4.5
Robin Sloan has so far written 2 books about 2 subjects I'm mesmerized by: Books and food. And what makes it special is that by using magical realism, he truly acknowledges the magical essence that they have.

Earlier this year during the lockdown, one of the things that almost everybody we know did, was making bread. Not because we suddenly were out of it but because I believe cooking and especially baking brings a touch of calmness,peace and joy in everybody's life. 
And this is something Robin Sloan repeatedly mentions in "Sourdough". 

It also suggests that the starter mentioned in this book and ultimately the food itself is culture. The starter as I gathered takes the shape and the smell of the place it's in. Just like the food we make and eat. Every dish is the unique product of a culture and the food itself, later on, becomes culture.

This book, with its tiny little flaws, feels like an ode to food and even a portion of food that is made with technology! By this point, it's no mystery that Robin Sloan is a tech geek but he also loves books and food, things that are mostly believed that are to be doomed because of technology. Either it's E-books that don't have "the smell of books" or foods that are "slurry"! In his books, he shows that these 3 could peacefully coexist and for that, I respect him a lot! And it's probably the reason why he's officially one of my favourite authors.