Yesterday I shared that the next book off the To Be Read ranks would be Jo Walton’s Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Among Others.

In order to take full advantage of my reading holiday—which, dear readers, means a holiday with lots of reading goodness added, as opposed to a holiday from reading*—I began reading at once and am already pretty sure Among Others will prove to be my kind of book. Here’s why:

On page 59, the main character, Mori, states that, “Interlibrary loans are a wonder of the world and a glory of civilization.”

Hear, hear! In fact, libraries are a glory of civilization, in my humble option—so you may see why the story is already “speaking” to me. 😉

The alchemy of food…

Then on page 91, Mori reflects on the alchemy of food:

“It was lovely to be cooking with actual food. There’s something so grounding about it. It’s not that I was doing any magic, beyond the magic it is to take big flat mushrooms and raw potatoes and turn them into something delicious. I was just making dinner. But I wonder how much of cooking for someone else is magic anyway, more than I know about. I think it all might be.”

… & “how much of cooking for someone else is magic anyway…”

As both a foodie and a keen home cook, I think it all might be, too…

And am keen to read on.

—

*In the Helen Lowe 'verse a "holiday 
from reading" is an oxymoron: 
individually each of those words 
may exist in the lexicon, but 
collectively they are meaningless.