Books for when you need an escape
It occurred to me that I hadn’t looked at tor.com — I mean Reactor (If I liked the name, I’d adjust to it faster) — for a long time, so I checked in and immediately tripped over a nice post by Jo Walton: Out of This World: Books to Read When You Need an Escape
Interesting list — thirteen books, of which I have read six, all of which I liked. Jo Walton’s lists tend toward books I like. To me, there is absolutely no unifying theme here. “Books when you need an escape,” really? Some are fluffy and some are thoroughly tense. Wild Seed by Butler, Rimrunners by CJC, Double Star by Heinlein (Walton says she thinks this is his best novel, which is interesting right there).
But also Piranesi by Clarke — I loved the audiobook, btw — Fangirl by Rowell (my favorite of hers), Warrior’s Apprentice, and Derring-do for Beginners.
Seriously, there is no common thread here.
Of the books I haven’t read, here is the one that struck me as most cool: Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
Jo Walton says: This was the book that broke my reading slump during lockdown. I was reading, but I had to keep forcing myself to concentrate. This just did the thing where I wasn’t thinking about myself and this world but the problem of finding a sixteenth way to defend a walled city. This is a fantasy novel without magic, written in first person confidential, where the reader is being confided in, in an imaginary history with very fun logistics and military technology. It may not be for everyone, but nothing is for everyone. It was just what I needed.
Amazon’s description: A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all. To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge-building…
My response: I have to read this book!
Here’s another: Under Italian Skies
Jo Walton says: This is a romance novel set in Italy, and it’s very well written and the romance is almost off the page; it’s about a woman going to Italy and everything being OK.
Amazon’s description: Stella finds herself trying on a stranger’s life. As the villa begins to get under her skin, she can’t help but imagine the owner from the clues around her. She meets his friends, cooks the local food he recommends and follows suggestions to go to his favourite places. But can an idea of someone ever match up the reality?
My response: In this case, it was Walton’s description that did it; Amazon’s description doesn’t do a lot for me. But this story in inexpensive, and “a woman goes to Italy and everything is okay” sounds like just the ticket.
I should do a list of “Books to read when you need an escape,” and then pick a theme. Or, more likely, a tone. To me, CJC’s Rimrunners is far too high-tension to belong on a list like this, and Wild Seed gets too grim. I think a cozy tone is better for “reading when you need an escape.”
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