Library Manager
Manage your library—your way. Keep a running list or organize archived books into little stacks. i.e. Beach Reads, Cozy Covers, True Crime, etc.
Remarkably Bright Creatures
A General Fiction Novel by Shelby Van Pelt
Subgenres:
- Animal Fiction,
- Friendship Fiction,
- Mystery
This book is for you if you're into...
- Stories where a clever octopus changes everything
- Gentle mysteries solved by unlikely animal-human friendships
- Grief and hope woven into aquarium night shifts
From Little Stack
It’s not just human characters that can form unlikely bonds. In this New York Times bestseller, it’s a giant octopus that strikes up a connection with Tova, a widowed woman who cleans his aquarium during the night shift.
Three decades ago, Tova’s son disappeared from a boat on the Puget Sound. Enter the clever octopus, Marcellus, who has figured out what happened all those years ago. But can he find a way to tell Tova?
The human-animal connection here will absolutely capture your heart. Read the book before the Netflix film adaptation starring Sally Field comes out.
For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces 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.
Little Stacks of Modern & Literary Fiction
Emotionally Gripping Women’s Fiction about Mothers and Daughters
Whether funny, moving, or thought-provoking, these engrossing women’s fiction novels explore the complex relationship between mothers and daughters.
Angel Down Wins the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Daniel Kraus's WWI novel joins a celebrated lineage. Discover the Pulitzer-winning books readers love most.
Best Pulitzer Prize Winners of All Time According to Readers
How do you pick the greatest books from the list of legendary Pulitzer Prize winners? Well, we’ll give it a go!
Get Free & Discounted eBooks
Curated reads, irresistible prices—subscribe now