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What exactly does a “gothic” novel entail? Creepy, isolated mansions, long-buried secrets, brooding characters, inexplicable events and possible murder.

Autumn was interested in and encouraged Miranda to read What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman. We’ve heard this book described as a “twisted Pinocchio.” Someone said Nicholas Sparks meets Empty Man, but we aren’t finding any Nicholas Sparks here. Miranda said in this book’s family tradition, palm reading is a sort of redneck therapy. This also leads to a discussion about what exactly a “tulpa” is – a manifested being created by someone’s will. It has to be a strong will. You don’t just wish for a unicorn and get your unicorn. We don’t want to spoil the whole plot for you, so you’ll have to pick the book up!

Autumn went to Novelist Plus, a great resource through the library available on the library’s main page located under the Research It tab, that allows you to compare and find similar novels to the one(s) you have in mind. Check out our list of similar reads!

Books we discussed in this episode

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What’s Next?

The next episode of The Bookmark drops Oct 30, 2023!

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Meet your Hosts

Autumn Friedli, Chris Blocker and Miranda Ericsson relish talking books with recurring readers and special guests from the library and community in The Bookmark.

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