Book 7: Psalm of the Wild-Build by Becky Chambers
This book was a perfect balm after a slew of challenging reads, either in form or subject matter. I've read Chambers's other prominent book, A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, and while I liked her aspirations towards writing "cozy" sci-fi that's more about misfits finding themselves and found families, sometimes the humor was a bit too "squee!" and the cast felt like the Burger King Kids Club in the sense that every individual had a single diverse trait that nearly overwhelmed and defined their character.
Psalm is set in some undefined future, on an Earth-like planet or moon, after robots have become sentient and decided to split from humanity. In a sort of anti-Matrix, the machines live in the woods while humans learned to develop society in a less exploitative manner. Dex, the main character, is a tea monk who goes from town to town, brewing tea for people and listening to their problems; they're somewhere between therapist and guru and daycare manager. Of course, Dex feels a yearning for something different, and takes a chance detour through the woods. There, they meet Mosscap, a robot chosen to make human-robot contact for the first time since the split.
The book mostly concerns their journey, and the ways they get to know one another. It has a slight philosophical bent as the two engage in chatter over their preferences in life, how they live, and how they choose to find meaning. Not meant as faint praise, but I could see this as a decent entry point into philosophy for younger readers, as it focuses a lot on the question of what one takes for granted and what one might see if they take one step outside themselves.
Good book, short book; I hear there's a sequel coming, and I won't be waiting to pick it up.
I'd be curious if anyone has any other cozy or hangout suggestions; it's rare for me to find fiction that steps on the brakes and just gives you a slice of life, or captures the pleasures of the quotidian.