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Not one character in To Be Taught If Fortunate is cishet and that's the only kind of book I want to read from now on

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astronaut’s footprints on the moon // quote from to be taught, if fortunate by becky chambers // handprints on the wall in the caves of altamira

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I keep stopping the book to talk about it. Partly because it's that good. Partly because I don't want it to end.

I've been in a funk, avoiding books for the most part. And just, cranky. Unsettled. A little burned out. My whole body needed soothing of the sort I last felt while reading Psalm for the Wild Built. And though I shouldn't really be buying books right now, I reached out and asked for a recommendation - something cosy, hygge-ish (that's not a word), something very Chambers.

To Be Taught if Fortunate was the first that came back. And oh, gods. It is *beautiful*. I'm 27% in on my kindle and it just feels like chocolate and the saggy limbs you get just before you drop off to sleep and the feel of hot sun on your back when you're cold and sick.

So. This is me blogging the book I guess.

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We celebrate the tree that stretches to the sky, but it is the ground we should ultimately thank.

- Becky Chambers, To be Taught, If Fortunate

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boobs 69

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To Be Taught if Fortunate - Rebecca Chambers

Softness in Space - A Review

In Space no one can hear you scream. And most often than not, the vast, endless and dark “out there”, doesn’t care about you or your loves ones, spinning around aimlessly in that cold vacuum.

Your scream, if you go out wailing, will NOT be picked up. And you die alone.

Or so a lot of Sci-Fi tells us.

But what about the stories that aren’t like that? Stories that instead of putting the inherent danger of space travel first, talk of soft moments filled with compassion. Where Space Travel and dreams of astronauts instill that childlike wonder in us, that we may have lost along the way.

Recently when reading books or watching something on my computer that involved venturing towards the far away stars, the idea of ever leaving earths atmosphere made me slightly sick. A pit would form not in my stomach but in the back of my throat, staying there like a lump and constantly reminding that whatever tale I was witnessing would somehow turn bad. Because that is what happens In Space, Because of Space.

Yet, “To Be Taught, If Fortunate” took away that lump. And instead it drew my mind back to my younger self that thought that nothing bigger than space travel could ever exist.

This short story by Becky Chambers lets you witness the scientific wonders and pitfalls of a four people crew, that are sent on a 80 year mission (pack it up Picard) to investigate another star system. The surrounding factors are not that different from ours, humanity’s core remains and I don’t want to take away too much of the little wonders and excitements that this adventure will bring you.

The story is smartly chaptered, making it easy to completely immerse yourself and prepare for different circumstances awaiting after each chapter. Yet lucky for us, the crew never changes. These four are well written, sympathetic human beings that act like you and me. One might find little parallels in each of them.

As much as I was interested in the planetary exploring, I was even more intrigued by this crew. Them going through cycles and moods like life itself. Childlike highs and depressing lows of later life. It gripped me and made me cry.

After not reading for months and having problems immersing myself, let alone be interested in books at all, this short story has brightened my path considerably.

For people that might have had trouble getting back into reading, I can safely recommend this. The pacing picks up relatively fast, which it has to, considering the main story only holds ca. 130 pages.

Two cozy evenings of reading I’d say.