"baking stories are another of my go to story types"

December 21, 2020 1:18 PM

Two Ladybusiness contributors "explore their feels about 'soft' or low-stakes SFF short fiction, and rec a whole bunch of stories for you to enjoy." Links to twenty-two science fiction and fantasy stories that make the recommenders feel soft or hopeful, especially "domestic stories and stories that are good people doing their best".
posted by brainwane (17 comments total)

Thanks, you rock for posting these!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:38 PM on December 21, 2020

I can't tell you how excited I am to read the recommended stories. This is my favorite SF niche and I'm thrilled to find out that I'm not the only one.
posted by DSime at 3:13 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

Thank you, Brainwane. I feel like I've gotten a solstice present.
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 3:47 PM on December 21, 2020

Me this morning: Yay, I finally finished all the tabs I opened to read Brainwane's stories.
Me right now: Welp.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:56 PM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]

I love reading domestic fiction, especially SFF (my other outlet is slice- of- life manga & comics). I don't think I've ever put it in words, but this captures part of why I enjoy it:
for me as a woman who spends a lot of time doing traditional female domestic labor there’s a lot of validation in seeing stories that center taking care of people.

Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle is one of my favorite domestic heroes. I look forward to discovering more in these recommendations. Thank you.
posted by carrioncomfort at 4:05 PM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]

What a delight! Favorited immediately; I look forward to digging in soon!
posted by epj at 5:08 PM on December 21, 2020

brainwane, this is the best best best best best. You are the best. Thank you endlessly for all the fabulous short stories you've shared with us, and especially for this!
posted by kristi at 8:42 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

Thank you! I didn't know this was a niche but I read the first two stories and it is SO what I need right now. And talking GOATS! That act like real goats!
posted by metahawk at 9:19 PM on December 21, 2020 [2 favorites]

I did a quick scan and almost missed the Naomi Kritzer story, and was going to dismiss the whole thing, because how could it be a good list of cozy/domestic SFF without Kritzer?

But then I saw her name. So now I have to go read all the things. Thank you brainwane.
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 9:44 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

Love this! Ursula Vernon's stories really scratch this itch for me. So glad to have some new authors to check out.
posted by entropyiswinning at 10:44 PM on December 21, 2020

I say this having not opened the link yet: I KNEW Kritzer would be in this pile.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:56 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

This is great. Thanks for this and all your other posts.
posted by AMyNameIs at 6:46 AM on December 22, 2020

jenfullmoon, I thought about literally putting "yes, jenfullmoon, there is a Naomi Kritzer story in this list!" in the post for you. <3

Also, Ursula Vernon fans, there is a small reference to Vernon in Cassandra Khaw's story listed here, "A Priest of Vast and Distant Places".
posted by brainwane at 7:26 AM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]

Thank you brainwane for this post and for linking Cassandra Khaw's story. I've read so much SF because of you!
posted by later, paladudes at 6:20 PM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

Feeling just a bit reassured that I have read a few of the stories before and DELIGHTED that there are new stories to read.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 9:49 PM on December 22, 2020

Folks loving these stories may also want to buy the June 2020 anthology Consolation Songs which is billed as "optimistic speculative fiction"; the longer description of the book says the stories are "connected by a thread of optimism, and of hope: that we, too, will ride out this storm." This is a charity benefit effort. "All proceeds will be donated to the COVID-19 appeal being run by the UCLH Charity, the charity supporting the University College London Hospitals NHS Trust."

I adored the first story, "Storm Story" by Llinos Cathryn Thomas -- it brought tears to my eyes, how perfect it was, start to finish, and I have now read it aloud to other folks during a videocall storyreading circle. I thoroughly loved "Seaview on Mars" by Katie Rathfelder and thought about people to recommend it to, especially older people and disabled people. "Low Energy Economy" by Adrian Tchaikovsky has a great ending. And "This Is New Gehesran Calling" by Rebecca Fraimow is AMAZINGLY sweet and funny, and particularly speaks to us in this moment when so many of us are disconnected from our loved ones in person and are (figuratively) listening through static to hear each other's voices on the radio.

The particularly optimistic stories in there, to me:

"Storm Story" by Llinos Cathryn Thomas
"Seaview on Mars" by Katie Rathfelder
"Low Energy Economy" by Adrian Tchaikovsky
"This Is New Gehesran Calling" by Rebecca Fraimow
"Love, Your Flatmate" by Stephanie Burgis

and I might have missed a few. Many of these are soft, domestic, interpersonal. Some of the others have melancholy endings; some of them have fairly happy endings but the emotional stuff people go through during the story just makes the whole thing not very happy for me. But I highly recommend "Storm Story", "Seaview on Mars", and "This Is New Gehesran Calling" and think they're worth the price of the collection by themselves -- and I did like Iona Datt Sharma's story, "St-Anselm-by-the-Riverside", even though it was bittersweet rather than just sweet.
posted by brainwane at 6:41 AM on December 23, 2020

Here's another short story that fits this theme:

Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots/Short Story) – a charming story of a haunted house that just wants to be loved and to make the family that moves into it happy

summary and rec by A.C. Wise
posted by cheshyre at 1:49 PM on December 23, 2020