On the blog:
- A slice about reading serendipity and my favorite bookish podcast and why I almost never ask anyone what they’re reading right now
In reading:
Normally on a week when I only finished one book–which is strange and unusual in itself–I would just skip my Monday post. But I am trying to re-establish the habit of posting about what I’ve read on Mondays. So I am here today with just one book. Thankfully, it’s a really good one.
I knew I was behind the curve on The Thing About Jellyfish, but I was surprised to discover this morning that I’m four YEARS behind the curve. This was a National Book Award finalist in 2015, when Challenger Deep (which I also still haven’t read) won.
The Thing About Jellyfish is a middle-grade novel about grief and about the ways that we try to make sense of the world and feel in control again when we know we’re not. It’s also about friendship and cruelty and regret. And the power of speech and the power of silence. And the scientific method. And, yes, jellyfish. There is a lot of interesting information here about jellyfish. This is such a beautifully written book. Suzy’s voice is so strong: she has stopped talking to the people around her, but she has so much to say.
I had planned to start another middle-grade novel right away after finishing The Thing About Jellyfish but I realized I wanted to just sit with it for awhile, and none of the books I have checked out from the library right now seems quite right. I want another middle-grade novel that’s exactly this good, which is a tall order. So instead, I’m reading three books for grown-ups (Dani Shapiro’s memoir, Inheritance, Tommy Orange’s novel, There There, and Cal Newport’s technology self-help, Digital Minimalism.) And I think it’s time for another library trip to find the next middle-grade novel that will be as good as The Thing About Jellyfish. Any suggestions?
the dirigible plum 
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