Semimonthly Meetup Mid-June 2026
At our mid-June meetup, we discussed the first half of Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures. The readers’ current verdict is pretty positive: the novel was praised for its strong and authentic characters and creative, funny writing despite the serious topics it’s dealing with.
We analyzed and discussed some recurring themes: life and death, captivity, dealing with the loss of loved ones, the search for home and meaning in life, and what it means to be human—from the point of view of an octopus, of course.
We hope to finish the read by mid-July so we can start looking for a new Monthly Pick before the summer vacation season, a perfect time for reading at the beach or in nature.
We also briefly discussed Danielle Evans’s short story, The Office of Historical Corrections, a runner-up from our short read Monthly Pick in May. Evans’s story is generally liked for its highly topical issues of historical revisionism and racism.
Furthermore, we decided to start collecting nominations for a new short read in our Monthly Pick for June, open through June 19. Voting ends on June 22.
Finally, we briefly discussed our brand-new app. It is gaining traction in terms of increased user engagement and content added. The virtual reading sofa has found a steady audience, and Monthly Pick votes have attracted the participation of a majority of our members, who now add reading recommendations, comments, and quotations on a weekly basis.
In short, users are happy with how the app turned out and have suggested new features. Development on the app will continue to drive our club’s user engagement.
Our next meetup is scheduled for June 28. We hope to see you there!
