Hooked on Books discussion

🪟 Between the Chapters

A space to share what stands out along the way—interesting matches, unexpected connections, and moments worth noticing. Feel free to add your own.

I just wanted to say thank you for including non-fiction. I love getting lost in fiction, but sometimes (not often😉) I'm just in the mood for something real, something true and factual. So it's nice to know I don't have to put a nonfiction book off when the mood strikes again. 🙃 🤓

Interesting interpretation here…

Task: 💭 A character’s emotional response to a place is a clear focus of the story
Book: Troth by E.H. Lupton

How it fits: Both MCs (Sam and Ulysses) are connected to particular buildings--Sam to the library and Ulysses to the apartment building where they live--and can tap into the buildings' souls and memories for strength, knowledge, and comfort

From: Kirsten

Sometimes the connection shows up in how a place is experienced, not just where the story happens.

Interesting approach to this task…

Task: 🌉 Two characters from very different backgrounds become friends.
Book: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

How it fits: Much of the story focuses on friendships that eventually form between people separated by race, class, and social expectations in 1960s Mississippi. Skeeter develops close relationships with Aibileen and Minny despite the rigid segregation and power imbalance surrounding them, and Minny’s friendship with Miss Celia is another strong example. Although Minny initially expects judgment from her, the two gradually bond through shared loneliness, ostracization, vulnerability, and care for one another, creating genuine friendships that challenge the social norms of their world

From: Amanda

Sometimes the connection shows up in the way relationships develop despite everything around them.

A quieter kind of fit…

Task: 🌿 The atmosphere is calm or slow-paced
Book: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

How it fits: the atmosphere is very relaxing and slow paced set at the background of a second hand shop

From: Claire

Sometimes the feeling of a place shapes the reading experience just as much as the plot itself.

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A more interpretive approach…

Task: 🗺️ The setting strongly influences what happens in the story.
Book: Woman Down by Colleen Hoover

How it fits: Petra always rents a cabin to get into her writing mode. But this year she is in a different area on the other side of the lake, that she is not familiar with. She is looking for inspiration, which just happens to come very early on one morning during her stay. Away from her family she acts out in full character of her book which she never would have done had she been at home.

From: Rebecca

Sometimes the setting changes not just what happens in the story, but how a character behaves within it.

A more stylistic approach…

Task: ✍️ The writing style is distinctive or memorable
Book: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1 by Beth Brower

How it fits: The story is told as journal entries with a delightful bit of sarcasm and some unique wit.

From: Jody

Sometimes a memorable style comes less from what’s happening in the story, and more from the voice telling it.

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A nice example of this task in action…

Task: 💬 The way characters communicate is a central focus of the story.
Book: Falling by T.J. Newman

How it fits: The pilots of the plane are communicating with the terrorists. He is also communicates with his wife in "morse code" that only each other would understand.

From: Dede

Sometimes communication becomes more meaningful when characters can’t speak openly or directly.

A warmer interpretation of this task…

Task: 🥖 Food or shared meals are part of the story.
Book: Well Played by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

How it fits: The main character returns to her hometown and renovates an old inn into a cozy bed-and-breakfast. Much of the story centers around the large dining table and kitchen, where meals, conversations, and important moments bring the characters together.

From: Jodi

Sometimes shared meals are less about the food itself, and more about the space they create for connection.

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A high-stakes version of this task…

Task: 🤝 Two characters depend on each other to get through a difficult situation.
Book:The Stalker by: Sarah Alderson

How it fits: Liam and Laura (MC's) are on their honeymoon on a "supposedly" deserted island. However, there is someone watching them that takes away all their food and supplies (wood, electricity, etc). They have no way to defend themselves and no one is coming to get them for 3 more days. They are depending on each other to stay safe and alive until help comes.

From: Gail

Sometimes difficult situations strengthen connection just as much as comfort does.

A fun take on this task…

Task: 🗝️ A character has a specific item they use often.
Book: Generation Hex by Molly Harper

How it fits: MC is a witch who deals with ghosts. She has bottles to capture ghosts, which frequently come out to play. They don't always successfully capture the ghosts, and her enemies have started leaving captured ghost bottles as traps for her. So, not so good.

From: Izzy

Sometimes a recurring item starts as a useful tool… and slowly becomes part of the problem.

Just about three weeks in now, and I’ve really enjoyed seeing the different ways people are approaching the Chapters.

Has there been a book, task match, or unexpected fit that has stood out to you so far?

Or just a standout book for you?

An emotionally layered misunderstanding…

Task: ❗ A misunderstanding between characters changes the course of the story
Book: The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

How it fits: A complete lack of understanding between father and daughter changes the daughter's future.

From: Jackie

Sometimes the most powerful misunderstandings aren’t about facts — they’re about people failing to truly understand each other.

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A more character-driven take on this task…

Task: 🥖 Food or shared meals are part of the story.
Book: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

How it fits: Food plays a big part of Catherine's story especially considering Catherine is an avid baker and wants to open a bakery instead of marrying the King of Hearts and becoming the famed Queen of Hearts.

From: Lucy

Sometimes food in a story becomes tied to identity, comfort, and the life a character truly wants for themselves.

This one caught my attention…

Task: 🗺️ The setting strongly influences what happens in the story.
Book: Happy Place by Emily Henry

How it fits: the looming sale of Maine cottage forces the main characters fake their relationship one final week

From: Sophie

Sometimes the setting doesn’t just shape the mood of a story — it’s the reason the story happens in the first place.

A nice example of this task in action…

Task: 👩‍🌾 A character works with their hands or in a physical job.
Book: The Pun Farmer by Autumn Dawn

How it fits: Wren is plucked from our reality to a fantasy world with nothing but a bag of seeds and no instructions and no tools. She is expected to rescue a rundown farm that it located on cursed land and overrun by monsters with her bare hands.

From: Sally

Sometimes working with your hands becomes less about a profession — and more about survival, rebuilding, and figuring things out one step at a time.

Some interesting ways people approached the Chapters over the last month…


Task: all 5
🥖 Food or shared meals are part of the story.
📜 The history of a place or its past is explored.
👣 A character has to navigate unfamiliar surroundings.
🗺️ The setting strongly influences what happens in the story.
💭 A character’s emotional response to a place is a clear focus of the story
Book: Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

How it fits: This book felt like it fits all five tasks and they are all intertwined in some way. The story exists across multiple kinds of “places” at once... not just physical settings like the pawnshop, the ramen house, or Tokyo, but also emotional, temporal, and psychological ones. The characters are constantly navigating unfamiliar settings, whether that’s shifting realities, dreamlike spaces, or even time.

More than anything, the setting feels tied to internal human experience. The book made me think of setting not just as location, but as something closer to the way a person moves through time and possibility, between past and present, hope and regret, fate and free will.

From: Sunny


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Task: 🏡 Much of the story takes place in or around the home
Book: Identical by Ellen Hopkins

How it fits: much of the abuse (sexual, alcohol, cut, drug, violence, bulimia/binging) and arguing between parents is in the outwardly perfect home. ....not much of a book for this contentment chapter, but it fit the prompt. 😕

From: Audiophile Archives


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Task: All 5
🥖 Food or shared meals are part of the story.
📜 The history of a place or its past is explored.
👣 A character has to navigate unfamiliar surroundings.
🗺️ The setting strongly influences what happens in the story.
💭 A character’s emotional response to a place is a clear focus of the story.
Book: Paris Hangover by Kirsten Lobe

How it fits: The book I chose for Chapter 1 is Paris Hangover by Kirsten Lobe. I chose this book because it satisfied most...well really all... of the aspects of the chapter. The novel is about an American expat who fulfills her dream of making Paris her home and the shenanigans that ensue along the way. Although it's a work of fiction, I have no doubt it's inspired by the author's experiences and impressions of the city after becoming an expat herself. Honestly, it is so well written that I felt like I was experiencing and falling in love with the city right along with the main character. The way some of the lesser known customs and historical facts of the city were woven throughout the novel was truly brilliant, and I couldn't help appreciating the main character's growth into her more authentic self as a middle-aged woman finally living the life she truly wanted in a city she truly loved. All in all it was a fantastic book and a thoroughly enjoyable read ! :)

From: Pammy


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Task: 🗺️ The setting strongly influences what happens in the story.
Book: Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry

How it fits: caspia moves to quentis...where shit goes down

From: angelinabvby ۶۟ৎ


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Task: 😬 A character says something that has unintended consequences
Book: Hannibal Lecter and Philosophy: The Heart of the Matter by Joseph Westfall

How it fits: Momund’s dehumanising attitude & comments towards Hannibal's aunt results in his (literal) dehumanisation into becoming Hannibal's dinner.

From: Richard

This one caught my attention…

Task: 🪞 Something familiar feels strange or unexpected.
Book: Nonesuch by Francis Spufford

How it fits: Iris notices that the familiar stone statues on the roofs of old London buildings are actually portals into malleable time and anchors for bizarre, shifting angelic entities.

From: Geri

Sometimes the most unsettling discoveries come from seeing something familiar in a completely different way.

Interesting interpretation here…

Task: 🫧 Something turns out differently than it first appears.
Book: Conclave by Robert Harris

How it fits: During the papal election, candidates appear to represent clear values and identities, yet emerging secrets reveal a far more complex reality for readers and Cardinal Lomeli.

From: Alyana

Sometimes the biggest surprises don't come from what people do, but from realizing they were never quite who you thought they were in the first place.

A fun take on this task…

Task: 📎 A character uses an unusual method to solve a problem.
Book: Annie LeBlanc Is Not Dead Yet by Molly Morris

How it fits: MC uses town contest to resurrect dead best friend in order to repair broken friendship, and in hopes that that might possibly keep best friend alive.

From: Ruth

Sometimes solving a problem requires thinking outside the box. Sometimes it requires bringing someone back from the dead.

A nice example of this task in action…

Task: 🤝 A character acts as a link between two people or groups
Book: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

How it fits: This story is about a monk Dex who is the first to make contact with a robot after all robots gained consciousness and stopped working for humans. The robot, Mosscap, wants to know what humans need and Dex facilitates meetings between Mosscap and other people it wants to meet.

From: Priya

Sometimes being a bridge isn't about bringing people together once. It's about helping two very different groups understand each other, one conversation at a time.

A nice example of this task in action…

Task: ❗ A character says something that has unintended consequences.
Book: Nieske by Henny Thijssing-Boer

How it fits: Nieskes Aunt accidentally says something about Nieskes mother, long ago, thinking a certain farmer was involved in the death of Nieskes father. This leads to Nieske starting an investigation and getting threatened by the murderers of her father. Which was not at all the intention of Nieskes Aunt.

From: Gillis

Sometimes the biggest consequences begin with a single comment that was never meant to change anything at all.

A nice example of this task in action…

Task: ❗ A character says something that has unintended consequences.
Book: Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

How it fits: Elsie says she is craving Fruit Loops and Ben takes his bicycle to the corner store to buy some. On the way, he is hit by a truck and dies. Had Elsie known what would happen, she never would have asked.

From: Rebecca

Sometimes unintended consequences aren't caused by bad decisions or careless words. Sometimes a completely ordinary moment changes everything in ways no one could have predicted.

A nice example of this task in action…

Task: 🪙 Something once dismissed or ignored becomes valuable.
Book: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

How it fits: The strongest example is the diary of Tom Riddle. At first, it seems like an ordinary old notebook, but it turns out to be extremely important and dangerous, holding crucial clues to the mystery.

From: Alyana

Sometimes the most important things are the ones that seem completely ordinary—until the moment you realize what they really are.

A nice example of this task in action…

Task: 🔬 A character works on something very small that requires intense focus.
Book: Behind Five Willows by June Hur

How it fits: Haewon works secretly as a book transcriber. Book transcription in historical Korea required meticulously copying texts by hand using traditional ink, brushes, and delicate paper. It demanded immense focus.

From: Geri

Sometimes the smallest details require the greatest skill. Before printing presses and digital copies, preserving knowledge depended on the patience, precision, and steady hands of people like Haewon.

📚 Between the Chapters — June Reflections

One of the things I've enjoyed most about Curious Patterns has been seeing the many different ways people connect the Chapters to the books they're reading. Sometimes it's a thoughtful interpretation, sometimes it's a personal reflection, and sometimes it's an approach to the prompt that I never would have considered myself.

Here are a few submissions from June that especially stood out.

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Task: 🗝️ A character has a specific item they use often.
Book: Two Truths and a Lie by Cory O'Brien

How it fits: MC Orr Vue has a kortiko implanted in his skull that he uses to store his memories and communicate with his drones.

From: Kirsten


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Task: 🪙 Something once dismissed or ignored becomes valuable
Book: Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney

How it fits: Talented and groundbreaking female writers of the Georgian/Regency era who were excluded from the literary canon because their male counterparts determined them unworthy are held in high esteem and given their due as the author describes the literary and commercial success these women enjoyed, and the impact their work had not only on Jane Austen, but on a vast readership.

From: Ruth


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Task: 🕰️ Something from the past is still important in the present.

Book: Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

How it fits: This is a story told in both the past and the present. I am usually wary of dual timeline stories, but this one was skillfully done to where everything illustrated during the 1962 timeline directly impacted the the present day timeline. It provided a great snapshot of post WWII Italy during that period, especially in terms of modernization, as well as old Hollywood (Richard Burton/Liz Taylor/ Cleopatra era). It's the story of a man, Pasquale, both young and old, on a quest to find an American woman, Dee Moray, who he'd met in his home-country of Italy 50 years prior and who'd fundamentally changed his life. Fresh with grief from the death of his wife, he makes a trip to America to find her. What he doesn't know is that she is dying of cancer. He finds her, but their time will be short. Their story doesn't end in your typical HEA, rather theirs is a story about living well and appreciating the beauty of where and when you are.

From: Pammy


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Task: 💬 The way characters communicate is a central focus of the story
Book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows

How it fits: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a novel told almost entirely through letters. Communication itself is the heart of the story. Through letters, the characters slowly revealed who they were, shared their histories, asked questions, listened, and built connections.

A single letter changed the course of Juliet's life, eventually leading her to an entire community, new friendships, and a place where she truly belonged.

As someone who has moved between different places, I appreciated how willing Juliet was to listen and learn from others. She didn't simply visit Guernsey; she opened herself to the people there, and in return they shared their stories, their losses, their joys, and their history with her. Over time she became part of their community.

One of my favorite aspects of the book was its reminder that communication is about more than words. Listening matters. Asking questions matters. Being willing to clarify misunderstandings matters. The moment that stayed with me most was Juliet's "just ask him" moment. After all the assumptions, uncertainty, and second-guessing, Juliet finally chose direct, honest communication over uncertainty. So much confusion and anxiety dissolved once the truth was spoken openly. She got her happily ever after and the resolution came from a simple, direct question.

From: Sunny

A fun take on this task…

Task: 🥷 A character is secretly doing something without others realizing it.
Book: The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden

How it fits: Anne of Brittany organizes a "unicorn hunt" into an ancient forest. But this hunt is a ruse. In reality, she is using the excursion to secretly arrange a proxy wedding to the heir of the Holy Roman Empire, right under the noses of her French occupiers.

From: Geri

Sometimes the most important plan is the one everyone mistakes for something else.

Two fun takes on different tasks…

Task: ✨ Something unusual appears in an everyday setting.
Book: Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu

How it fits: There are multiple stories in this book where unusual things appear in everyday settings. Like a teenage girl sprouts wings from her ankles and it's treated like something completely normal and a rental home gets infested by hundreds of beetles that are out-of-season.

From: Becky Q.

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Task: 🎁 A character is supported by something they don't realize exists.
Book: Half City by Kate Golden

How it fits: Viv has no idea that Harker Academy for Deviant Defense, a massive, secret institution dedicated to training people exactly like her even exists, let alone that her father was a part of it.

From: Geri


Sometimes the most interesting discoveries aren't about solving a mystery—they're realizing the world is much stranger, bigger, or more connected than it first appears.