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The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. It’s hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Readerbuzz, and Book Date.

The Sunday Post #366

On The Blog Recently

• What To Watch On TV Right Now
• April 2024 Book Releases
• Quarter Year Reading Check In
• A Beginner's Guide To Reviewing Books
• Convince Me To Read These Books

In My Reading Life

I read Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, and it was adorable. I love that one of the characters is a hungry octopus that escapes from its tank and eats its fishy neighbors. RIP aquarium exhibits.

The human characters are equally compelling. The main character is Tova. She works the night shift at a public aquarium, and that's where she meets Marcellus, the escape-artist octopus. Tova and Marcellus form a bond because Tova's teenage son disappeared in Puget Sound. Marcellus knows what happened to him, but how can he tell her? How can an octopus communicate with a human?

For a book about death and loneliness, the tone is surprisingly light. Marcellus has some funny observations about the world. There are also a bunch of quirky human characters who are all searching for love or family. The book tackles heavy topics, but it never feels depressing. It'll (probably) leave you smiling.

The plot requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. There are convenient coincidences, and some chapters are told from the octopus's point-of-view. It's all a bit predictable and sappy. However, that didn't stop me from having a great time. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. Overall, it's a charming read. I recommend it if you like animal books. Or grief books. Or found family books.

In The Rest Of My Life

Five things that made me happy recently:

1. I did my taxes. I even did them on time. Nicely done, me. I got some money back. Thanks, government! I used it to buy work pants and sunscreen that (allegedly) won't give me acne. Oh, and I preordered Nicole's book. You should do that too.
2. I got new glasses. I keep accidentally jump-scaring myself because I'm used to being blind. Now I can see too well.
3. A man fell through my bedroom ceiling, but nobody died, so it's a funny story. A few weeks ago, roofers came to fix my house's busted roof. One of the roofers fell through the roof, through the ceiling, and into my bedroom. I came home from work to find a man-sized hole in the ceiling. Some of my expensive stuff got broken because he fell on the only shelf in the entire house that had valuable things on it. It's okay, though. The roofer is alive. The hole is fixed. The moral of the story: Don't get naked when you have roofers. They can come crashing in at any moment. I'm glad I was at work when it happened.
4. Thank you to everybody who looked at my Beginner's Guide To Reviewing Books post. I spent pretty much all of March writing that thing. It might be the longest post I've ever written.
5. Here are the animals that have shown up in my yard recently:

You Can Crash Through My Ceiling Any Time

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Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other. See you around the blogosphere!