Recommending and ruining a book all at the same time

I finished a really good book over the weekend. Actually, to be more truthful, I binge read a really good book over the weekend. It was Wool by Hugh Howey. Now before you write it off as another of my rather niche fiber books, know that it actually has nothing to do with wool. Neither J. (who also read it) not I actually have any idea why it is titled as it is. It is actually dystopian fiction. This isn't a genre I typically read, but the storyline and characters were very engaging. I recommend it even if you, too, don't really care for dystopian fiction. 

You are not off the fiber hook for this post, though. The thing I didn't really enjoy was when I was pulled out of the story because of the black hole that most people have about where their textiles come from. 

To be fair to the author, he did do better than most because he acknowledged that fabric had to be made. There was a brief mention about looks to weave the cotton for their clothes. This is still a bit of fabric magical thinking, though. In the world of the story, resources are limited. For food and other materials space, water, and ability to grow or raise these things are very carefully managed. I really liked how the author made paper a rare and highly conserved commodity. So back to the cotton. Cotton is a very thirsty plant to grow and to process it requires even more water. Having looms to weave it is the very least of the issues. It just wouldn't be viable in their society. And to name the book wool is also baffling to me. At no point we're sheep, or the raising of them, mentioned. There is no way to get wool without sheep. There was one mention of using wool, but I admit to spending far more time than I should have wondering where it came from. This is a society that hasn't lived outside for over three hundred years. 

That all said, I still recommend the book. And I apologize for pointing out inconsistentsies that maybe would not have bothered you as it did me.