their clothes. A reliable device built to last a lifetime, as all computers were.”
Becky Chambers knows how to write a utopia 😅
pickThis is a very cute novella. A tea monk and a robot meet in the forest....
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#two4tuesday
1. The tagged & the sequel, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
2. All of them! 😆 I have 19 books on my Wyrd & Wonder TBR (it was 20 but I just read one)—we‘ll see how many I get to. Here‘s the list:
http://wanderinglynn.com/wyrd-wonder-2024-tbr/
pickAbsolutely loved this little book. I really want to start the next one, but I need to get to bed so I‘m ready for #IBD tomorrow!
“If you ask six different monks the question of which godly domain robot consciousness belongs to, you‘ll get seven different answers.”
#firstlinefridays
Am I back? Maybe - I dont know yet. I use storygraph a lot - maybe some of you want to send me their names or add me? Ladyduckofdoom, as always.
Sending love 💕
pick#ReadAway2024#SeriesLove2024
Finished this on Sunday, it‘s my 2nd book for April #Roll100 (Book #100 which was “Any Kindle Unlimited”) I‘m glad I finally got around to reading it, it‘s just a very introspective cozy science-fiction/fantasy story. A quick read that I wanted to take my time with. I could relate to Dex‘s existential crisis & how they wondered what they were doing while they kept doing it & of course Mosscap is delightful.🍵🤖🤍⬇️
“Gods around” - I kind of like this expression… Has anyone adopted this phrase and what did it replace?
(And yes, we have TOO MUCH STUFF. 😤)
Am I just going to post photos of everything I ate or drank today? Maybe not everything, but close. 😉😋😆
After the coffee shop I grabbed a poke bowl for lupper. Started this one, my #100 for April‘s #Roll100 & happy to FINALLY get to reading it.
Copper Bopper! #DogsOfLitsy 🐶 🌷
The dice were good again this month. Here are my 3 #Roll100 picks for April
#100 was “Any Kindle Unlimited” on my list & I chose the tagged book which I have had “borrowed” on KU for ages but never seem to get around to reading.
#6 The Future (in my #BOTM stack)
#74 was “Any Audiobook” on my list & I went with this 5th book (& next for me) in the Lady Holmes series that my library Libby only has in audio format.
I am excited to read them!
pickI saw someone on Goodreads describe this as “What was I made for?” by Billie Eilish, but in book form and that‘s *exactly* it and exactly what I needed. A warm hug that says it‘s ok to be tired and sad and a bit lost followed by a steaming cup of tea that says you‘ll figure it out (or that‘s it‘s ok not to figure it out, either).
The dedication on this book is “For anybody who could use a break,” which I honestly feel so much right now.
panThis book is often labeled cozy or literary embrace, but as it lacks a conflict or moral dilemma, it is simply dull. The worldbuilding is incomplete and unclear, and for me it hints at a population manipulated by a dictatorship maintaining specific social order #told_by_a_woman #bookclub
pick
This book felt like a hug for my brain. All the praise I‘d heard was true for this simple but deeply resonant tale of a tea monk and a robot. I borrowed this from the library but definitely want to buy it for myself. Some of the passages just really spoke to me, you know?
Work closed a bit early and they‘ve already announced a late opening due to weather, so I‘m cozied up and ready to read! 💗💗
A lot of great reading in 2023. 254 books—the three I talk the most shown above. Can‘t recommend these highly enough with the tagged book perhaps being my favorite because it was such an unexpected surprise. Compelling, philosophical, and wonderful. I also read 331 comics—the graphic is a collage I made of Skottie Young‘s 2023 covers. Excited to start a new year of reading.
🎆🎇Happy New Year. Happy reading!!!🎇🎆
If you had told me that a science fiction novella about a monk & a robot would prove to be one of the most profound, philosophical, compelling studies of the human condition I‘ve read in a long time, I would have scoffed. But it is. This quiet, powerful book asks us to think about what it is to be human, to distinguish being from purpose & to know that it is, as it says in the book, enough to just exist. April‘s best & a new favorite.
@Andrew65
#12Booksof2023 January had an unprecedented SIX 5⭐️ reads and several more that came close! But I always like #12BooksofChristmas not just for the fun of seeing everyone else‘s picks, but because I find it easier to choose favorites after time has passed. Looking back Becky Chambers made the biggest impression on me, and I‘m already itching to reread this one. @Andrew65
“If you ask six different monks the question of which godly domain robot consciousness belongs to, you'll get seven different answers.“
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
#Two4Tuesday
1. We‘ll do Thanksgiving with my in-laws Thursday and then drive to my mom‘s and do it again on Friday. 🦃
2. Tagged—a quiet, philosophical book in which kindness, listening, and the power of a cup of tea and a good conversation all play a prominent role.
@TheSpineView
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This novella is only 150 pages, but that length does not adequately convey its impact. Deceptively cozy & an “easy read,” there is a deep well of tenderness, emotion, and meaning in this book, and I can‘t put my finger on how Chambers does it.
I am so looking forward to reading the next and highly recommend this - even if you aren‘t a sci-fi reader, this is so much more than a sci-fi story.
Also highly recommend the audiobook version!
pickChambers has written a skillful, well-constructed story about a tea monk named Dex searching for meaning in their life, which pairs well with the robot Mosscap's journey to learn what it means to be human. If you aren't someone who finds value in therapy, this story might be tedious. Dex is asking "What's wrong with me?" because they feel like something is wrong with them. Chambers impressed me, and I want to read more of her work.
pickThis was a good quick read. I enjoyed the story and the world building. I was distracted the whole time by the use of ‘they/them‘ as a pronoun though. I appreciate the author‘s intent but it was confusing at times and took me out of the story frequently.
pickWhat a cool, little book! It is both cute and philosophical at the time. Dex is a non-binary human in the future who is rabidly trying to find their purpose in life and comes across this chill robot. I needed to hear what this little book had to say. I recommend it if you'd like a warm hug from a robot.
