Back in July 2022, I wrote a post titled “A chance encounter, aka book review”, about the YA fantasy novel Changeling (2012) by English historical novelist Philippa Gregory. I began that post with these words:
“Some say that you can make your own luck by opening yourself to the world. Yet, some chance encounters are so delightful, you wonder whether they’re meant to happen.”
When I bumped into that book, I read it in four days and wrote a quick review, because that was all the time I had, and I knew I would not see the book again.
Interestingly, I had another chance encounter yesterday. This time it was the book A Memory Called Empire (2019), debut novel by American science fiction author Arkady Martine and winner of the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel. The book has a sequel, A Desolation Called Peace (2021), which won the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
These two books are unique for many reasons. Yet, what gets me is that sense of serendipity, the unexpected, totally random delight, something pleasant and precious because you know you will not encounter it ever again. Even when you know you can track down the book later, it will never be that same copy that lights up your eyes and warms your heart. Because surprise only happens once.
(Day 29 #WarmWinterRead #WWR25 via @librarieschangelives)
Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音 