“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.” - Becky Chambers, A Psalm for the Wild-Built
This quote is from the first novella in Monk and Robot, one of several books we now carry at the shop. Written “for anyone who could use a break,” this cozy, solarpunk novella offers a vision of a kind, beautiful world that could resemble our future on Earth.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built follows Dex, a monk who embarks on a journey outside of the city and into the wilderness with a goal of hearing crickets, which are mostly extinct in their world. On the journey, they meet Mosscap, a curious robot, and part of the group of AI robots that left human society and ventured into the wilderness centuries ago. Their conversations center around care, repair, and finding meaning in life, and the quick 147 pages will leave you feeling comforted and hopeful.
We hope you can find support and inspiration in the written word—away from screens and out of your own head—with this book and other optimistic fiction and nonfiction options we carry at the shop. This particular book is easy to read and slow-paced, so it truly is great for anyone who just needs a break.
Books also make for great holiday gifts - I would pair Monk and Robot with a selection of loose leaf tea and a reusable steeper, as Dex spends their days as a tea monk, preparing custom tea for villagers and talking to them about their lives and challenges. We also have Cooking With Scraps, which could go well with a Swedish dishcloth or paperless towels.
Do you have any books, fiction or nonfiction, that help you envision a better future? Personally, I love Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s What If We Get It Right?, a series of interviews with experts on what they want to see happen in a future that avoids climate catastrophe. Share what you’re reading that gives you hope in the comments, and stop by the shop to grab a copy of Monk and Robot!
