Sloan combines the world of artisan baking with high-tech and gets some interesting results. Lois Clary is a software engineer at a San Fransisco robotics company who gets her only real interaction from the bakers she visits everyday for her takeout dinner. When they are forced to leave, they give Lois their magical sourdough starter, which needs to be fed and talked to everyday. Lois takes in her “guest” and they become fast friends, with Lois producing sourdough bread so good, her co-workers convince her she should sell it at the local farmer’s market. It sounds like a good idea, except that the board of the local farmer’s market has no interest in having anyone else join their ranks, so Lois finds a most unusual alternative. If you love baking, or just reading about food, you’ll love this book. Tremendous fun

What a fun, different, sweet and lovely story. When I saw Robin Sloan had a new book, I was so excited and hoped it lived up to her last. It definitely did. I loved the main characters and good the starter itself is a main character. I wanted to bake bread and re-read the story the minute I finished!

Seriously - this is one of my standout favourite books of the year!

<i>Here's a thing I believe about people my age: we are the children of Howarts, and more than anything, we just want to be sorted./i>

Lois, our narrator, is stuck in a life of meaningless cycles, somewhere in the not-too-distant future. She's a programmer in a tech firm in San Francisco, and has fallen into a daily grind that rings awfully familiar.

<i>We were on a quest to end work. And it would involve: a shit ton of work</i>

And suddenly - she's sorted! Into her life comes Clement Street Soup and Sourdough, and through a series of events, she inherits a starter that slowly starts to transform her life. As with all the best things though, there is far more to this story than just bread and it's healing properties.

This story was an absolute delight. I can't get too much into depth because spoilers would be a crying shame, but trust me - this is a book for anyone who still looks for the magic in their everyday world.

My deepest appreciation to the publisher and Netgalley, who provided a review copy in return for an honest review.

his book will really make you crave small-batch, local sourdough bread. In a way, it is a love letter to the amateur bakers and local farmers who bring their wares to neighborhood farmer's markets. Robin Sloan lovingly describes the energy into put into making food much the same way he carefully details dusty books and local bookstores in Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore.

I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy this title as much as I did Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and Ajax Penumbra 1969, mostly because I'm a book nerd but not a foodie. Fear not! This book is every bit as captivating, fun and warm-hearted as those two.

When your culture stops singing, you've lost touch.
Lois Clary is young programmer working for General Dexterity in San Francisco. She soon finds her dream job at the robotics company is draining her physically and emotionally. The one thing saving her is a meal from a mysterious carry-out run by two mysterious brothers. One night the brothers show up at her door to say they must leave and give her sourdough bread culture they have used for her meals. Hesitantly she accepts. This starts Lois on a path she could never anticipate baking bread, building an oven, goats, bones that are keys, and cricket cookies. As Lois moves into new territory with a farmers market that mixes technology with food she is happier then ever, but can she balance both and keep the culture singing?
Robin Sloan has once again created a story that simply draws you in, you become immersed in, and hopefully you don't have other obligations for a couple of days because you really aren't going to want to stop reading. With Sourdough Sloan manages to serve up a book of the same creativity and storytelling, the same wonderful characters he did with Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore without falling into the trap of being formulaic. In short, it's everything fans of Robin Sloan love about his writing and completely new! I can not recommend this highly enough, five plus stars!
I received an advanced reader copy (eGalley) from Farrar, Straus and Giroux through NetGalley. This review reflects my honest and unbiased opinion.