Tag: A Psalm for the Wild-Built

WWW Wednesday – April 9, 2025

Ryan4 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Earlier this week, I started reading The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett, the next novel in the Discworld series that I need to read. Like Faust Eric before it, this is an illustrated novella, so the pacing feels very different from what is typical for the series. I’m only about 40 pages in, which I feel doesn’t mean as much with how fewer words there are per page, but I’m really into the premise so far, as Cohen the Barbarian and his Silver Horde are embarking on a quest that may just destroy the world, so the powers that be in Ankh-Morpork are scrambling to try and stop him. Despite how long it’s been, I’m really appreciating how much this is acknowledging the events of Interesting Times. What especially stands out are Paul Kidby’s gorgeous illustrations, which perfectly capture the characters like never before.

Recently Finished

In surprisingly short order I started and finished A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, a novella about a tea monk who sets off on their own into the wilderness to visit an old ruin and encounters a wild-built robot, a descendant of the machines who stepped away from humanity into the wilds centuries before, never to be contacted again. I really liked this book, it was enjoyably brisk, but I can’t help feeling that a novel’s worth of ideas was trimmed down to novella length. It built a really interesting and seemingly elaborate world and characters that had deep motivations that were left more nebulous or glossed over when I would have enjoyed them being fleshed out more. I felt like I wasn’t given enough time to steep in it. Considering how quick of a read it was, I’m motivated to start the next one, especially since I’m anticipating a story line this one didn’t get to, so I’ve already put in a library request for it.

Reading Next

As I said, I want to read A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers next, the second Monk and Robot book. Beyond that, I do not have anymore concrete plans.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – April 2, 2025

RyanLeave a comment
www_wednesdays

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’m really close to finishing Trickster Drift by Eden Robinson, the second book in her Trickster trilogy. In fact, I expect I’ll be finishing it later today when I make some time to read. I’ve really been enjoying this book, which hasn’t felt its length at all. Part of me wishes it was a little more plot-driven, but I’m really enjoying its continued focus on Jared figuring his life out and becoming part of a community with his extended family, as well as him embracing the supernatural forces that surround him, despite his best efforts to ignore them. Slowly but surely, they’ve become commonplace for him, despite his resistance, and I’m curious what that’ll mean for him going forward, as so often he is warned about such spirits, but they seem benign and even friendly, at least to him. Things have reached a fever pitch from more human threats where I left off, and I’m eager to see how it all concludes.

Recently Finished

The other day I read Frogcatchers by Jeff Lemire, a graphic novel about a man who wakes up trapped in a surreal hotel. Though I thought there were some really good creative choices made with the illustrations, utilizing colour and sketchy abstraction to signify the difference between reality and dreamlike spaces, I thought the story overall was fairly pedestrian. I certainly don’t regret reading it, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge how its depiction of catching frogs in a creek resonated with me and reminded me of my own childhood, but overall it felt like a sort of story I’ve read/seen many times before. Though it’s Lemire’s own spin on the idea, it all felt too stereotypical and lacked a little something more to elevate it beyond that.

Reading Next

I’ve received my reserved copy of A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers from the library finally, so I expect I’ll be starting that later this week.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.