Last year I picked up a book called ‘Moonbound’ by Robin Sloan and it blew me away.
Reading it was like riding some rainbow-speckled rocket ship where I experienced the bizarre combination of having no idea what was going on while not being able to wait for what happened next.
The book was full of talking beavers. Talking swords! Strange video games. And ever-expanding worlds with wizards, who maybe aren’t really wizards, and oh—it's narrated by a microscopic AI-type chronicler, who’s been in many different lives across millennia and who now sits inside our protagonist’s left shoulder.
The writing was like a jacked up ‘Star Wars’ meets ‘Cloud Atlas’ by David Mitchell featuring Willy Wonka and Mad Hatter types with moments of poignancy dashed in to let us see, and see around, our endlessly twisting lives together. It is a big, loud, cymbal crash of a book so after I was done I reached out to the giant-minded author Robin Sloan to invite him on the show.
Robin Sloan is a writer, printer, and manufacturer—his new 3-word biography!—with three mind-expanding novels including ‘Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore’, 'Sourdough', and, of course, the magical 'Moonbound'.
Robin splits his time between the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley of California where he (wait for it) manufactures California extra virgin olive oil. He also (yes) prints wonderful zines and sends out a delightfully nerdy newsletter every 29 1/2 days via his website.
Strap in as we discuss social media, AI ethics, childhood obsession, books as technology, olive oil, working with your partner, myths and identity, and, of course, the brilliant Robin Sloan’s 3 most formative books…
Let's flip the page to Chapter 152 now...
Chapter 152: Robin Sloan weaves wonder and weirdness into the warbly world of words
View full transcript here
CONNECT with ROBIN
ROBIN’s 3 Books
First book
Second book
Third book
WORDCLOUD OF THE CHAPTER
Quotes
“It's hard to choose favorites in the vast and glorious realm of books.” — Robin Sloan | 3 Books Podcast
“I think if a person feels like they want to be in the world that cares, it's really important to hold the line and take that responsibility really seriously. (on the ethics of AI)” — Robin Sloan | 3 Books Podcast
“I find that as a writer… It's an implicit challenge. Like, hey, can you imagine something this big? And you know, the answer is usually no, not quite. Not yet. It's an almost athletic feat to observe on the page.” — Robin Sloan | 3 Books Podcast
“I think that if you lend a book or borrow a book, the expectation should actually be that it's never coming back.” — Robin Sloan | 3 Books Podcast
“I would just see what was new, and I'd see the little bookseller notes describing how great these books were. And I would look at the titles. I would look at the author names. And, I would dream of being there on that shelf.” — Robin Sloan | 3 Books Podcast
“The only thing a work of fiction has to do, and it is mandatory, is just make you want to keep reading.” — Robin Sloan | 3 Books Podcast
Show Notes
‘Moonbound’ by Robin Sloan
‘Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore’ by Robin Sloan
‘Sourdough’ by Robin Sloan
‘Is It Okay?’ by Robin Sloan
Kathryn Tomajan – Robin’s partner and master olive oil maker
