Latest / Galaxies and Goddesses: A Sci-Fi & Fantasy Bookcast / The Moon Made of Cheese: Philosophic Nibbles with “When the Moon Hits Your Eye” by John Scalzi
Transcript
- [00:00:00] Andrea: I’m Andrea. Elizabeth: And I'm Elizabeth. Andrea: Join us as we chat about sci-fi and fantasy books and beyond. Elizabeth: Looking for a little escape from reality? So are we. Andrea: Welcome to Galaxies and Goddesses! Elizabeth: On this week's episode, we'll be chatting about the book When The Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi. Andrea: The premise is what if the moon turned to cheese and what happens next? It's a little ridiculous, but that's part of the point. Andrea: Let's get started. Andrea: This book was published this year and released March 25th of 2025. Andrea: The Good Read Synopsis says From the New York Times [00:01:00] bestselling author of Starter Villain comes an entirely serious take on a distinctly unserious subject. What would really happen if suddenly the moon were replaced by a giant wheel of cheese? It's a whole new moon. One day soon, suddenly, and without explanation, the moon, as we know it, is replaced with an orb of cheese with the exact same mass. Through the length of an entire lunar cycle from New Moon to a spectacular and possibly final solar eclipse we follow multiple characters, school kids and scientists, billionaires and workers, preachers and politicians as they confront the strange new world they live in and the absurd, impossible moon that now hangs above all their lives. Andrea: One of the reasons I wanted to do the lunar theme for our podcast was because I knew this book was coming out. I read Starter Villain last year and I was like, oh, I think [00:02:00] that'll be a fun book to read. And it's kind of fantasy slash sci-fi. Elizabeth: Hold on, lemme get this straight. So the entire reason that we are doing the theme of this entire podcast year is because you wanted to read this specific book? Andrea: Not the entire reason, but it factored in. Elizabeth: You found a way to shape it around being able to read this book? Andrea: There were other books too that I wanted to read that were already on my TBR. So there were a couple that I noticed “Moon” was in the title and it led me to the moon theme. Elizabeth: Hmm, alright. Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: Because then also some weeks ago as we were starting to read it, I, wonder if, obviously we'll talk about it if your opinion has changed now, but you weren't sure if you wanted to read it next for the podcast. well Obviously we'll get into it, but do you feel that way after now finishing it? Andrea: I enjoyed it by the end of it, but in the beginning it just seemed like it hopped around a lot, but then the characters did end up reoccurring and, kind of bringing everything full circle. Elizabeth: Some did, sort of, barely. Andrea: I was hoping it would be a little bit more [00:03:00] sci-fi and a little bit more, of a specific storyline. But it's very general and it is a little bit all over the place . That felt like the point. It touches on a lot of different types of people and points of view. Elizabeth: Like sort of circus almost, like absurdity and whimsy, irreverence. Andrea: So it might take a little bit to get into that, if that's not normally what you read. You do have to be in the right mood for it maybe. Some sci-fi stuff, even if it's aliens in outer space that's easy for me to like buy into, but the fact that the moon just randomly turns to cheese, that's a big ask. Andrea: Right? Elizabeth: It is a big ask. Yeah. It is just totally absurd, but if you just get over that initial absurdity, then I just was like, all right, it'll just take me for this ride about this weird thing that just happened. It read very quickly because it is so kind of surface. Elizabeth: So the structure of the book is [00:04:00] that every chapter is one. since the moon turned to cheese and it's 28 chapters to follow one lunar cycle. Then big spoiler alert at the very end it just like magically turns back. Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: and it just as if the whole thing just didn't Andrea: And it didn't really even happen. Yeah. Elizabeth: yeah. So that's wild. Elizabeth: But if you just get over that initial absurd leap and then follow along, it's okay, there is some interesting questions to ponder of what would that look like for the moon to turn to cheese? And it did get into some of the science of it, like the density of it. Because cheese is less dense than moon rock, it was larger. So then that amount of cheese then started to compress on itself. And it was like the compression that then super heated the water within it to create these geysers of, steam. Elizabeth: And then at some point because it's the entire moon that's exploding with geysers it blows into [00:05:00] big chunks. Then what's going to happen is those chunks are eventually going to hit earth and it's going to be catastrophic and everyone's going to die, but it's gonna happen like a couple years from now. So there's this existential dread hanging over everybody that everybody's gonna be dead within the next couple of years. A few interesting thought provoking threads. Andrea: Yes. The large chunk that gets ejected from the moon, that doesn't happen till maybe the last half or third of the book. But that does feel like a big shift. It takes a much more existential turn. And I feel like the whole book, technically it's sci-fi but it felt very philosophical. Andrea: I think also there's a lot of talk about book publishing within the book. There's an author that writes a book about the moon that gets published at just the right time and a lot of these little stories I wonder how much are a way for John Scalzi to work out his [00:06:00] own thoughts or share his life story in a roundabout way or some of the things he's thinking about. Elizabeth: There were just so many of these tiny little vignettes, like each chapter were these little vignettes. There were a few characters that did reoccur, but most did not. And all the chapters were pretty short actually. And so then overall it did feel rather superficial but yeah, the interesting thought experiments, philosophical, yeah. Elizabeth: Is what if the moon turned to cheese? Andrea: Yeah. Elizabeth: I have to admit there it makes you think about the science too though. The afterward or something. He does say he doesn't know all of the things that would happen scientifically with the moon actually turning into cheese. But I couldn't help thinking that when these geysers would go off, wouldn't the water instantly freeze because it's space? It's so cold around the moon. They talked about like the moon would eventually create an atmosphere because of all this water coming out, but not right at first. Elizabeth: And so it would instantly freeze. Andrea: I [00:07:00] thought, it talked about how the sun was heating the moon cheese, and so they're worried it would be like soft and it would be melty potentially if something were to land on it. Elizabeth: yeah, yeah, yeah. Andrea: So it, it could have been hot cheese. Elizabeth: It could have been, it's hot cheese. And then also I suppose wouldn't there be, but via the laws of thermodynamics, as the moon compresses on itself, that creates heat too.Right? Andrea: Yes. Yes. Elizabeth: I do some kinds of science, but not all those kinds of science. I don't know for sure, but Right. And so Andrea: Like Elizabeth: why the water's heating to begin with. So is that hot enough to combat the freezing temperatures? Andrea: Of space. Elizabeth: like without an atmosphere. Eventually it would make one with more water, steam produced. Elizabeth: It talked about like, eventually there'd be oceans too of this water collecting on the surface of the cheese. It Elizabeth: There were parts that were funny or little snippets that, you almost wish that there could have been more like that or more with those characters. Elizabeth: But anyway, as part of the story, there are [00:08:00] astronauts who are training to go back to the moon since it's been so long since they've been to the moon. This fictional character that actually had a base in Ecuador? Elizabeth: Yeah, it was Ecuador, Elizabeth: A private company, like similar to SpaceX or Blue Origins. Billionaire guy doing private space exploration. And NASA has this huge contract with this billionaire to make these lunar space vehicles. But then the moon turns to cheese and NASA wants to cancel these test flights of these lunar vehicles. But he decides to just go ahead with it anyway. In the simulations, they'll use robots or mannequins that are the exact proportions of actual people, and one of them is of the billionaire himself. So then in a last minute switch, he gets into the lunar vehicle and launches himself into space. Of course then the world is watching with bated breath as he makes his way towards the moon made of cheese. I won't give away what happens with that one, but it's pretty great though. Elizabeth: I did enjoy it. Andrea: After that point, I feel like there was a shift. That's where I [00:09:00] think it got more existential. It's whoa, it, we really went there. Andrea: We should probably just say that we are gonna have a couple of spoilers. So I would recommend that people read this book before they listen to the episode, if they're planning on reading it, because it's hard if we do wanna talk about any of the specifics, some of the storylines, it's not to spoil them. Andrea: Right? Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: Another storyline I really liked was, the two, the, almost like Romeo and Juliet, cheese shop lovers. Elizabeth: Oh, that was really cute actually. Yeah. With the two brothers Elizabeth: Used to have with their father a cheese shop or whatever. Andrea: It was a family business of a cheese shop. And then they got into a fight about, a woman who ended up getting married to one of the brothers. But then they set up competing cheese shops across the town square and they end up hiring new employees on the same day. Andrea: And they tell both of the employees to go spy on the other shop and then these two [00:10:00] new employees meets. And it is a very cute Elizabeth: Its very meet cute. Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: Yeah. It was really, yeah. Elizabeth: There are things that were the exploration of the question, what happened if the moon turned to cheese? It makes sense that, sure. There were protesters against cheese. So then this crowd of rioters is about to break down the glass of one of the cheese shops and then the brother comes to save him and then no one gets hurt and everybody's saved and they reconcile and it's so cute. Elizabeth: There are books that I sometimes ask the question, at what point does a book of short stories become a novel? Elizabeth: There are books that I've read that almost feel more like just short stories. This definitely feels more like a novel. Elizabeth: It is a novel, but toeing towards the question line of book of short stories. There's so many of these funny little vignettes of different random people that you just check in on the one day. and maybe the cheese shop that might have had two chapters or something. Andrea: And there were a lot of characters where they would check in at the end of the [00:11:00] day with this character and their significant other. That came across as a way of showing that even powerful people I think the president is one of the people that has this end of the day wind down conversation with his wife. The preacher talks to his wife, the president talks to his wife. It's all these men in public facing roles that end up talking to their partners or wives at the end of the day. And being able to rehash things out and showing that nobody is able to take these steps alone. Or that it's hard to do alone maybe. Or maybe he just needed someone for them to talk to at the end of the day to hear their inner thoughts. I don't know. Elizabeth: You're saying that there would be other action and then it also would then go to them at the end of the day. Andrea: Mm-hmm. Elizabeth: Talking about it? Andrea: There was like the two, they weren't necessarily roommates, but there were like two college, characters that go to a protest. They were upset about not being roommates, but then the roommates ended up being in relationships and they basically had a room to themselves instead, [00:12:00] and they go and do things together. Andrea: There seemed to be a lot of partnerships. It wasn't just one person solo. kind of showing a lot of humanity, like a shared sense of need for people. Elizabeth: And I suppose more of the words on the page is conveyed through dialogue basically, as opposed to like descriptions of things. Elizabeth: Okay, so then you go talking about like these two characters that were gonna be roommates, but then they ended up being the lucky college students that get their own room because their actual roommates that they were assigned end up meeting somebody and so then they end up for all intents and purposes, having their own rooms. But this is one thing that I didn't necessarily like about this book is that there were so many different characters or little blurbs like this, that it was hard to keep track of them all really. Elizabeth: In thinking back on the book there were just so many of that, that it's hard to remember details. There might be some that kind of stick out to you. Elizabeth: I almost read this book in a day. I read the large print version, so it was way more pages than the regular one. I could read it so quickly because it also [00:13:00] is just so surface level. There are these philosophical questions, but they are almost just someone blowing bubbles that there'd be these little philosophical things, but they'd last for two seconds because then you'd get all these other random storylines. So it just felt so superficial that you could just zip. It’s just like you're zipping on the surface. Andrea: On that note, it is 28 chapters, but each chapter has multiple characters in it, and some of those characters reoccur. But if you think about it as each chapter with a different character that's 28 different groups of characters, that's a lot. I didn't go through and count, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had 20 different stories that you're following. Andrea: There's some chapters that are one-offs where it's a bunch of kids talking about the moon. Elizabeth: Yeah, Andrea: and then you never see them again. Andrea: That group of kids. It was a group of kids of like nerdy boys and one girl that put up with the boys stuff. Elizabeth: Oh yeah, and they thought of her, she was like the more of the sister as opposed to a [00:14:00] girl, you Andrea: yes that they'd be interested in, Elizabeth: of yeah. So she, they think of her more as a sister. Yeah. Andrea: but some of the things they talked about in this nerdy boys club, it was I. Obviously like juvenile, they're meant to be kids. But that plays, I think into the rest of the book a little bit. It's meant to be silly, right? Andrea: I think it does try to ask some serious questions, but in a funny way. Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: yeah. Elizabeth: One thing that I also noticed, and wish it had been a bit different, is that it was a very American focused response to what would happen if the moon turned cheese. Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: Other than this billionaire being in Ecuador his companies headquartered and where he launched, NASA said, no, he launched anyway. of it was all in the United States. In random places all over the United States. I did appreciate that. That was cool. Just random, bits and pieces, bobs around the country, but there was nothing outside the country and of course that would affect the entire world. Elizabeth: So how did the rest of the world respond? There was none. And that felt like a large oversight. Like the [00:15:00] little kids, instead of that maybe have something from I don't know, Europe or, what's Asia doing about this? Andrea: I think that's maybe him trying to write what he knows, and maybe if it doesn't feel as authentic to him to write about being in another country. But maybe he could have written from the perspective of a tourist. What if you're on vacation? Elizabeth: Yeah sure. Andrea: the moon turns to cheese? What would this affect your flight home? Elizabeth: Yeah, probably it’s gonna get canceled. Andrea: probably, Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: One of the shows that whenever it comes out have to watch It is White Lotus. And that takes place in a different location each season. Andrea: So they've had three seasons now. Elizabeth: Oh, I've seen the first two seasons. I haven't seen the most recent one. The first one was in Hawaii, Andrea: That's right. Yes. The first one was in Hawaii. And the second one was in Sicily, Italy. Elizabeth: The third one was Thailand. Andrea: The third one was Thailand. Yes. That resort in Thailand looks amazing. It's the Four Seasons resort on. It [00:16:00] looks beautiful and it was a real place. Elizabeth: The cool thing about each of the seasons is that they're in real places. Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: These are real very fancy hotels. Andrea: What would it look like if the moon had turned to cheese while you were in Thailand or Italy? On vacation. Elizabeth: Totally. This feels like it could be turned into a TV show or a movie. It feels visual enough that I feel like it would lend itself well to that. Andrea: But there'd be too many characters. Elizabeth: Yeah, they could cut out some of them. Elizabeth: And focus on some and probably some others a little more romance action stuff. Andrea: Yeah, there wasn't really much romance besides the fromagerie. Elizabeth: Yeah, they're a little me cute. Yeah. That's funny. Elizabeth: So you have read Starter Villain? I've not actually read that. Andrea: Yes. Andrea: Like I said, I read it last year as part of a book club. It was published in 2023. In the acknowledgements of When the Moon Hits Your Eye, John Scalzi talks about how he thinks of Starter Villain, Kaiju Preservation Society, and When the Moon Hits Your Eye as being [00:17:00] a group of these sort of fantastical sci-fi books. I have not read Kaiju Preservation Society, but it's an alternate reality, I believe, of some sort. I think there's dinosaurs so it's out there. Elizabeth: Dinosaurs don't count as good as dragons? Andrea: No, they're not as good as dragons. They're related, Elizabeth: Pterodactyls are basically like a dragon. Andrea: but do they breathe fire? No. Elizabeth: Maybe they did. how do we know that they didn’t? Andrea: How do we know? Elizabeth: Yeah, like we don't know what color dinosaurs were. Andrea: I recently went to a natural history museum where they had some fossils of dinosaurs. They showed that they had feathers. Elizabeth: What's really cool about being from Montana is that there are really good dinosaurs from here. Some of the best dinosaurs are actually from Montana. The Big T-Rex, complete T-Rex, it's like at the Smithsonian, is from Montana. So there's a really good museum in Bozeman called the Museum of the Rockies. Jack Horner, who was the dinosaur expert for Jurassic Park, I don't know if he's still a [00:18:00] professor, but he used to be a professor at Montana State University in Bozeman. He was one of the lead, dinosaur experts for Jurassic Park. So the Museum of the Rockies is great. Elizabeth: It's a really good museum, if you ever find yourself in Bozeman, Montana. But they have changed all the signs to refer to dinosaurs as non avian dinosaurs and to refer to birds, as they talk about birds in the displays, to refer to them as avian dinosaurs. Andrea: Oh, Elizabeth: Because that is actually the more accurate term for them. are avian dinosaurs, like they are dinosaurs. Yeah. It's crazy. But that's cool. Andrea: Speaking of dinosaurs, Jurassic World Rebirth just came out. Do you think you'll go see that in theaters? Elizabeth: Ohh my gosh, I have not seen a movie in the movie theaters in a really long time actually. With streaming, you just don't really need to go to the movies anymore. Elizabeth: Like you're already paying a lot of money for decent content. Andrea: But that seems like, a movie that'd be good with a large screen and surround sound and popcorn. Elizabeth: Yeah, that seems like a good movie to go back to. The movie theaters for though you’re right. Andrea: [00:19:00] Yeah. Andrea: And there's an official trailer out now for Project Hail Mary, which is coming out in 2026. Elizabeth: Oh Andrea: So I'm definitely excited to see that. Andy Weir gets a name drop in this book along with Brandon Sanderson. I wonder if the three of them have ever met up and just hang out, talk about books. Elizabeth: They probably know each other. It's probably not that big of a world, especially if they're like as big of a name as they have and writing for however many years. Andrea: We talked about how the moon magically just disappeared again, but it wasn't magic, it's just science we don't understand. I appreciate that he didn't specify exactly how it happens. The idea was that this is another moon maybe that exists somewhere else in the universe. Andrea: Possibly. Elizabeth: And they just got switched. Andrea: Switched, just randomly. At the end of the book, he talks about day, 36,524. And it's considered a hoax, the moon never [00:20:00] turned a cheese. Nobody believes that even happened. Elizabeth: I appreciate that. Elizabeth: That's a hundred years later. Known as the “Caseusian hoax”. Basically saying that it just like magically rever, magically whatever, suddenly reversed itself. And so then weren't able to study it to figure out. Elizabeth: As if it never did happen. I suppose with enough time, depending on how it was recorded. just felt to be just this mass delusion I guess? Andrea: Right? It made me think the COVID pandemic. For people that didn't live through it. Did the world really shut down? People were really isolated. You had to wear masks everywhere. Elizabeth: It does make you question what do we know of history? Because what we know of history is what was either recorded, but then it, depending on who recorded it does bring into question: how does history get written? And, the information made to last or not made to last. Elizabeth: Also, it's never really answered what kind of cheese? Elizabeth: I guess a question is what kind of cheese did you [00:21:00] imagine? Andrea: I imagined like something like mozzarella, right? Because they talked about the geysers, and when you compress mozzarella, you get the liquid out of it. They also said it was very white, right? So that's what I pictured. How about you? Elizabeth: Oh yeah. I guess I'm picturing more kind of like the color of gouda, Andrea: Oh, Elizabeth: so not orange, but not totally white either. Like a slight yellowish tinge almost. Andrea: That's closer to what's on the cover. Elizabeth: What's on your cover? Mine's probably really weird 'cause it's the large print edition. Andrea: They're slightly different. Yes. Elizabeth: It’s like Swiss cheese or Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: kind of is too. But it's round with a little a person that's a lie. Nobody lands on it. Elizabeth: Spoiler alert. Andrea: that's what he was picturing. It looks like he's taking a selfie. Someone on the moon taking a selfie, on my cover and the moon is rounded slightly yellow with some craters. Andrea: It's intact. Yes. Elizabeth: like a weirdly inaccurate sort of crescent [00:22:00] shape of the moon. like a watermelon rind sort of shape. which is wrong also for the book Andrea: I did appreciate how each chapter had a little depiction of the moon in its different moon phase that helped you track your progress in the story a little bit. Did yours have that? Day one it's a new moon. It's a black circle and it transitions throughout the book. Elizabeth: The large print edition did not have those. Andrea: Sometimes if you listen to an audio book or you do something on a Kindle, you don't get the same content. Elizabeth: Yeah. If there are graphics or the setup, like the layout on the page which can provide its own meaning for certain things, you don't get that if you're listening to it. Elizabeth: But then, yeah. Yeah, just depending on how each different publication, and maybe there can be differences between the printings as well. Andrea: I've never actually read a large print book. Elizabeth: ever. Andrea: no. Elizabeth: It’s kind of fun. I have to say that my mother has gotten me into it. Elizabeth: It's actually made me at the question of does anyone ever buy large print books? Elizabeth: Because you [00:23:00] can't buy them in a bookstore Andrea: You could special order them. Elizabeth: Right? You could buy 'em from the internet, you can buy 'em from Amazon or something, I'm sure. Probably. But they're always at the library, which I learned from my mother, she is like the queen of using the library. There are often large print books. I don't know if they don't keep lots of large print books over time, if they maybe try to keep like the number actually in stock to a lower amount. 'cause I feel like large print books don't necessarily take over the library. Andrea: They probably take more space. Elizabeth: Totally. But usually if you are trying to get a book that's pretty popular and has a lot of holds on it, if there's a large print edition, usually the hold list is shorter. So you can Andrea: Ah. Elizabeth: usually get a large print book faster. Elizabeth: It's very aesthetically pleasing, easy on the eye. It's the whole point, but randomly. 'Cause I've, I read actually, that book that we talked about in other previous episodes, Wellness by Nathan Hill, the copy of that I read in large print from a library. Elizabeth: So I've had randomly some large print books recently. What's interesting, going back to that idea of reading every [00:24:00] word that's in a book to an extent, right? No bibliography, that kind of stuff in the back, appendices if they're boring and you don't really care that kinda stuff. Elizabeth: But like always reading the publication page. So these large print books that I've read recently, they're all printed in Mexico. Andrea: Oh, interesting. Elizabeth: randomly, Andrea: I would not have guessed that. Elizabeth: Yeah, it says down at the bottom, print number one print year 2025 printed in Mexico. The publication page on a large print book looks a little bit different than the publication page on other books. Andrea: Where was my book printed? Elizabeth: Random, probably in the US Andrea: Yes. First edition 2025 printed in the United States of America. Elizabeth: Do you think that this book's really counts as science fiction? Andrea: I think science fiction is the closest genre. Satire too, potentially. Elizabeth: Yeah. Some of it is funny. Yeah, but it does go in all sorts of different directions, politics and yes, there are some cute little family stories and love stories and friendships and famous people, regular people of all ages. Andrea: So this is according to Google's AI [00:25:00] overview. " Satire is a literary, visual, or performing art form that uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize the vices, follies, abuses and shortcomings of individuals, organizations, governments, or society itself." Andrea: I think that actually is very accurate because the moon turning to cheese is a form of exaggeration. Elizabeth: Definitely Uhhuh. Andrea: Humor. Elizabeth: Yep. I think you could say it's an exaggeration. Andrea: Yeah. Exaggeration implies that there's a kernel of truth and there's no truth to that. There's no kernel there. But, Elizabeth: Other than the important physical characteristics as in the laws of physics are the same. Yes, beyond that it is exaggerated. Andrea: But the whole book looks at individuals, organizations, governments, and society itself. It touches on all of those different levels within the book. Elizabeth: Yeah, it does. But it does go into the physics, like the science of it. Elizabeth: I'm sure myself not being a physicist, [00:26:00] there are lots of things that a physicist would probably pretty quickly be like "that would be wrong, or, what about that?" Potentially. But I don't know. I thought other than the freezing steam, it was coming outta those geysers. That's the only thing I can sorta think. But I was like what about, but wait … Elizabeth: It tries to address the science of moon turning to cheese. So I guess you could call it science fiction, right? And guy goes to space. Potentially if you're doing our bingo, you could mark this book off as takes place in Andrea: That's true. Part of it does take place in space. Elizabeth: It does also have Moon in the title. It is also a podcast monthly pick, and it also was published this year. This book is, as far as our bingo card goes, this is a pretty heavy hitter. Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: There are a lot of options. It's a very flexible title. Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: so there's some science. I guess it fits in science fiction, but yes, it is also satire and comedy and philosophical . To some extent , because it has so many descriptors or so many ways to describe it, I feel like some of it could have been honed down. Given that it's [00:27:00] not a very long book also, there was just too much. Elizabeth: I almost wanna say like, pick a lane! Elizabeth: Maybe pick a couple of lanes instead of 16. Andrea: But I appreciated that it did have a definitive ending. It has some nice bookends to it, right? A strong start, strong end. Besides saying that later generations just don't even believe it happened, it's not talked about what the fallout is like. He could have probably spent a few chapters on people trying to go back to their normal life, but he didn't bother with that. Andrea: And I'm glad that wasn't part of the book. Elizabeth: Yeah. It almost felt a bit kitschy too, with the premise itself and then just like nicely tied up, so neatly and perfectly at the end. It's one lunar cycle, and then suddenly back to normal and everything moves on. Andrea: So I would say this is very different from everything else type of book. I can't think of any other books that are quite like this. Even John Scalzi other books, they're comedic and they're funny and there's a bit of satire, but it's a [00:28:00] unique story. Elizabeth: It is a unique story. Andrea: It's hard to find a good book to recommend that's oh, if you read this, you may like that because it's so different. Andrea: But, another Becky Chambers book that I read somewhat recently was To Be Taught If Fortunate. And it brings up the idea that if you were to go out far in space, the world you left behind might not be the same when you come back. Andrea: So you have to decide between living somewhere unknown, do you go on that last mission to another planet or do you try to return home where you don't know anyone anymore because of the time in space? But it's so different in terms of its feel. It's a very serious, much more science heavy book. Elizabeth: Could I compare this to any other book? Really, it is different. And who would I recommend it to? I don't that it would immediately come to mind as a book that I would recommend to somebody. Andrea: yeah. Elizabeth: Depending if I [00:29:00] was like talking to somebody about books, it might come up in conversation, but, I don't know that I would like actively recommend the book to anyone. Andrea: I'd recommend this if you're looking for something very different, perhaps. Elizabeth: One thing I will say is that I don't usually read a book in a day. It is pretty fun to have the type of book that quickly turns pages, and also the pages turned quicker because they were the large print edition. Elizabeth: But, still beyond that, it's still, they turned quickly. So if, I suppose if I talk to somebody and they were really into science fiction stuff and just in the context, it maybe came up, possibly. Andrea: You say you almost finished it in a day and this took me a while 'cause I had some stops and starts. Normally I read every night and this one I did not read every night because I didn't feel invested in the characters because there were so many, right? Andrea: And I didn't feel as compelled to keep reading. So this one took me longer than I expected to finish. Elizabeth: I feel like that goes to show why I also was able to read it in a day. It was simply because I had the time and not because I felt invested in it at all, it was just I'd sit down [00:30:00] and I had some time to read and then I'd be like, oh, wow. I just read a bunch of that. Elizabeth: If a book is, maybe denser or you feel more invested in it, you also might not read it quite as fast. Elizabeth: If it's superficial and just light and fluffy, you can just read it really fast. 'Cause I didn't feel like I wanted to even try to remember the different characters. 'Cause you quickly realize oh, every chapter is a completely different story of random other people. Okay. Elizabeth: And so then you just keep zipping through 'em. So then also I made it hard to remember all the different storylines, 'cause I just read them really fast. Andrea: I wanted to talk a little bit about actual moon history and maybe the Blue Origin women's flight to space, but that got a lot of backlash. That was done only a couple weeks after this book was published. Elizabeth: I wonder if he saw like a bump in sales or something around the time, similar to what happens in the book with the author that writes the moon book. That is very timely with what's going on within the context of the book. Elizabeth: Then if it happened to him. Andrea: The acknowledgement letter was written [00:31:00] in 2024. He dated it but then it wasn't published until 2025. And just the publishing world that things just take so long to get edited and lined up with marketing. They plan books out several years ahead of time, so I don't think it was done intentionally to align with this publicity stunt by Blue Origin. Elizabeth: Yeah it was a publicity stunt. Elizabeth: The fact that so much of his book, John Scalzi's book is that there is this billionaire who is just then, doing a little switcheroo at the end there and sends himself off into space. Yeah. So how far in advance was that planned from Blue Origin? Elizabeth: Or is that just fortuitous? But then also so aligned with what is happening with the billionaire elite in the world these days, that it also just isn't that farfetched? Yeah, it's maybe it is a coincidence, but not that difficult to imagine coincidence. Elizabeth: Yeah. As a person who really likes cheese, it was fun to think a lot about cheese. Andrea: I feel like I should have eaten more [00:32:00] cheese while reading this book. Elizabeth: I might go eat some cheese right now. Actually. Speaking of my favorite snack, bean fancy cheese, the more I think about it, the more I'm like, actually yeah, that might be my favorite snack. I have gouda, I have Cranberry Wesley Dale, I have Lemon and Honey Wensleydale. Andrea: Ooh, Elizabeth: I have log of goat cheese that's rolled in blueberries. Andrea: that Elizabeth: No, I finished the Grier. Dammit. That's one of the best cheeses. That's maybe what I would go to first if I still had some, but that's why it's gone. Elizabeth: If someone's really into cheese, Andrea: Yes. If you work at a cheese shop, perhaps if you work at a cheese counter. Andrea: Do you think this would be a good book club book? Just because it gets people talking about things. Or do you think people would be annoyed that they had to read it? Elizabeth: I don't know. That's always interesting. 'Cause how does the book club review their books? Or how does a book club feel about a book? It's gonna depend, if you have everybody rate it, then you know, that does give a tangible way. I've been in a book club that everyone would go around and give it a rating and then we'd average them. That was for at a bookstore in Ireland. And then I think they would then display the book, oh [00:33:00] our book club read this and we gave it this score. Elizabeth: What was the conversation like? So in terms of if it's a book that sparks a lot of conversation. I remember my sister said in her book club, they like read Water for Elephants, which is a good book and is generally likable. I think like Where the Crawdad Sing or something like that is like a generally likable book. So then it sometimes like doesn't spark as much conversation because everyone just kinda liked it. Andrea: Everyone just liked it. Yeah, Elizabeth: Yeah. So if there was something that really bugged you or if you really didn't like it, or didn't like parts and wanna vent about it, then it can create more conversations. Elizabeth: So yeah, it depends upon how you judge your book club success or not. Andrea: And sometimes Book club is just about socializing and you don't talk about the book that much. Elizabeth: Right! And you don't even really talk about the book. Yeah. My mom commented on, sometimes she'll go to my sister's book club and, but she doesn't all the time, but she's gone a few times. And she did say that she remarked upon it that that's a book club that talks about the book. And there's talk of lots of other things too, but there's a lot of talk about the book and it's fun. Elizabeth: It's fun to have a book club that actually talks about the [00:34:00] book, yeah. And socializing, Andrea: Yes. Andrea: I did enjoy talking about the book with you, so maybe it would be a good book club pick. Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: If everyone talked about their favorite character or story, because there was a lot to choose from. Elizabeth: Sure, yeah. The whole billionaire plot line is really good. It feels very timely with the way that the world is going and billionaires and space. And it's actually was, it was pretty great. One of those people you love to hate. Andrea: Like I said, I liked the cheese mongers meeting. I think a lot of people in the book writing realm where it talks about writing books would enjoy this. Andrea: There's a lot of storylines. But I feel like some of the common threads are some literary threads. People that maybe are trying to write a book or dealing with book publishing, 'cause that's a theme that comes up more than once. Elizabeth: Trying to find people that you would recommend this book to? Andrea: Yes. Yes. Elizabeth: about like people who are into writing, I like it. People who really like cheese Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: wanna think about cheese. People who are [00:35:00] into writing, authors, literary people. Yeah. Andrea: Do you have a rating in mind for this book? Elizabeth: I think I'd give it three outta five stars. It was a fine book once again. Elizabeth: It's like kind of fun to read a book in a day. I found myself giving it, some thought into the science and, these philosophical questions. So got me thinking a bit, but it just felt so superficial and, it's just a kind of a weird story, Elizabeth: It doesn’t have one through story. The weird story around the whole book is that the moon turns to cheese and so then everything else is connected to that, but not connected to itself. It didn't catch me as much. Three outta five. What about you? Andrea: About halfway through I was thinking, ah, this is like a three star book. But I think the ending and maybe the back half of the book I appreciated that he kinda went there with the billionaire story. Elizabeth: Oh Yeah! Andrea: And made it more of an existential question of if the world were to end, what would you do with your time? Andrea: And I did not expect the book to [00:36:00] go there. So I just felt like the second half of the book had more to it. It had like more gravitas. It asked some bigger questions and didn't feel as superficial as the beginning. And maybe 'cause I read it more quickly towards the end that helped. Andrea: So I would give it four stars by the end of it, but barely four stars. Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: So I give out a lot of four star reviews to get the five is hard. This was not close to a five. This was almost a three, but it's a four. Elizabeth: I mean, I might recommend it, but I don't know that I would actively recommend it. Some books I may recommend, but it may not be a long term recommendation. Elizabeth: Like I might be really excited about the book at the time. Elizabeth: As time goes on, that one drops behind and you don't necessarily recommend it as much, and, other books are the long lasting, long term, definite recommends. But I don't think I would actively recommend it to somebody. Andrea: I would only recommend this to someone if they've read other John Scalzi books like the Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain, and really liked it. If I knew that, then I'd say, okay, yeah, you'll enjoy this. But if I don't know what they like, this would not [00:37:00] be something I would just recommend to anybody. Elizabeth: Yeah, totally. Didn't you once say that you recommended The Midnight Library to somebody? Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: And they just thought it was a book about suicide and they never finished it? Andrea: Yeah. The whole point at the end of that book is that don't worry so much you're doing the right thing. And I was giving it to somebody who I thought that was a good message. I think you're doing great! Elizabeth: So that's a book that you should be able to recommend to anybody. But this sort of a book, you wouldn't necessarily, like you might question the recommendation, especially if the person comes back later and said they didn't like it. Andrea: Yeah. But that's why they can listen to our podcast and get the scoop and Elizabeth: And decide that they don’t want to, or maybe they do. Andrea: Right. And they still wanna read it after listening to this. Andrea: There were spoilers, but nothing that would ruin your reading of the book. Elizabeth: Unfortunately, that concludes this week's episode. We've reached the end of another cosmic journey on Galaxies and Goddesses. Andrea: But don't worry, the adventure never really ends. There are always more stories to explore and let's be [00:38:00] honest, more bookish, tangents for us to go on. Elizabeth: Hey, that's part of the fun. you love this episode or have any theories on how the moon could turn to cheese? Quantum entanglement, perhaps? Let us know. Leave a comment or a review and don't forget to subscribe! Andrea: Stay tuned for our next episode where we'll be discussing the subject of Dark Academia. Elizabeth: And in the meantime, keep your mind fueled by the magic of stories. Andrea: And never stop chasing the world's waiting for you between the pages. Thanks everyone!