Welcome to the Book Nook! This is the weekly thread for Avocados to discuss books we’re currently reading, recommendations, genre, and serious literary criticism.

This week’s recommended discussion: TV critic Alan Sepinwall said that a great TV show teaches you how to watch it. That’s something that has stuck with me whenever I encounter any challenging media. How do you approach books that challenge you (mindset, style, unpleasant characters or subjects)?

Settle into your favorite chair, and let’s celebrate the written word.

One caveat: because we’re here to use our words, this is a NO GIF/YouTube/social media embed zone. The OTs are full of clutter, and I want to keep that out of this thread. Pictures of books related to a post are fine, though.

upcoming topics:
8/28: hide the cover (h/t to CineCraft)
9/4: less than the sum of its parts (h/t to Robert Maitland, Architect)
9/11: how structure informs character interpretation and growth
9/18: bad reading habits (h/t to the good king snugglewumps)
9/25: changing seasons

Book Nook posts every Wednesday at 8:15 AM Eastern.