Once again I am late to this party, but if you have not read this book, and you like sci-fi, experimental fiction, and/or enemies-to-lovers romance, you need to read This is How You Lose the Time War (2019).

The beautifully written novella is told in the form of letters back and forth between the protagonists, who are on opposite sides of a war across time.

The flowery prose, varied landscapes, and often-unexplained science fiction abilities such as optional hunger create a powerful aesthetic that reminds me of Gideon the Ninth, though much shorter.

One partiular idea I like about this story was how the whole piece felt like its own love letter to enemy-to-lovers stories as well as to letterwriting itself.

While I was inspired by the short scenes and experimental form for my own fiction writing, what impressed me most was the letterwriting itself. In the book, the protagonists come up with a plethora of science fiction formats to deliver a letter to their recipient, but in the end they admit that there is nothing quite like writing an old fashioned letter.

I do not read a lot of romances, but there was something in the story that provoked me into remembering that some of the passion of young love is in saying ridiculous and beautiful things. By spouting my dreams and fantasies to be shared by another, it is an intimate form of sharing myself. After years of being married, especially with the busyness that comes from having a child, I have let many of my opportunities to share those moments slip by.

I realized that while I tell my wife I love her every day, there are so many more words I could use if I took the time to think about it.

So I bought myself some stamps and wax and wrote my wife a love letter for Christmas (amongst other presents).

The smile on her face when she read it was so so worth it, so I have made it a goal to write a love letter to my wife a few times this year. I am setting the bar low. I only managed one last year, so if I can manage three or more, I will be happy.

That is the real reason why I loved this book. Not only was it an excellent read, but it inspired me to do something else worthwhile in my life. What books have encouraged you to change something in your world?