Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

 I'm not sure how I heard about this book, but somehow I have it and I enjoyed it! It was nice to read something more contemporary after my days and days of early 1900's and Green Gables. This was a well-written story that came about almost like a mystery. Different threads of a story soon came together in a beautiful way, and a family came together through the help of a super smart octopus.

I enjoyed the writing. Great images and descriptions without calling attention to themselves. Tova, the main character in the story, was interesting and relatable. Cameron, the shiftless 30 year old, develops and grows in the course of the story, and it was rewarding to watch that happen. The language was brutal but appropriate. 

I got a little tired of all the melodrama, though. The constant care about where she (Tova) was going to live, etc., and her friend Ethan's kindness, and how was that going to go? Are there really people that selfless around? Anyway, the rehashing of her son's death was tiring...still, the story was intriguing enough to hold my interest, and so were the characters. 

I read this in a couple of days. I enjoyed inhabiting their world because my own has become redundant and somehow stale. Or worrisome? I'm veging out way too often, and this book helped me do that for hours on end. I'm ready to take a break and get active again, but I don't seem to have the motivation or the energy! Still, here I am, sitting up and writing, and I'm not deep into my next one YET, so maybe today will be the day I break this lethargy. I hope so. 

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

This very dense book was the perfect traveling companion for our holiday trip to Napa and Kailua. Before leaving South Dakota, I asked Sierra for some recommendations. She had this particular book, so I took it! I have always enjoyed Richard Russo, and was first introduced to him by my mother, who was a real fan. This story was intriguing, interesting, had the usual complex characters, and an interesting plot. I enjoyed it because it always held my interest, but wasn't such a page-turner that I resisted sleep to keep going. And a vacation book should be just that for me!

I'm not sure I would want to read it again...but there were parts that were almost lyrical. I was entranced by how accurately Russo described aspects of the aging process. And how we look back over time to see how and where we might have erred or seen things through a narrow view. Most enjoyable. Unfortunately, though, it's been a long time since I read it now (I'm way behind on this blog!) and I wish I remembered more about how I related to it.