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The FLC Library Committee

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt 
May 28, 2024 7:00 on Zoom 
Discussion Leader:  Katie Pyne 

Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

Please contact Clint Basin, or Roger Steinke for additional information about the Book Club.  A copy of this Featured Book for May is available in the First Lutheran Church Library.  Please join us!  

More FLC Library News: 

The new 2023  honoree   photos are  now on display  in our  library.  Visit the library and enjoy photos from nearby and far away by our own fabulous  FLC Bothell photographers. 

AND- On display on the table outside the library:  
 
This month, in honor of Mother s Day, we re featuring books about inspiring women who put their faith into action.
 
Daring to Hope   The author moved to Uganda at age 18, founded a non-profit, adopted 13 orphans, and encountered God in surprising places. 
 
The House that Love Built   An inspirational story of a young woman who opened her home and her heart to immigrants and their families as they worked their way through a broken immigration system.
 
More than my Scars   One of only two survivors of a plane crash that killed over 100, the author refuses to be defined by her trauma and learns to see herself as God sees her.
 
Riley Unlikely   The inspiring story of a 13-year-old who went to Kenya on a mission trip and has been back every year since. She responded to God's call, and it transformed her.

Check It Out!  

From Book Club Coordinator, Clint Bastin
The FLC Book Discussion Group has been meeting regularly, via Zoom on the fourth Tuesday of each month, since August of 2020. We have read and discussed a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction books, including poetry, a graphic novel, racial and social justice themes, religious/spiritual stories, and mysteries/thrillers. We typically spend about 60-75 minutes discussing symbolism, themes, storylines, and how the book might relate to our present life. Many of our discussion participants often say that they learned as much about the book during the discussion as they did reading the book.
The FLC Library Committee and I recently solicited nominations for future books, voted on them, and assigned them to upcoming months. We try to rotate discussion leaders for the books; if you see a book that strikes your interest, and would like to volunteer to lead the discussion, please let the Library Committee or me know. We hope you can join us in our future interesting, challenging, and fun discussions!