For NUBClub's 11th birthday, we're going back to Man Booker for two short list plus works. Our main reading is Yael van der Wouden's novel about homes and histories in the post World War II Netherlands, The Safekeep. Our sub read is Samantha Harvey's Man Booker winner Orbital, an existential meditation on astronauts living in a space station.

A challenging and powerful reimagining of Huck Finn, James had many good ideas and provocations even though almost all of us think he went too far in some parts. It's hard to imagine reading without the original, but Everett has written a fascinating companion piece that offers another aggressively distinct view of the story.

We're sorry to say this, but this follow-up to Orange's powerful There There is just not worth the read. Orange is a great writer in places, but this book lacks anything beyond a very flimsy throughline to explain the time jumps and different stories and all of the modern storytelling just loses the thread of what Orange is actually good at depicting.