A Psalm for the Wild-Built

5/5 • Oh, Becky Chambers, you are becoming one of my favourite authors. This book is a warm hug. It is somehow so peaceful, yet also made me rather teary.

This is cozy science-fiction and it works. A travelling tea monk and a robot meet in the wilderness, they travel, drink tea, converse about the differences in robot and humans, and their overall purpose in life. That's really it. The plot is simple, but written in such beautiful prose. I love these kind of oddball friendships- between characters that are so different (a robot and a monk). Chambers manages to really explore this friendship, seeing both their differences and similarities.

I don't normally listen to music alongside reading, but for this one, I decided to do something different. I picked an instrumental and ambient spotify playlist- and gosh that made this even more cozy and immersive. Much of this book is set in the wilderness, so listening to ambient sounds of birds and forest made this even more cozy. This was a chill hour just reading and I loved every moment.

I also loved the social commentary. Though I feel this one isn't so much commentary, more showing a social alternative. What an interesting world. Also the philosophical discussions on life's purpose really hit me in a time that I needed it. This is also the second time I've been in a reading slump and it's a Becky Chambers book has been made fall in love with reading again, so thank you.