Looking for fiction about learning new skills
September 24, 2020 9:38 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for recommendations for fiction that includes well-written descriptions about learning new skills.
Fanfiction is fine, as long as the skills are things that exist in the real world (like painting or singing or woodworking). Identifying the skills described in the particular work would be helpful. Thanks!
Fanfiction is fine, as long as the skills are things that exist in the real world (like painting or singing or woodworking). Identifying the skills described in the particular work would be helpful. Thanks!
It's been quite a while since I have read it, but IIR the Earth's Children series (Clan of the Cave Bear, etc.) involves a lot of the protagonists teaching themselves assorted things across the range of Paleolithic technology.
I'm not sure what your criteria is for well-written. If it's based on being credible in the story, the main characters basically invent quite an awful lot of things, so that would be a no. If accuracy, I'm not sure how accurate the descriptions are, since I've never done flint knapping or trained wild horses or most of the other things in the books.
posted by yohko at 10:41 PM on September 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure what your criteria is for well-written. If it's based on being credible in the story, the main characters basically invent quite an awful lot of things, so that would be a no. If accuracy, I'm not sure how accurate the descriptions are, since I've never done flint knapping or trained wild horses or most of the other things in the books.
posted by yohko at 10:41 PM on September 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Noah Gordon's The Physician has the protagonist learn how to juggle. I first read it at 15 but I still remember how he struggled to go from juggling four balls to five.
posted by M. at 11:43 PM on September 24, 2020
posted by M. at 11:43 PM on September 24, 2020
Wolf & Iron by Gordon R Dickson has a bit of a nerdy hero working out how to a. Raise a wolf (not a dog, and a foreword by a wolf professor who had read the short story and contacted (to both their surprise) Dickson and they did a lot of chatting; b. How to build a shelter in a dystopian post-apocalyptic world.
posted by b33j at 1:06 AM on September 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by b33j at 1:06 AM on September 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
Longshot by Dick Francis (a bit old) has some nice survival skills in it. Like what you can put in (no longer existing film canisters but metal tampon time with lids would work as well) small water proof containers to start a fire, how to make a saw, tiny fishing gear etc so you can put it all in your jacket and live if lost in the woods.
posted by b33j at 1:25 AM on September 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by b33j at 1:25 AM on September 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
Sourdough by Robin Sloan is beautiful writing about baking.
posted by knile at 4:16 AM on September 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by knile at 4:16 AM on September 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
The book is not about someone learning the skills, but Little House in the Big Woods includes many detailed descriptions of homesteading skills, such as making butter, making cheese, making bullets, storing food for winter, making maple syrup, etc.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 5:04 AM on September 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by Winnie the Proust at 5:04 AM on September 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
Perhaps not the most practical skill, but H is for Hawk is about (among other things) how the author learns to train a hawk.
posted by pangolin party at 5:18 AM on September 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by pangolin party at 5:18 AM on September 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
If narrative non-fiction is of interest, Kumar's Quantum has some very nice descriptions of people painfully discovering modern physics.
posted by eotvos at 5:24 AM on September 25, 2020
posted by eotvos at 5:24 AM on September 25, 2020
Best answer: The Boatbuilder, by Daniel Gumbiner. About building boats (among other things)!
posted by attentionplease at 5:49 AM on September 25, 2020
posted by attentionplease at 5:49 AM on September 25, 2020
It's been a long time since I read it, but My Side of the Mountain has a lot of descriptions of the protagonist learning to do lots of survival-type things, from making his own acorn flour to training a hawk.
posted by abeja bicicleta at 7:03 AM on September 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by abeja bicicleta at 7:03 AM on September 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
This is not a book but a movie: Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev has an extended sequence showing how a gigantic bell is cast (I recall they dig this huge pit in the earth in the shape of the bell as a mold, it was incredible to watch), and then hoisted into the tower to be rung.
In another movie, Fitzcarraldo Wener, Herzog takes you through step by step of how a boat is hauled across a hill to take it to the other side of the river. Fantastic movie that is truly a testament to how a certain brand of insane obsessionality can result in the making of a masterpiece. The making of Fitzcarraldo is a dramatic story in and of itself (there's a movie about the movie too, IIRC).
As a kid, I used to read a lot of Arthur Hailey because his books always take you deep into whatever industry the hero works in. The standouts in my memory are Airport (about a fictional metropolitan airport and its operations during a severe winter storm). Not sure if it will stand up to adult eyes but as a 14 yr old I loved it!
This is not a personal recommendation because I was not able to finish a single book in this series, but Patrick O'Brien's Master And Commander series apparently has a bunch of realistic descriptions of naval life in the era, including tasks and skills etc.
I'm a huge fan of any media that shows the step-by-step workings of how a task is done or a thing is made or a skill is learned (in a realistic way, not your standard hero-training montage). Following this Ask with interest!
posted by MiraK at 7:11 AM on September 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
In another movie, Fitzcarraldo Wener, Herzog takes you through step by step of how a boat is hauled across a hill to take it to the other side of the river. Fantastic movie that is truly a testament to how a certain brand of insane obsessionality can result in the making of a masterpiece. The making of Fitzcarraldo is a dramatic story in and of itself (there's a movie about the movie too, IIRC).
As a kid, I used to read a lot of Arthur Hailey because his books always take you deep into whatever industry the hero works in. The standouts in my memory are Airport (about a fictional metropolitan airport and its operations during a severe winter storm). Not sure if it will stand up to adult eyes but as a 14 yr old I loved it!
This is not a personal recommendation because I was not able to finish a single book in this series, but Patrick O'Brien's Master And Commander series apparently has a bunch of realistic descriptions of naval life in the era, including tasks and skills etc.
I'm a huge fan of any media that shows the step-by-step workings of how a task is done or a thing is made or a skill is learned (in a realistic way, not your standard hero-training montage). Following this Ask with interest!
posted by MiraK at 7:11 AM on September 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
If you've ever wanted to learn to make a bow out of bone, K.J. Parker (Tom Holt) has your back, hopefully not literally, in the Fencer trilogy. A lot of Parker's books (which I thoroughly recommend: here's a where-to-begin article, and its sequel) include the learning or detailed application of skills (blacksmithing, fencing, all sorts of things), but that's the only one where the specifics have stayed with me.
It's my understanding that in many cases, the author learned the skill himself in order to be able to write about it. One has to hope that this one was an exception.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 8:14 AM on September 25, 2020
It's my understanding that in many cases, the author learned the skill himself in order to be able to write about it. One has to hope that this one was an exception.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 8:14 AM on September 25, 2020
Best answer: "Taran Wanderer", by Lloyd Alexander, is volume 4 of a 5 volume series, but stands on its own fairly well and centers around a young person trying to find a trade, and attempting several of them, in a medieval setting.
posted by Ipsifendus at 11:47 AM on September 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Ipsifendus at 11:47 AM on September 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I'm not sure what your criteria is for well-written.
Right, I should have been more clear about that.
I'm looking for stuff that's written more like "a character goes through the process of learning [new skill]" than "the author paraphrases a reference book on [new skill]."
I don't need it to be 100% accurate or plausible, just want character reactions and thoughts along with the infodump.
posted by creepygirl at 1:14 PM on September 25, 2020
Right, I should have been more clear about that.
I'm looking for stuff that's written more like "a character goes through the process of learning [new skill]" than "the author paraphrases a reference book on [new skill]."
I don't need it to be 100% accurate or plausible, just want character reactions and thoughts along with the infodump.
posted by creepygirl at 1:14 PM on September 25, 2020
It's been a long time since I read the YA novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, but I recall it being almost entirely about the teenage protagonist learning to survive in the wilderness. Actually a lot of books that fit your question are similar survivalist tales (Island of the Blue Dolphins, for example) where the protagonist ends up mostly self-taught.
I think Robin McKinley also frequently talks about her heroines learning; I'm thinking here of The Hero and the Crown and Deerskin, which describe the acquisition of mundane skills as well as the process of learning to overcome horrific trauma, which may or may not suit your purposes.
posted by fermion at 1:53 PM on September 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
I think Robin McKinley also frequently talks about her heroines learning; I'm thinking here of The Hero and the Crown and Deerskin, which describe the acquisition of mundane skills as well as the process of learning to overcome horrific trauma, which may or may not suit your purposes.
posted by fermion at 1:53 PM on September 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
The fantasy novel "The Poppy War", in its early parts, involves descriptions of the protagonist learning and studying a lot. The skills involve martial arts, military strategy, and knowledge of the Confucian classics, which are real-world skills, although it does get into magic later.
The science-fiction novel "Void Star" has a character who teaches himself martial arts from an abandoned laptop with a teaching curriculum on it. There's a lot of description of the training process, and he learns some other real-world skills but they would be a minor spoiler.
In both of these cases the protagonists are sort of monomaniacally focused, which is fine but personally made me feel the opposite of inspired to go out and learn new things -- if that's what you're aiming for.
posted by vogon_poet at 2:21 PM on September 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
The science-fiction novel "Void Star" has a character who teaches himself martial arts from an abandoned laptop with a teaching curriculum on it. There's a lot of description of the training process, and he learns some other real-world skills but they would be a minor spoiler.
In both of these cases the protagonists are sort of monomaniacally focused, which is fine but personally made me feel the opposite of inspired to go out and learn new things -- if that's what you're aiming for.
posted by vogon_poet at 2:21 PM on September 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
Moby-Dick! The entire book is just "Ishmael chronicles his first whaling voyage." Some of it is characters doing their weird stuff, obvs, but a lot of it is just documentation of how things were done on a whaleboat from a beginner's perspective.
posted by potrzebie at 1:32 PM on September 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by potrzebie at 1:32 PM on September 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you all! The Boatbuilder happened to be immediately available for checkout at my library, and I've read a bit and it's what I'm looking for. I'll be looking through other answers as I go, and will mark others Best Answer as well if they work for me.
posted by creepygirl at 9:44 PM on September 28, 2020
posted by creepygirl at 9:44 PM on September 28, 2020
This may be too obscure for you, but Josie Moves Up (1943) by Phyllis Matthewman has an extended section on typesetting with an Adana press. One of the characters is teaching the others how to do it. I actually have a spare copy I'd be happy to post to you if you are interested.
posted by paduasoy at 2:09 AM on September 30, 2020
posted by paduasoy at 2:09 AM on September 30, 2020
If you're cool with YA, Tamora Pierce's books usually follow a protagonist learning how to become something, a knight, a spy, a military commander, a cop. It's fantasy so there are mythical creatures and magic, but a lot of it is basically descriptions of life at an unusual boarding school for learning combat, strategy, psychological warfare...
posted by yeahlikethat at 10:30 AM on September 30, 2020
posted by yeahlikethat at 10:30 AM on September 30, 2020
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posted by Rash at 10:11 PM on September 24, 2020 [2 favorites]