The Genius of Becky Chambers
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- čas přidán 7. 11. 2021
- The Genius of Becky Chambers lies in her versatility as a science fiction author. She writes fantasy epics, speculative sci-fi, and philosophical musings with confidence and sharpness.
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Website: booksandbao.com/
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I just finished Psalm, and I adore Becky Chambers work. I started with To Be Taught, then my brother in-law recommended Wayfarers and I absolutely BURNED through the series.
Her work is so rich and beautiful and hopeful. I had never read scifi before, but now I love it.
Rich and beautiful and hopeful... All so true! I'm actually doing a list video of sci-fi by women in January, inspired by the impact Chambers has had on me. Coming soon!
Your title is perfect and this is a beautiful love letter to her genuis. I read the first Monk & Robot and immediately told my husband this was a story I had been looking for for a long time.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your eloquent description and well-deserved praise of Becky Chambers! She’s probably my favorite author that’s currently writing, and one of my favorites of all time. Her stories are heartfelt examples that you don’t need violence to tell a moving story in sci fi. Every one of her novels has moved me in some way, and Record of a Spaceborn Few (my favorite of her books) literally made me cry the first time I read it while still leaving me with a sense of hope. I hope she keeps writing for a very long time, and I hope people like you can help shine a bigger spotlight on her wonderful work. Thank you again!
I love talking to fellow fans of any author but there’s something so wholesome and good about Becky Chambers fans. She brings out the best in us :)
I’ve read the first two books in the Wayfarers series and A Psalm for the Wild-Built and I can’t wait to read more! Also I discovered your channel recently and I really enjoy your videos :)
Glad to meet a fellow fan, and one who loves the channel! Thank you!
Just got the long way to a small angry planet in a charity shop, so excited!! that shop is great for me and im grateful whoever is giving away the gems i get there!!
Thank you for reviewing these books!!! Becky chambers is my absolute favorite author of all time and seeing someone else appreciate her is great!!!!
I'm a fan of Becky Chambers too and think she's a real breath of fresh air. Lots of people criticise her for the lack of conflict in her stories, but I think it's great for an author to not rely on that, and just centre of relationships, albeit with a science fiction setting.
Oh absolutely! When I was getting to the end of her first book and realised there was no conflict, I felt so relieved. Too much SFF is all about conflict. Every fantasy series is set around warring kingdoms and it's just exhausting. Chambers is a true breath of fresh air.
Thank you for this, it's an excellent explanation of why we should all be reading Becky Chambers and eagerly awaiting her next work. I have one niggle tho: the world in Psalm (and its sequel 'A Prayer For The Crown-Shy') doesn't lack technology, even though they have abandoned heavy industry and apparently also capitalism. They have computers, but they also have a very solid ethos of 'reduce, reuse, recycle' and they don't just spend their lives as wage slaves turning natural resources into landfill contents. The communities have artisans and resource specialties based on their environments and it's very interesting to see the differences that unfold thereby. It's a world I want so much to live in.
A Psalm for the Wild Built sounds so interesting to me. Definitely on my "to check out" list. It's great hearing you talk, even though I sometimes space out because I can't seem to focus or find the energy to do things when I'm completely out for the day and am just trying to have a break. Been a long time since I last commented, hope you're having a good day!
P.S. You look great today! I just feel like saying that.
You are honestly too kind, thank you so much 💜 I don't even know what to say. I love that my channel invited comments as sweet and kind as yours. You're great 💜
How have I never heard of Becky Chambers? Thank you so much for this extraordinary video in which you make me want to get all of her writings right away.
How indeed! Better late than never, though!
Working on book 2 of the wayfarers series. So happy I found your channel! This has been a great find for me. Will come back after I read them…and let you know!
Aw thank you so much!
I just finished my first book by Becky Chambers, and it definitely will not be my last. It was incredible storytelling.
I was Googling A Psalm for the Wild-Built to check it out, and this video popped up on the first page - thanks for this discussion! These books sound really interesting, and it's convinced me to buy Psalm and see what those funky little robots and monks are up to.
Ooh, nice to know my videos are grabbing people’s attention!
I picked up The Galaxy Above not realizing it was the final book in a series and I LOVED IT
subscribed immediately because having love for becky chambers’ books is perhaps the greenest flag a person can have! thank you for making this video about her books so others can read them too. also love how eloquent you are, i totally agree with everything you’ve said! 💗
Haha thank you! She is an absolute treasure!
I've now read everything by her and am now forced to languish and sigh dramatically while waiting for her next release
She's been on my TBR for some time. Thanks for the video as I was wondering which to start with!
I hope the video helped you decide which one to start with!
Thanks to your recommendation I read The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - I just finished it yesterday - and it was incredible, I loved it so much, so thank you ! I can't wait to read more of her work.
You always have great recommendations!
Aw thanks so much!
I just read A Psalm for the Wild-Built and I am HOOKED! Your vid is wonderful as well. 🤖
Sounds incredible. I can't wait to read. I always wanted to try Sci-fi, but didn't know where to start. Think I found an answer. Keep reading, keep recommending!
Absolutely, she's a great intro to beautiful science fiction!
I have had The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet on my tbr since 2017! I really need to get to it soon. Though I am now thinking I may get to A Psalm For the Wild-Built first. This video was a great guide to Becky Chambers. ☺️
Thank you for saying so! I really hoped it would be. Start whenever you fancy; you're going to have a great time regardless!
Now I have to find some Becky Chamber books.
I highly recommend it!
Lovely video, and I love these books as well! I have a minor disagreement regarding to the world (or moon) in Psalm, I don't think that the people's had lost technological progress after the robots left. I'd argue that people advanced in technology, building, operating and recycling them in a sustainable way. They still have highly advanced pocket computers just like our smartphones, but crucially each unit is designed to last for a life time, and can be repaired again and again. This is contrasted with the way our real-life manufacturers design and make phones, tablets and laptops, in which they are designed to fail and be replaced with a whole new device after a few years. In my minds, the ability and will to produce sustainable tech like this is true technological progress :)
I'm just as big of a fan of Becky Chambers as you are. I just love her perspective on sci-fi. With that said another great writer I'd like to recommend is Catherynne M. Valente. I just finished her book "The Past Is Red" this morning and I need other people to read it! I can't say it's similar to Becky Chambers but there's something about this particular book that put me in the mind of Becky Chambers with the way Valente has taken a speculative future and made it more than we could imagine. In both good and bad ways.
Oh thank you so much! I'm actually building a big list of sci-fi by women and she's not on it. So I really appreciate that!
Yes! Her Space Opera is written in a similar font to Wayfarers but not so cozy.
I think it's Plant Based Bride here on YT that also loves Becky Chambers but I had never heard of her before. I have to say that the last book you mentioned with the Robot and the Monk sounds very interesting! Though I've not read much sci-fi, if any but that book sounds like a good place to start, I think?
Fantastic review. Thanks to Willow I am coming back to reading after screen addictions. Than you Willow
Thank you*. However, ‘Than you’ sounds appropriately other world😊
recently read The long way to a small angry planet and absolutely loved it)) unfortunately the other books of the series hasn't been translated to my native language, maybe I would read them in english
Thank you for your reviews) The long way to a small angry planet was on my tbr list for a while and then I somehow forgot about it, got a book from the library after watching your video and have a wonderful reading experience)
I'm so so happy you enjoyed the first book and I hope the rest of the series is translated soon!
Have you read/reviewed the Xenogenesis series by Octavia Butler?
I agree sooo much!!! I adore Becky chambers !!! Do you have any suggestions for similar books?
I'm actually going to be doing a big list in January (tentatively called "Women of Sci-fi"). At the top of that list is a book called Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes, which looks very Chambers-esque! I'll be reading it soon :)
I absolutely adore Chambers. The diversity, the genius worldbuilding... gaaaaaahhhhh.
In the last few years I’ve made the transition from YA into reading only adult literature (I got into a huge reading slump and couldn’t really work out why, but realised I just wasn’t giving with YA anymore), and since then I’ve largely stopped reading SciFi as I’ve been nervous about attempting bulky adult SciFi. I’m thinking Becky Chambers would be a good author for me to try!
I think so, too! She provides that same charm, warmth, and companionship that a lot of YA lit pulls off, while also offering big themes and ideas, cool twists on sci-fi tropes, and her stories are very accessible!
What do you think the lexile of the book “To be taught, if fortunate” is or maybe the grade level of it?
idk what that means
What grade level do u think fits for the “to be taught, if fortunate”. Like middle school or high school level
I’m British. We don’t have middle school. So I’m going to guess and say high school
EXACTLY
Soma, does appear in A BRAVE NEW WORLD. Wonderful, evolution.
Ah right. Been a long time since k read that one.
I really like and appreciate Becky Chambers' writing as well! My favourite of hers is "To be taught if fortunate" - do you know any other books/novellas that have a similar realistic, speculative approach? I loved it and I keep looking for something similar..
I've actually been racking my brain for a week trying to answer that question! The closest I can get is Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke. Chambers has real Clarke energy in her writing; they both have that mix of wonder and speculation in their writing. Also, going back even further, there's also Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne. That's got similar vibes! Chambers is reigniting that old school way that sci-fi was used to tell stories :)
@@WillowTalksBooks That's great, thank you so much! I actually own a copy of 'Rendezvous with Rama' already and you just got me even more excited to pick it up! Huh.. I haven't read Jules Verne in years, will be interesting to pick his books up again and see how I feel about him now (used to like him) - thanks, Willow :)
The series doesn't sound like my thing (I don't like neither Star Wars nor the Guardians), but the speculative one seems interesting!
Yeah the speculative one is very similar to classic sci-fi like Arthur C Clarke and Jules Verne.
@Pani Kiczcock I wouldn’t rule out the wayfarer series based on those comparisons. They are similar in that they explore humanity as it has become part of a galactic society, as well as the fact that it’s mostly science fantasy but I’d say the similarities end there. Becky’s stories are character driven and grounded in a way these others are not. I think Firefly is the most apt comparison, but even that is vastly different in tone than wayfarer. I hope you’ll give them a try!
I do have a problem with Chambers' work. It doesn't seem to me that her characters change, develop or learn anything earth-shatteringly (hah!) fundamental. Their circumstances evolve, and they find themselves in a different position than at the start of the book; often, they are heart-warmingly welcomed into a society they thought would reject them; unlooked-for friendships might emerge; there is occasional loss and sadness; but no one seems to actually grow, there is no ground-shifting new perspective. The person I met on page one is very recognisably the person on page 250, with a few new experiences under their belt. As I said, this is MY problem with Chambers. I think her work is undoubtedly very valuable, exciting, energising and satisfying for lots of people. I like that her societies take for granted that a spectrum of genders, types of sentience and potential relations between "people" exist and are valid. The worlds she creates are interesting, stimulating and full of great and innovative detail. I just always finish a book wishing there had been a bit more story.
Are you serious?
Her attack by space pirates was boring.
Lois McMaster Bujold totally blows her away. Star Wars is not science fiction. I can tolerate calling it Space Fantasy. Star Trek is weak sci-fi.
Try: A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C Clarke
for real science fiction.
If you’re any older than twelve, I can’t excuse this kind of personality lol
@@WillowTalksBooks 12? Let's see, that is when I decided that I was an agnostic. How many decades has that been, 12, 13? LOL