Welcome to Litsy!

I will read anything this author writes.

In a not-too-distant future, California has seceded from the U.S. A group of bots awakens in the ghost kitchen where they‘d worked to find it abandoned. They decide to quietly open up their own biang biang noodle shop, each pursuing their unique passions in a way that complements the whole.

On the nose but sweet & timely with obvious political parallels of race & gender as the HEEI (Human-Equivalent Embodied Intelligence) fight for their rights.

Awww - lots to love in this story of marginalized folks who found pride and courage and community in each other. (Also California is its own country in this… 👀) 🩷

We rambled today: a walk on the beach, a walk in the woods, a brewery hang. We got rained out when we tried to chill in the backyard, so now we‘re inside while my husband plays Expedition 33, a role-playing video game inspired by Belle Epoque France. From what I‘ve gleaned, it seems to be about warring factions of storytellers & illustrators/painters, with one family‘s experience of grief & loss at the center. There are worse background tracks.

I want more! Really my only gripe is that this novella simply whetted my appetite for further stories in the same place.
Newitz did a great job of setting up the characters, their personalities, their woes and hopes, as well as an engaging but not overwhelming amount of world-building exploring how things function in this post-war slightly futuristic California 1/?

80/100 I found this delightful, both in the characters and the world building. My only complaint is it's too short, it's only scratched the surface of the characters' histories and the wrecked world they live in, before it suddenly over. If the author wanted to do a series of novellas, like the Murderbot Diaries, with these characters, I'd be very interested to read more about the Automatic Noodle restaurant. 4/5 ⭐ #Read2025

I'd be lying if I said the idea of finding a hole in a green space to hide from the world for a bit never occurred or appealed to me. Suppose this comes under the heading of 'forest bathing'? 🤔😅

Here's to a little joyful excess.

“Something about seeing her own skull gave her an angry burst of hope.“
Any other AFAB agenders who shave their heads strongly identifying with this passage?! 🥹 ❤️

Published in 2025 under Trump's presidency...👀💅🏻

Period. 😌

All the colours! 🤩
What could be better than a sci-fi novella or a niche non-fiction?
Both, with vibrant covers. ☺️

I adored this book. The author explored gender identity, racism, hate, homelessness, government corruption, PSTD, found family & more in an amazing way. It made me fearful at how we could end up in the 2065 world of this book (and it‘s not robots that make me scared) but it also made me feel hope. I recommend it , unless you are a hateful , racist, book banning , anti human rights person, then you probably won‘t like it,

Edgar and I tried to read a bit this evening but were too tired to get far. Enjoying the diversion so far though!

I picked this up on a whim, and I'm so glad I did!

This book takes both found family and creating community to a new place, while simultaneously digging into issues of othering, discrimination, and the possible future of AI.

The characters, the setting, and the writing were all on point and overall, it packed a lot into a short book!

It's a books and beer Sunday! Grateful for a long weekend that gives me the space to truly relax, breathe, and enjoy the day without the usual rush of pre-workweek chores.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Picture it: 2064, post war. California is not part of America. The service industry is largely run by sophisticated robots. After an extended shut down period, the robots must figure out how to survive. Is it a “national emergency or corporate bullshit?” This is a scathing satire of so many things, and done expertly in a short page count. Clever, effective, and unique. And my favorite cover of 2025!

Loved the premise, it‘s very topical, it sadly fell flat for me, only finished it because it‘s short.

When you were stuck at work all day so you use the time to find books to help you complete your kindle/Goodreads challenges.

Only Annalee Newitz could write this! Cozy scifi that's grappling with ethical questions about AI consciousness while tapping into real-world xenophobia and the beauty found in community. All told through a group of robots (and their token human) that just want to make good noodles.

5/5

Four robots wake up in the restaurant where they work, to learn they've been shut down for six months and are at serious risk of being repoed after their scammer boss fled the country. Now, these robots have an opportunity to make something of their own, in a world that isn't always accepting of robots. I really loved this cozy sci-fi about community that touches on serious topics global warming, war, trauma, and prejudice.

#netgalley

Charming, beautiful, emotional and fantastic! this is a book filled with fantastic food, tear jerking scenes, and the ultimate question, what happens when robots become sentient? what rights should they have? follow this group of ragtag robots as they work hard to make some delicious food, and connect to each other and the humans they interact with. 10/10 a must read book!

July #bookspin #doublebookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

This excellent sci-fi novella follows a group of Human Equivelent Intelligence (HEI) bots who start their own noodle restsurant when their bosses abandon them. A malicious anti-bot review campaign threatens to destroy their business but their skills-- and their community--help them win out in the end. I think fans of Becky Chambers will find a lot to love in this one.

Out according to GR on Aug 5, 2025

I thought this was cute and original. A group of robots fresh off a war that breaks California from the US start a noodle restaurant. Some are passionate about the noodles some just need to make their servitude payments. While some awful topics are touched upon (war, robot slavery, robot phobia) the book stays mostly light hearted as the motley crew try to figure out how to run a biz & who is review bombing

I'll have to give my ultimate rating some thought, but it felt like it just kind of fizzled out. Even given it's mostly about the robots finding a cosy found family, and not about the world it's set against, the pace suddenly accelerated to smooth everything out in a handful of pages at the end.

The cozy small business story of Legends & Lattes meets the progressive sci-fi of Becky Chambers, with a flavor entirely its own, in this fresh, heartwarming tale about a motley crew of robots launching a restaurant amid PTSD, prejudice, and review bombing in a future post-war San Francisco. I ATE this UP and already miss the team at Automatic Noodle and the friendship, pride, and love found at the bottom of a bowl of their biang biang noodles!

In a dystopian future, a bloody war recognizes California as an independent nation away from the U.S. From the wreckage, a group of robots are reactivated and decide to rebuild by starting a successful noodle shop in the Bay Area. As their popularity grows, so do their detractors as negative reviews, xenophobia, politics, and anti-robotic sentiment attempts to tank their restaurant as they continue to persevere in this cozy sci-fi novella.