The Final Revival of Opal & Nev - Dawnie Walton

Readers, I loved loved LOVED this book. The writing is great and I loved the way the story is told through excerpts of the characters speaking. The format is exactly like this book about Joy Division, only obviously this is a fictional story. And what a story. Highly recommended. 

Weyward - Emilia Hart

A fittingly witchy choice for October's Book Club meeting. A bit darker than one might like, but ultimately works. 

The Light Pirate - Lily Brooks-Dalton

Very interesting book club choice! It's a well written "post-apocalyptic" tale that is sadly likely to become reality with the way the world is going. I liked the main character and how the story unfolded. I'm looking forward to the discussion for sure. 

The Lifeguards - Amanda Ward

Having spent a small amount of time in Austin for work, I was looking forward to seeing some "behind the scenes" of what it might be like to live there. No thanks LOL Just kidding, I know a novel is not reality but the people described in this book don't seem like my kind of neighbors, ha ha. The story is strange and feels like it's all over the place, people behave in ways that make no sense, and it ends super abruptly, like the author just got tired of writing. Can't really recommend it. 

The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter - Hazel Gaynor

This was a good Book Club choice. I enjoyed the story and the characters and seeing everything come together. 

On the Rooftop - Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

A well written, well told story. I enjoyed it and look forward to the Book Club discussion. 

Beloved - Toni Morrison (Spoilers?)

Well, this was a real tonal shift in reading from the previous book! 

This book was a challenge for many reasons. Obviously slavery in the U.S. is something we all have to confront and come to terms with, and it isn't easy to read about it or its (ongoing) aftereffects. The story here was kind of perplexing to me though. Is it someone's descent into madness, based on past trauma? Who really was Beloved? I am not sure what to make of it to be honest, but I will definitely be thinking about it for some time. 

Secret Connecticut: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure - Anastasia Mills Healy

April's theme is: books I have been putting off reading for no good reason! 

When I travel, I love to seek out places that are, as the title suggests, weird, wonderful, and obscure. Sure, it's fun to hit the main tourist sites and all that - imagine visiting Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower, for example - but I love offbeat stuff so this book appealed to me on that level. 

Who knew that Connecticut, one of the smallest states in the U.S., had so many weird places?? I had no idea that the inspiration for Arsenic and Old Lace took place there, or that the Amistad was docked there. There is a bridge with huge frog statues, a brain archive, a hotel with a helicopter in one of the rooms, so many interesting places to see. The author's writing style is very clear and conversational and she makes everything sound like someplace I want to visit. If you are planning a trip to Connecticut, this book is a must-have. Recommended. 

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch - Daniel Kraus

I know 3 books seems like a small amount for a month's reading, but this third and final book in the March  theme is a whopping 642 pages long, so in effect it could have counted for 3 full books in itself. This YA book* is in fact "Volume One: At the Edge of Empire" and covers the titular character's life and ... well, second life? from the turn of the 20th century until the 1930s. The writing is great, and for the most part the characters feel really alive in the sense that you may not agree with everything they do, but they seem like real people. There is a lot of attention to detail that I appreciated. There were times here and there that I felt the book could have been just a wee bit shorter, but the story kept me going. Apparently there is a sequel which I would totally read. Recommended. 

*I'm sensing there was a theme in that cardboard box

The Secret of Nightingale Wood - Lucy Strange

By coincidence, this YA book has a lot in common thematically with the previous theme book, however, the setting is completely different. I think I would have loved this book if it had been available to me as a kid (the target audience). As an adult I thought it was a lovely, well written book that felt like a classic book I would have read during my childhood. Recommended.