They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Lydia Kang, whose latest book, Toxic, comes out next Tuesday, November 6th, from Entangled Teen!
What does Lydia love when she’s not writing books about people who can’t trust each other? Spoiler alert: food glorious food! What does that mean and how does it relate to speculative fiction? Read on to learn more!
I am a big SFF fan and there are too many things to discuss that I love, so I’m going to pick a few things that, throughout my life, were speculatively memorable. Being that I am perpetually hungry and a bit of a foodie from highbrow to low, I’ve decided this list must all contain food. Because, food.
Sandwiches with Celestial Beings: One of my first enjoyments as a kid was probably the first SFF book I ever picked up — A Wrinkle In Time, by Madeleine L’Engle. The most memorable scene for me is not when we meet IT, but when Mrs. Whatsit shows up in their kitchen on that fateful dark and stormy night. I mean, meeting a celestial being while making sandwiches, possibly with liverwurst, and talking about hidden Russian caviar? Come ON. I was hooked, and I was hungry.
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: If I’ve already blogged about this, I’m so sorry, but the dinner scene with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver in this book is to die for. Fresh caught fish, boiled potatoes with copious butter and a gloriously sticky marmalade roll to finish off? Who cares that a White Witch is about to decimate your siblings. Let’s eat!
Eating While Hungry: I’m a fan of Cindy Pon’s writing, and not just because she uses all the senses in her SFF books. The first one I read was Silver Phoenix, her debut, and let me tell you — you will salivate reading this book. I mean, yes, it’s got vivid, cinematic scenes and an incredible storyline with demons and action and a heroine you’ll not forget, but my god. THE FOOD. The garlic! The ginger! The everything! Yummmmm.
The Sadness of Food in Star Wars: I’m talking about IV, V, and VI. All we ever see is some weird vegetable being put into a cooker on Tattooine, the blue drinks, the vomity food-bars that Luke eats on Dagobah and that Wicket nibbles on Endor, and of course Luke and Solo being nearly cooked on spits. They have blasters and hyperspace in these worlds. Couldn’t the food be a teeny bit better?
Lydia Kang is the author of the young adult novels Toxic, The November Girl, Control, and Catalyst. She also writes adult historical fiction including A Beautiful Poison and The Impossible Girl, as well as the nonfiction book Quakery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything. She is a practicing physician who lives with her family in Omaha, along with a codependent ShihPoo who totally knows who’s really in charge.
Author Photo by Chelsea Donoho.
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A Wrinkle in Time, The Fifth Element, A New Hope! And my first cabbage patch doll was named Lydia! We should be friends. 😀 Congratulations on your new book. I’ll put it on my list.