Front cover of To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers, paperback

To Be Taught, If Fortunate : fiercely beautiful sci-fi novella from the bestselling author of A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - Becky Chambers

Becky Chambers

£9.99
  • Pages · 176 pages
  • Publication Date · 09/04/2020
  • Genre · Adventure
Collect in store Pick it up free from the shop in Oxford's Covered Market, usually quicker than the post.
Delivery Standard tracked £1.99, free on orders over £20. Express tracked £2.99.
Book Lovers' Happy Hour Three cocktails matched to your taste, three books chosen for you, an hour and a half at the bar. £60 per person. Book a place →

In the future, instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life, explorers of the galaxy transform themselves. *FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR* 'Extraordinary . . . A future masterwork' Joanne HarrisAt the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a revolutionary method known as somaforming, astronauts can survive in hostile environments off Earth using synthetic biological supplementations. They can produce antifreeze in sub-zero temperatures, absorb radiation and convert it for food, and conveniently adjust to the pull of different gravitational forces. With the fragility of the body no longer a limiting factor, human beings are at last able to explore neighbouring exoplanets long suspected to harbour life. Ariadne is one such explorer. On a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds fifteen light-years from Earth, she and her fellow crewmates sleep while in transit, and wake each time with different features. But as they shift through both form and time, life back on Earth has also changed. Faced with the possibility of returning to a planet that has forgotten those who have left, Ariadne begins to chronicle the wonders and dangers of her journey, in the hope that someone back home might still be listening. PRAISE FOR THE WAYFARERS 'Becky Chambers is a wonder, and I feel better for having her books in my life' JOHN CONNOLLY
'In a word, brilliant' ANDREW CALDECOTT'A short but fierce ode to humanity and all our reaches and flaws. Unputdownable' NATASHA NGAN
'Outstanding . . . Chambers packs an immense amount of story into a novella worthy of full-length praise' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review
'Becky Chambers takes space opera in a whole new and unexpected direction' BEN AARONOVITCH

Only at Gulp Fiction

Book Lovers' Happy Hour

An hour and a half at the bar, with three cocktails matched to your taste and three books chosen for you. Tell us what you like when you book, and we'll have them waiting when you arrive.

  • 1½ hours
  • £60 per person
  • 3 cocktails, 3 books
Book Happy Hour

Up to four of you can come — book a place each and choose the same time slot, then tell us who you're with. For larger groups, email gulpfictionbooks@gmail.com and we'll arrange it.

Three customers at the window table in Gulp Fiction, cocktails in hand beside a stack of books, with Oxford's Covered Market visible through the glass

Collect in store

Order online and pick it up from the shop. It's free, and usually quicker than the post.

Find us

Units 28–29, Covered Market, Oxford OX1 3DU. Mon–Wed 10–5, Thu–Sat 10–10, Sun 11–4.

Book a table

The bar is open late Thursday to Saturday. Reserve a table for a drink among the books.