Do You Think Novels Can Be Informative Too?

Welcome – almost – to fall in my part of the world! Recently, I chatted with a woman over lunch at a café. Our conversation steered to books.

“I only read non-fiction,” she said to me. “I want a book that’s thought-provoking.”

I raised my eyebrows and politely pointed out that novels can also be intellectually stimulating. Almost every book carries surprises and treasures inside the pages.

From the following five novels I learned fun facts about bees, ecosystems, octopus (or is it octopi?), and underwater rescues reminiscent of this summer’s Titan submersible tragedy.

“Fiction, too, can be thought-provoking,” I said.

She smiled. “That’s what my daughter tells me.”

The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton

What would our world look like if the tiny honey bee ceased to exist? For those fans loyal to non-fiction books, this novel reads a bit like non-fiction. This treasure trove of fascinating bee facts is not forced on the reader but woven into the story in an intriguing manner.

During The Great Collapse, pollinators disappeared from the planet. The power grid failed, agriculture crumbled, and the economy imploded.

What were Sasha and her imprisoned father’s roles in the demise of the last known honey bee colony? Sasha returns to her childhood home and discovers her life could have turned out differently if only…

Filled with interesting factoids, this novel motivates me to do my part to save the honey bee – and beetles and butterflies too – from depletion.

The River Runs South by Audrey Ingram

I enjoyed so many things about this novel from Alabama native and former lawyer Audrey Ingram. The southern setting, the quiet pace, the family drama, the characters, and learning about Alabama’s fragile ecosystem with an approach that wasn’t heavy-handed.

After her husband dies unexpectedly, D.C. attorney Camille and her young daughter pack up and head to her coastal hometown. She needs space to grieve, time with family, and a plan to rebuild her shattered life.

She meets Mack, a local fisherman immersed in an environmental lawsuit against a group of individuals, including her father. As Camille joins her father’s defense team, she struggles with loss, love, and what she wants next.

This novel hits bookstores on September 5.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

“The deal is never anyone’s fault. But you control the way you play.”

This tender, heartwarming story had me from page one. You may think you can’t get into a story where a giant Pacific octopus, living out his final days in a Seattle-area aquarium tank, is a narrator. But, please. Give the novel a chance.  

Seventy-year-old Tova’s husband passed away, and her son died decades ago. She has nothing left in her world except an aquarium job, a shopkeeper acquaintance, and two remaining Knit Wits.

Cameron can’t hold a job, has no idea who his father is, and mourns the deadbeat mom who left him. Following a flimsy lead, he heads to Sowell Bay to uncover his roots.

I fell in love with Marcellus, the witty octopus who spews interesting facts about his species, humans, and life in general.  

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

Since I LOVED last year’sNora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan, the author’s next novel was an automatic read for me. Romance is not my typical genre, but sometimes we crave light and happy and fun. This delightful beach read checks all those boxes, and I devoured it on one long-haul flight.

Spending summers at their parents’ Long Island beach houses, Samantha and Wyatt grew up together. And we never forget our first loves… Even when the relationship implodes, and we don’t communicate for a decade.

Now Sam is engaged to Jack, a doctor who is writing – and following – the script for their perfect life together. Sam cannot imagine letting loose of her tightly-wound self and allowing a day to unfurl. It’s so much easier to continue doing what she’s supposed to do.

She and Jack leave Manhattan – and their buttoned-up ways – to visit her parents at the beach. And guess who else is there? Readers might predict where the story leads, and I promise you the path is an enjoyable one.

Drowning by T.J. Newman

Whoa! Hold on to the edge of your seats! Readers anxious about flying may want to pass on this one, but it is an engaging, research-packed, and thrilling ride.

Minutes after taking off from Honolulu, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, twelve passengers remain onboard the plane which sinks 200 feet below the surface. With passengers fighting for their lives, the heroic rescue mission may remind readers of the submarine disaster that dominated the news earlier this summer.

Will and daughter Shannon are among the survivors trapped underwater. Rescue diver wife Chris will do whatever it takes to save them. Their family has been dismantled by tragedy once, and she vows it will not happen again.

The author, a former flight attendant, has sold the rights (in a huge auction) to Warner Brothers. I’m now off to read Falling, Newman’s blockbuster debut and another major motion picture deal.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Are you a fiction or non-fiction reader? Have you read any of these books? What novel had an informative bent?