Sourdough – Robin Sloan

Remarkably good. And remarkable for being that good, because the ingredients are not promising. Lois is a developer in a robotics company - no life outside of work, lives on we-won’t-call-it-Soylent - who is handed a sourdough starter culture and starts to bake. (Lois comes from a culinary tradition that more-or-less ends at “left-over frozen pizza can be reheated”, so she is starting from ground zero.

The writing makes it work. The book is short - just the right length for the story it tells - with short chapters that tell what they set out to tell, and do it with gentle humor. (The end of the book is somewhat abrupt.)