In 2020 I started thinking a lot about comfort reads: characters I enjoyed spending time with; places and situations I wanted to return to again and again; books that not only let me escape from my own world for a while but also let me return to it stronger. That's my goal with THE MIMICKING OF KNOWN SUCCESSES, and I wrote about some of my favorites here: https://www.tor.com/2023/03/22/malka-older-chooses-her-top-5-comfort-reads/
@older Just found it, it was a great read. I find myself now actively shying away from work that doesn't eventually leave me (at least wryly) smiling: I have no spare spoons ever for a *leisure activity* such as reading, to leave me feeling bad any more. Concepts such as #solarpunk and #hopepunk are going to be interesting to track back, in a few years' time. My KJ Charles pick would have been different, though! :)
@alanfleming which one? I really could have gone with almost any of them
@older Charm of Magpies sequence - can't recall who introduced me to them though.