Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

This is the August Monthly Group Read discussion of Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. This book can be used to fulfill prompt #28 A book that features an unlikely friendship
World UFO Day is July 2, 2025!
https://www.calendarr.com/united-stat...
(My first thought was of the movie ET! "Phone home") 😃
Vaish B is the “fun-filled friend” who has graciously volunteered to lead this discussion! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 👏👏👏👏👏👏

HERE is a listing of potential discussion questions. These are meant to not only help those who volunteer to facilitate these monthly discussions but also to provide ideas for members participating in discussions!

Every person reads at a different pace, so please use spoiler tags if you are sharing any plot-related surprises. This allows others to decide whether this information might reveal surprising information they have not yet read. It can also be helpful to other readers if you post the location within the book noting your progress (chapter and/or page number). That way, if someone else has read that far they can go ahead and open the spoiler, but if not, they'll know to skip it for now and return later...

TO ADD SPOILER TAGS:
Use this for spoilers, just remove the spaces:
< spoiler > write your spoiler here and close with < / spoiler >

Posts here should only be contributions to discussion about this book. 😊

I apologize for just now moving this to the "Current Monthly Group Read" folder!

Thank you so much to Vaish B for volunteering to lead this discussion!

This is one of my all-time favorite books!

Hey everyone,

I’m really happy to be hosting this month! I actually read Remarkably Bright Creatures last year, and it very quickly became one of my favorite books. There’s something so gentle yet emotionally sharp about how Shelby Van Pelt writes. When I found out it was her debut, I was kind of stunned.

Also, there’s a funny little story behind how I got into it. I originally bought the book to take with me on vacation, it was meant to be my chill beach read. But somewhere between airport security and boarding, the book just vanished. I still don’t know how I lost it! So, mid-trip, I ended up downloading the audiobook version.. and honestly, I’m so glad I did. The voice actor for the octopus, Marcellus, is absolutely brilliant.. If any of you get the chance, I’d totally recommend giving the audio version a try.

Anyway, I’m curious to hear what your first impressions are. Maybe we can start with a few simple ones..
1.Has anyone started the book yet?
2.Is this the first time you are hearing about this book or have you heard it before?
3.What was your fist impression of this book based on the cover? Also, what is your favourite cover of this book?

1.Has anyone started the book yet?
Not sure I'll have time to reread this in August, but I'm gonna try! Like you, it is one of my all-time favorite reads!

2.Is this the first time you are hearing about this book or have you heard it before?
I read it over two years ago so definitely need to reread since I am OLD and FORGETFUL!! 😁

3.What was your fist impression of this book based on the cover? Also, what is your favourite cover of this book?
Great question! I don't often consider the cover image very much, but I definitely prefer the hardcover image over the others.

1. I read it last month for the ATY prompt (book featured in the 24/25 Book of the Month threads). It was very enjoyable.

2. See above.

3. This was my cover: . It was fun, and related well to the story but I think the hardback: is more attractive.

1.Has anyone started the book yet?
Not yet. It will probably be my next ebook after I finish reading Ararat.

2.Is this the first time you are hearing about this book or have you heard it before?
There seems to have been a lot of buzz around this one. I've seen people raving about it here and on Tumblr, and it was one of the recommendations for the Readers of the Wild Moor Challenge.

3.What was your fist impression of this book based on the cover? Also, what is your favourite cover of this book?
The first cover I saw was the hardcover one. I thought the bright colours combined with the woman and octopus looking at each other did a good job of conveying a fun read about communication between species. The cover I actually have is the yellow one, because I'm going to be reading in my Kindle app. I like that one a lot less; the yellow is too garish for my taste, we don't see the woman, and the addition of the cup feels a bit silly.

L Y N N wrote: but I definitely prefer the hardcover image over the others"..

Oh! I love that one. I hope you find time to read this August.

LeahS wrote: "1. I read it last month for the ATY prompt (book featured in the 24/25 Book of the Month threads). It was very enjoyable.

2. See above.

3. This was my cover: [bookcover:Remarkably Bright Creatur..."
Who was your fav character in the book?

Sasha wrote: "1.Has anyone started the book yet?
Not yet. It will probably be my next ebook after I finish reading Ararat.

2.Is this the first time you are hearing about this book or have you h..."

I'm so excited for you. You will be reading it for the first time. Can't wait to hear your thoughts.
I agree with the yellow cover.. I initially had the UK version. That felt very flat compared to this one. .

My favourite character had to be Marcellus! He puts such effort into helping.

Vaish wrote: "Sasha wrote: "1.Has anyone started the book yet?
Not yet. It will probably be my next ebook after I finish reading Ararat.

I agree with the yellow cover.. I initially had the UK version. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt That felt very flat compared to this one. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt."
I don't get the horse on the UK cover. What am I missing? 😯"

LeahS wrote: "My favourite character had to be Marcellus! He puts such effort into helping."

Marcellus is endearing. Did he remind you of any human characters from other books?

I don't get the horse on the UK cover. What am I missing? 😯"

READ THIS ONLY AFTER YOU FINISHED THE BOOK
(view spoiler)[

I think that horse on the cover is the dala horse that Erik broke. The last thing Tova said to Erik(before he died) was about the horse. She was upset that he broke it and she scolded him(I think. I'm little fuzzy on the details).
And in the end when Tova and Cameron were packing up her house, they actually find the broken dala horse fixed and hidden in Eric's room.

In a way, it was kinda meaninful I think... like when it was first mentioned, it was just a random thing like she had an incomplete set because Eric broke one of the horses (showing how Tova is) and then later, she makes peace with it and packs the incomplete set to take it to the retirement community but to her surprise, Cameron actually finds it in Eric's room and it was all fixed up by Eric. It reflects Tova's situation. She has accepted Cameron and she is now no longer broken on the inside.
Does that make sense?
(hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[ Yes, that seems right to me (hide spoiler)]

Vaish wrote: "LeahS wrote: "My favourite character had to be Marcellus! He puts such effort into helping."

Marcellus is endearing. Did he remind you of any human characters from other books?"

He seems 'familiar 'but I can't put a name to a character very easily. I suppose by trying to arrange people's lives, he is a bit like
Emma, but nicer and more successful.

Since it has been a week, I thought I would pose some more questions..

1. In their own ways, Marcellus, Tova, and Cameron were all at points in life where they could use a friend who was a cheerleader for their happiness. Who did you find yourself cheering for the most as you read?

2.While she didn't need to work for money, Tova needed to stay busy and keep moving to survive and keep depression away. Conversely, Cameron's circumstances and mental health had him remaining still in life. Did you relate to either character's natural coping tendencies?

LeahS wrote: "He seems 'familiar 'but I can't put a name to a character very easily. I suppose by trying to arrange people's lives, he is a bit like Emma, but nicer and more successful ."

Tbh, I have never actually finished that book. I think I started that for some school report and never touched it again. 🫣

Vaish wrote: "Since it has been a week, I thought I would pose some more questions..

I'm currently on p.122, and so far Tova's very relatable to me. She reminds me of working-class women in my local community who are of a similar age - so much so that I had to stop at one point to check that the book is set in the US and not the UK. I'm also at or approaching a similar stage in life myself, although my class background is different. I like her a lot.

I was rooting for Cameron as well until he (view spoiler)[came up with the grand scheme to make his presumed biodad sort out all his financial troubles. His attitude felt so petty, which is something I just can't be doing with. (hide spoiler)]

I have to confess I am not enjoying the characterisation of Marcellus so far. It feels way too human to me. I was looking forward to a story of a human learning to communicate with a species that thinks very differently from us, but actually he thinks just the same as us... It's a valid story choice, but it's not what I was expecting, so I feel disappointed. I like Tova enough that I will finish the book, though, especially since I realised I can use it to tick off a prompt on my Readers of the Wild Moor challenge.

Vaish wrote: "I don't get the horse on the UK cover. What am I missing? 😯"

READ THIS ONLY AFTER YOU FINISHED THE BOOK "
Wow. I truly need to reread this. Once I finish the three books I'm reading for IRL book clubs, I'll dig it out!

Vaish wrote: "I don't get the horse on the UK cover. What am I missing? 😯"

READ THIS ONLY AFTER YOU FINISHED THE BOOK "

I agree with all of this, and I also think (view spoiler)[the horse is one of the jigsaw pieces that confirms for Tova that Erik didn't die by suicide. She's been torturing herself with the idea that he did and that it was her fault because they'd argued about the horse - but finding it repaired means that he actually responded to that argument constructively and was just waiting for the right moment to give her back the horse. People who are intending to die by suicide generally don't leave that kind of unfinished plan behind. And of course one of the other important jigsaw pieces is when she learns that the young woman Avery helped was talking about an accident with a boom, and she realises that was Daphne talking about Erik's death. (hide spoiler)]

Sasha wrote: "Vaish wrote: "Since it has been a week, I thought I would pose some more questions..

I'm currently on p.122, and so far Tova's very relatable to me. She reminds me of working-class women in my loc..."

Oh! I didn't like Cameron too when I was reading. He's so whiny most of the time. He is the same age as me and I was disappointed with his characterization, but he does remind me of some my friends.. So yeah.. I guess I made peace with him.

Also a follow up, is US pretty strict about the age when it comes to working? Here in UK/India, you can pretty much work till you are 100 and nobody bats an eye.

And also, if you are open to it.. you should check out the interview about the author's thought process about how she came up with Marcellus. They are available on YT.
I always imagined Marcellus as the octopus from the movie Finding Dory. So I immediately loved him ig.

But I'm glad you are sticking with the book. Happy reading!

Sasha wrote: "Vaish wrote: "I don't get the horse on the UK cover. What am I missing? 😯"

READ THIS ONLY AFTER YOU FINISHED THE BOOK "

I agree with all of this, and I also think [spoilers removed]"

This is brilliant.. I never thought about this.

Since it has been a few days.. I thought I'd pop over and ask a few questions.

1. At what point in the book did you know what Marcellus was trying to tell Tova? Were you surprised when the full story was revealed?

2. Some readers expect books with animals as main characters to be geared toward children rather than adults.
How did you feel about this concept in an adult novel when you first started reading and did your opinion change throughout the book?

Vaish wrote: "Since it has been a few days.. I thought I'd pop over and ask a few questions.

1. At what point in the book did you know what Marcellus was trying to tell Tova? Were you surprised when the full story was revealed?

I don't remember exactly when I realised it, but it was early enough that when Marcellus tells us his conclusion (on p.186 of my UK Kindle edition), I annotated it "no shit Sherlock" ;-)

2. Some readers expect books with animals as main characters to be geared toward children rather than adults. How did you feel about this concept in an adult novel when you first started reading and did your opinion change throughout the book?

I read a lot of fantasy and magical realism, so those lines are blurry for me anyway. I didn't think the concept was particularly well executed here, though. It's too inconsistent as to what words Marcellus does and doesn't know and what he does or doesn't understand about the human world.

Vaish wrote: "Since it has been a few days.. I thought I'd pop over and ask a few questions.

1. At what point in the book did you know what Marcellus was trying to tell Tova? Were you surprised when the full s..."

I can't remember but I had got there before the reveal.

Some readers expect books with animals as main characters to be geared toward children rather than adults. How did you feel about this concept in an adult novel when you first started reading and did your opinion change throughout the book?

I think it's quite common, especially in the worlds of fantasy, and with the growth of young adult novels. Watership Down is an example of a book which is read across a wide age range. The concept didn't bother me at all. An octopus was a reasonable choice as a character, because it is recognised that they are intelligent, but remote enough that a reader wouldn't necessarily know much about that intelligence compared to a domestic animal e.g. a dog.

Sasha wrote: "Vaish wrote: "Since it has been a few days.. I thought I'd pop over and ask a few questions.

1. At what point in the book did you know what Marcellus was trying to tell Tova? Were you surprised w..."

I laughed at your “no shit Sherlock” comment .It was one of those moments where the book seemed to spell out what we’d already picked up on. I think I figured out what Marcellus was hinting at a little before that too, but I still appreciated the way the story unfolded emotionally.

LeahS wrote: "Vaish wrote: "Since it has been a few days.. I thought I'd pop over and ask a few questions.

1. At what point in the book did you know what Marcellus was trying to tell Tova? Were you surprised w..."

I really liked your point about the octopus being a smart but “remote” choice. That makes a lot of sense, it gives the author more room to play with how Marcellus perceives the human world without running into too many expectations.

Thanks so much, everyone, for letting me host this month and gush about one of my favorite books! It’s always fun seeing the book through everyone’s different perspectives. Loved hearing your thoughts on Remarkably Bright Creatures and as Marcellus would probably say: ‘Humans are remarkably bright creatures after all.’ 🐙