2027)

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fun and Whimsy, The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s time for another Classics Club Spin!

Hosted by The Classics Club blog, the Classics Club Spin is a reading adventure where participants come up with a list of classics they’d like to read, number them 1 to 20, and then read the book that corresponds to the “spin” number that comes up. This will be the Classics Club’s spin #46, and my 18th time participating!

Here are the dates and guidelines from the host blog:

On Sunday 15th November we’ll post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by the 3rd January, 2027.

We’ll check in here on the 3rd January 2027 to see who made it the whole way and finished their spin book!

What’s Next?

Go to your blog.

Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club List.

Post that list, numbered 1-20, on your blog before Sunday 15th November 2026.

We’ll announce a number from 1-20.

Read that book by 3rd January 2027.

I’m always excited when a new spin rolls around! Once again, I’m mainly sticking with my interest in 20th century fiction, so that’s how I’ve focused my list (with a few exceptions). Where will the spin take me this time? We’ll find out in a few days!

Here’s my list of 20 classics for the next Classics Club Spin:

The House on the Strand by Daphne DuMaurier
Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick
This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
White Fang by Jack London
Anna and Her Daughters by D. E. Stevenson
Pied Piper by Nevil Shute
Eight Cousins / Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
Pat of Silver Bush by L. M. Montgomery
Peony by Pearl Buck
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Frederica by Georgette Heyer
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Dear Hugo by Molly Clavering
Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son by Sholem Aleichem
Kidnapped by Robert Lewis Stevenson
Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Under the Rainbow by Susan Scarlett

Wish me luck! I’ll be back on November 15th to reveal my spin result!

My previous Classics Club spins:

CCSpin29: The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer
CCSpin30: Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
CCSpin31: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
CCSpin32: O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
CCSpin33: Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
CCSpin34: Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
CCSpin35: Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
CCSpin36: A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
CCSpin37: Howards End by E. M. Forster
CCSpin38: The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
CCSpin39: An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
CCSpin40: Dracula by Bram Stoker
CCSpin41: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
CCSpin42: My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
CCSpin43: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
CCSpin44: Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier
CCSpin45: Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

10Nov2026

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Characters I Wish Were Real People

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Book Characters I Wish Were Real People, with the prompt: feel free to tell us why! Would you date them, be friends with them, etc.?

There are plenty of book characters I’d love to meet! Here are ten who make my list:

Claire Fraser (Outlander by Diana Gabaldon): Claire is smart, strong, and great person to have by your side in case of emergency.
Signy (As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers): I love her knowledge of (and love for) plants and how she uses this to improve people’s lives.
Chauncey (The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune): Just because he’s adorable and funny. Who doesn’t need a bellhop in their lives?
Margaret (Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry): I loved the parts of this book where Margaret reveals her past. I think she’d be a hoot to share fancy cocktails with and hear more of her stories.
Catherine Morland (Northanger Abbey): She’s so over the top, but I have a feeling she’d be lots of fun to swap books with.
Serkis (Swordheart by T. Kingfisher): I mean, I’d love a living sword as a traveling companion, and just find the concept so fabulous.
Rosie (We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman): This fictional author has oodles of money to throw around and is utterly outrageous. I’d love to hop on her private jet and zoom off for adventure at a moment’s notice.
Theo (Theo of Golden by Allen Levi): Theo’s kindness is the heart of this book. I’d love to spend a day or two hanging out with Theo and keeping him company while he carries out his good deeds.
Pepper (Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel): I found the main character in this off-beat book so interesting, and love her ability to take charge of her life and show that she may be older, but she still has agency and so much to offer.
Rainy (The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer): She actually seems perfect for this prompt, because she really does go into books and meet fictional characters… so why not apply her magic and meet her in our world?

Chauncey – best bellhop ever!
Image from Kingdom of Threads – House in the Cerulean Sea collection: https://kingdomofthreads.com/collections/cerulean-chronicles-by-tj-klune/products/chauncey-bellman-sticker-tj-klune

What fictional characters would you love to meet in real life? Do we have any in common?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

Save

9Nov2026

The Monday Check-In ~ 11/9/2026

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

Life.

It’s been mainly a quiet week. Work was hectic as always, but there was a nice get-together for a former colleague who was visiting the area for the first time in years, and I got to reconnect with a few people I hadn’t seen in a long time — always a treat.

Beyond that, I caught up on odds and ends over the weekend, and pampered myself with a soothing pedicure! Aaah. Sometimes, it’s the little things that make a difference.

What did I read during the last week?

Shift (Silo, #2) by Hugh Howey: This big, chunky sci-fi book took me nearly all week to read, but was worth the effort! I’m already looking forward to starting the 3rd and final book in the series. My review is here.

Eight Ways to Say I Love You by Amanda Elliot: Engaging romance about two childhood best friends who reconnect over yearly Hanukkah get-togethers. My review is here.

Ladies in Waiting: Jane Austen’s Unsung Characters by assorted authors: This was a fun read — a collection of short stories by various well-known authors, each focusing on an Austen side character and inventing a new version of her life. I enjoyed some stories more than others, but overall, I’m glad to have read this book!

Pop culture & TV:

I watched season 3 of Nobody Wants This this week — I thought it was pretty uneven, but liked the final moments. I’m glad they’ve announced another season!

North of North is back! I started the 2nd season last night, and definitely recommend checking it out.

Sadly, Julie Stiles was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars last week. She had a great run, and I was sorry to see her go. In tribute, here’s her final dance:

Fresh Catch:

One new book this week:

A new John Scalzi book is always a reason to celebrate! And although I have a hard copy, I’ve decided to read this one via audiobook (see below).

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehmann: I started this book over the weekend, and it’s bonkers. Premise: Anne Boleyn sews her head back on after her execution and goes out looking for revenge. I’m into it!

Now playing via audiobook:

Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi: Off to a great start! And I always enjoy Wil Wheaton’s narration.

Ongoing reads:

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot: My book group’s newest classic read. We’re starting this week, reading and discussing two chapters per week. Looking forward to it!

What will you be reading this week?

So many books, so little time…

8Nov2026

Audiobook Review: Eight Ways to Say I Love You by Amanda Elliot

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Eight Ways to Say I Love You
Author: Amanda Elliot
Narrators: Dara Rosenberg & Eli Schiff
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: October 27, 2026
Length: 384 pages
Audio length: 10 hours 18 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley; audiobook via Audible
Rating:

A spark of attraction burns brighter each year between childhood friends in this sweeping Hanukkah romance by USA Today bestselling author Amanda Elliot.

This Hanukkah, Shira Levinson is returning home to New Jersey riding the high of achieving major milestones. Though she only just graduated from college, she’s got her dream job and a perfect Los Angeles apartment—an actual miracle in the city of dreams.

Life has not been quite as kind to Leo David. Not only did he fail out of college, he was forced to move in with his estranged dad, who he still hates for cheating on his mom years ago. The only silver lining? Getting to see Shira, his childhood friend (and crush, though he’ll never tell her that) while she’s home for her family’s holiday party.

But that’s just the beginning. Over the next eight years, Shira’s and Leo’s lives spin them in all sorts of directions as they grow and change, taking them places they never imagined going. Sometimes those paths take them farther away from each other, and other times closer together. If they can only time it right, they might uncover a love that burns forever.

It’s fall, the holiday season is racing toward us… and it’s the perfect time for a Hanukkah romance! After really enjoying Amanda Elliot’s 2024 novel, Love You a Latke, I was eager to get my hands (ears) on this new release.. and I’m happy to report that Eight Ways to Say I Love You does not disappoint.

Shira and Leo were best friends, inseparable throughout their childhoods — so close that they were constantly running in and out of one another’s houses, no need to knock. But their time together came to a crashing halt when Leo’s dad cheated and Leo’s mom decided to get a fresh start, moving with Leo from their New Jersey home to be with her family in Michigan. At age 14, both Shira and Leo were devastated and promised to stay in touch — but teen life and high school pressures got in the way, and suddenly, eight years went by with no contact at all.

As the story opens, Shira is twenty-two, working tirelessly toward her goal of a thriving art career. Living in LA, she has an impressive job at a gallery and has also secured representation for her own first exhibit. Shira has devoted her high school and college years to making the right impressions — joining clubs, taking on leadership roles, and checking all the boxes — and it’s paid off. She’s firmly on the road to success.

Not so for Leo. Dropping out of college due to burn-out and lack of funds, he’s been forced to move back in with his dad, with whom he’s barely spoken all these years, still feeling furious about how he destroyed their family. Leo works in a warehouse, plays video games, and has no idea what to do with himself. But when Shira shows up for her annual Hanukkah visit and Leo sees her for the first time in eight years, the old crush comes back to life. As the two friends reconnect, it’s clear that they’re in very different places in their lives… and a major misunderstanding seems like it might put an end to their rekindled friendship before it truly gets a chance.

And yet… over the following years, during each Hanukkah visit, Leo and Shira spend more time together, and slowly work their way back toward friendship, connection, and possibly something more. As their lives and careers and families cycle through ups and downs, we see how Leo and Shira each grow and change, in many ways inspired by one another. Shira is forced to reassess her life and her constant need to perform, and to take stock of what truly matters to her. Leo finds new meaning and purpose, and even manages to start to engage with his father again, realizing that past hurts don’t mean that rebuilding isn’t possible.

Along the way, Shira and Leo’s lives are each informed by their connection to Jewish traditions and community. The sense of Jewish joy is pervasive throughout this lovely story, and feels heartening and wonderful to witness.

I appreciated the challenges of Leo and Shira’s growth over the years. This isn’t an insta-love story. Sure, their happiness at reconnecting after so many years apart is evident right from the start, but it takes years and lots of effort for them to rebuild trust, open up to one another, and start putting aside the assumptions and roadblocks that get in their way. It’s not easy, but they value one another enough to make the effort.

Narrators Dara Rosenberg and Eli Schiff alternate chapters as they voice Shira and Leo, and their voices provide warmth, personality, and emotion. It’s a lovely listen, with humor lightening the mood yet with space for the more serious moments to play out as well.

Eight Ways to Say I Love You feels like a great way to get in the Hanukkah mood! Highly recommended.

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

7Nov2026

Book Review: Shift (Silo, #2) by Hugh Howey

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Shift
Series: Silo, #2
Author: Hugh Howey
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication date: 2013
Length: 579 pages
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

In this second volume in the New York Times best-selling Silo series, Hugh Howey describes the catastrophic events that led to the creation of the silo— and the beginning of the end

In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platforms that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate. The technology has an almost limitless capacity for good—but in the wrong hands, it could have an equally boundless capacity for evil.

In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event.

At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall, and the ability to forget it ever happened. With this godlike power at their fingertips, can humanity be trusted to create a new—and better—world? Or is it doomed to bring about its own destruction?

After years of having the Silo trilogy on my TBR list, I finally read the first book, Wool, this fall. It’s a fascinating, mind-boggling science fiction story set several hundred years in the future, in which the last remnants of humanity live in an underground silo 144 stories deep. The world outside is barren and toxic; to exit the silo means instant death. And so, Wool explores the shifting social dynamics of this claustrophobic world, where generations are born and die with no actual memory of the silo’s origin, and where cyclical uprisings against the silo’s power structure could spell the end of all life.

Book #2, Shift, takes us back before the beginning. Structured similarly to Wool, Shift was originally published as three stories, now bundled together in one large but compelling volume. Several storylines blend together in alternating timelines. In one, we meet a young Congressman, Donald, helped into office by a powerful older Senator who has a project for him. Donald was once an aspiring architect, and the Senator asks him to work on a new construction plan inspired by one of Donald’s early designs.

In another storyline, it’s about 100 years later, and inside a silo, there’s trouble brewing. Some people seem to have memories of a world before, and the silo’s leaders can’t allow that to continue. There are secrets that should never be revealed, and the powers-that-be see destruction as preferable to the truth coming out.

Later in the book, we see what’s become of Donald’s project, what the Senator brought about, and how that all leads to the world of the silos. Elsewhere, and in another timeline, we also get to know Jimmy, a character important in Wool, and learn more about his background and how he’s survived.

Shift is complicated and confusing, yet also quite powerful. There’s a lot to keep track of — multiple timelines, silos identified by number (making it difficult to remember which events happen in which silo at which point in time), and many characters, some of whom appear over the course of centuries thanks to the cryotechnology that enables workers to remain frozen for decades and then be woken for their next shift.

I found the first section of Shift especially powerful, seeing a representation of our world and how it ends thanks to a combination of unrestrained technology and ruthless people in charge. In the later two sections, life and death inside the silos are dramatic and often quite dismal, and some sections left me a little disconnected, as the tangled story arcs can be challenging to follow. Because the overarching story is rooted in people guarding explosive secrets and tampering with memory, readers are left to sort through narratives that often feel incomplete. This is likely by design, but it can feel frustrating to devote so much time to this lengthy, complicated book and still feel like answers are missing by the end.

Overall, Shift is compelling and disturbing and hard to put down. Despite the rotating characters throughout, there are plenty to care about and connect with. Getting to understand the origins of the world introduced in Wool deepens the overarching sense of doom and chaos in these books. I’m intrigued enough to want to see what happens next.

With one book left, I hope to finish this trilogy before the end of the year. Next up: Book #3, Dust.

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

6Nov2026

First Lines Friday 11/6/2026

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

First Lines Friday is a weekly feature for book lovers created by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? Here’s how to join in:

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page.
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first.
Finally… reveal the book!

Today’s lines are from a 2026 fantasy that’s been on my TBR for a few months now:

Today is the tenth anniversary of the worst day of my life.
As if I could forget, when millions of strangers have been so eager to remind me. I’m sure you’ve seen the news stories, the magazine covers, the social media posts. Maybe you’re planning to snuggle up on your sofa tonight with a bowl of popcorn and binge the documentary series released to commemorate the occasion. Schadenfreude and chill.

So what’s the book?

The Favorites by Layne Fargo
Published: January 14, 2025
475 pages

Synopsis:

She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and roller-coaster relationship.

Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the “real story” through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy. So, after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.

I don’t remember how I stumbled across this book… but it’s been sitting on my Kindle for a while now, and it sounds so juicy and dramatic! I don’t think I’ve read a book about ice dancers before, and I’m eager to give this one a try.

Have you read The Favorites? Does it sounds like something you’d pick up?

Happy Friday! Wishing everyone a great weekend!

5Nov2026

Spell the Month in Books: November

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Spell the Month in Books is a monthly meme hosted by Jana at Reviews from the Stacks. To participate, find a book title that starts with each letter in the month’s name, make a list, share your link, and that’s it! You can share anytime by the end of the month. Some months have additional themes, but feel free to participate however you’d like!

Since Jana isn’t assigning themes for now, I’m inventing my own. With Thanksgiving coming up this month, I’ve decided to go with a very loose theme — books I’m thankful to have in my life!

N:

Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazy

One of my first introductions to high fantasy!

O:

The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty
I just read this book last month, and absolutely loved it. (review)

V:

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

This book made me laugh — always something to be thankful for. (review)

E:

The Emily Starr books by L. M. Montgomery

Lovely and joyful — I read these books during a stressful time, and they were perfect antidotes to everything I was dealing with. (review)

M:

Mariana by Susanna Kearsley

The first book I ever read by this author… not suspecting how much of a favorite she’d become! (review)

B:

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer

Another 2026 read that I adored. Books and magic — what could be better? (review)

E:

Emma by Jane Austen

I love all of Jane Austen’s books… but Emma makes me laugh the most.

R:

Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire

I had no idea when I picked up this book (the first in the outstanding October Daye series) that I’d be so enchanted by the characters and storytelling that I’d stick with the series through 20 books (and counting!).

Happy November to all! If you spelled the month in books, please leave me a link to your post — I’d love to see it!

3Nov2026

Top Ten Tuesday: Two-word word association for the last 10 books I’ve read (updated for 2026!)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is One-Word Reviews for the Last Ten Books I Read — a topic previously features in 2022. Last time around, I couldn’t get very far with the topic (my list would have been basically: scary! funny! sweet! etc… not very enlightening), so I switched it up and went with a word association theme instead. My 2022 post is here… and I’m sticking with the same approach for this week’s post too.

Here’s how it works: Remember playing word association games? Say the first word that comes to mind… Well, in this case, I decided to do the two words that come to mind when I think about the most recent books I’ve read. Here goes!

Pregnancy & Paychecks

Fainting & Castles

Mermaids & Pirates

Confusion & Music

Camelot & Hobbits

Tea & History

Plants & Planets

Cowboys & Trains

Costumes & Swords

Terror & Detours

How did you do with this week’s TTT prompt? Did you have better luck than I did writing one-word reviews?

Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

2Nov2026

The Monday Check-In ~ 11/2/2026

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Life.

Happy November! I hope everyone had a good Halloween. I didn’t actually do much to celebrate, other than enjoying seeing all the elaborate lights and decorations around the neighborhood.

On Sunday, the San Francisco Philharmonic gave a sunset performance by the beach, and it was glorious. There were so many people that I couldn’t get close enough to get a great photo… but this gives you a general idea:

Beautiful location, beautiful music! What a great way to wrap up the weekend.

What did I read during the last week?

Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger: Sadly, this was one of my most disappointing books of the year. I had such high expectations for the long-awaited sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife. What a letdown. My review is here.

My Salty Mary (The Marys, #3) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows: On the other hand, this book was just so much fun! Just as silly and entertaining as the rest of the Mary and Jane books. My review is here.

Fallow by Sarah Anderson: Strange, entertaining, and impossible to put down. This debut novel about in-house corporate surrogacy is unlike anything else I’ve read this year. My review is here.

Pop culture & TV:

I just finished the 4th season of The Diplomat last night. Wow, what a powerhouse of a season! Season 5 can’t come soon enough.

And of course, we need a Dancing with the Stars check-in! Last week had a double elimination, but my favorites are all still safe (although I think one and possibly two may not last much longer).

Fresh Catch:

I wandered into a bookstore while waiting for a friend I was meeting for dinner… and of course, did not walk out empty-handed. I hadn’t heard about this book before, and just had to have it!

(Also, three cheers for the local bookstore, which had a display encouraging people to buy a book to donate to a nearby public school. Such a simple and affordable way to encourage young readers! I couldn’t resist… bought a paperback of Angelina Ballerina to add to their collection box.)

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Shift (Silo, #2) by Hugh Howey: I’d like to finish this trilogy before the end of the year, and considering how long each book is, I figured it was time to pick up #2. I’m not that far into the book yet, but I’m hooked already.

Now playing via audiobook:

Eight Ways to Say I Love You by Amanda Elliot: I loved this author’s Hanukkah romance from last year (Love You a Latke), and I’m happy to be starting her newest!

Ongoing reads:

My book group has a two-week breather before we start our next big, long-term classic read — so, I thought I’d take advantage of this short break to spend time with a story collection I bought recently:

Ladies in Waiting: Jane Austen’s Unsung Characters by assorted authors: I’m slowly making my way through this collection of Austen-inspired short stories. I’ve read 4 so far, 4 more to go!

What will you be reading this week?

So many books, so little time…

1Nov2026

Book Review: Fallow by Sarah Anderson

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Fallow
Author: Sarah Anderson
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date: September 15, 2026
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Library
Rating:

Slyly funny and disarmingly tender, Fallow is the story of a young woman who signs up to be the world’s first in-house corporate surrogate, then finds herself caught up in a social experiment of another kind.

Natalie knows one truth: there is no such thing as a good job.

As the clock ticks away at the call center where she logs complaints of workplace harassment, she tries to ignore the increasing pain in her jaw. She has no dental insurance. She has no skills or ambitions. She has student loans. And, minute by minute, she hears the many ways workers are not just not getting by, but actually getting hustled.

Then, at the blood bank where she sells her plasma, a mysterious flyer leads her to The Company. Natalie turns out to be the perfect candidate for their pilot program, pitched as an opportunity to help women access greater gender equity. She will be their in-house surrogate, delivering seven babies in ten years and enabling their executives to have motherhood without maternity leave. Finally, she will be adequately—generously—compensated.

For years, her every need is met: stacks of healthy meals in the refrigerator of a luxury condo, fitness coaches and nutritionists, around-the-clock health care. Between deliveries, she takes time off— a fallow period, with no obligations or expectations. For the first time in her life, she is good at her job; for the first time, she feels free.

But just as she’s about to fulfill the terms of her contract, a staffing decision upends everything. Natalie is pulled into an entirely different kind of social experiment, one that raises new questions about her future, her freedom, her purpose, what she can expect from the world, and what she can offer to it.

Woundingly funny and genuinely moving, Sarah Anderson’s Fallow is a tender, alarmingly real vision of a woman balancing on the knife-edge of capitalism as she comes to realize who she wants to be.

From the opening lines of this strange yet utterly absorbing book, it’s clear what Natalie doesn’t want: Work.

When we were little, my sisters’ stuffed animals became astronauts and firefighters and chefs. Mine took vacations and naps and watched TV.

Sure, she’s done her time in afterschool jobs during high school, got a college degree (and all the debt that comes with it), and works full-time at a call center processing workplace harassment complaints. But none of it means anything, and none of it pays the bills. Or comes with dental insurance. A dental emergency that she can’t afford leads her to plasma donation, and at the blood center, she finds a flyer for a job with the Company — which we’re told is one of the most ubiquitous tech companies in the world. (I’m thinking Google, Microsoft, Apple… ) The job posting is vague, but promises to pay well… and yes, there’s dental!

After passing in-depth, intrusive screenings and signing intense NDAs (without reading the fine print), Natalie finally learns what she’s been selected for. She’ll be the Company’s first in-house gestational carrier. No longer will top professional women have to step away from their careers for maternity leave! By providing them with a company-paid surrogate, they can truly have it all — the baby they’ve always wanted, without the career disruption that comes with it. Gender equality at last! Sigh.

And so begins Natalie’s strange new life. Her contract is for seven pregnancies within ten years, with bonuses at various milestones and after each birth, a huge completion bonus at the end of the contract, a very nice salary, luxury accommodations provided by the Company, and all medical and health needs provided. It’s quite the sweet deal for someone who hates work.

I knew that being pregnant meant being tired all the time. But it also meant reason to rest. Being pregnant meant people offering to do things for you. Being pregnant was the perfect excuse, in fact, to not do anything at all.

Yes, there’s quite a bit of monitoring (if her biofeedback ring reports a less-than-ideal night’s sleep, she gets an immediate call from her doctor), tons of rules (playing language lessons in two selected languages to her belly everyday, strict dietary and exercise requirements, no artificial anything), and even performance reviews after each pregnancy.

Natalie also gets a “fallow” period after each delivery — a period of months where she’s free (or freer) of the intense rules, before beginning the preparation for the next pregnancy. She interprets her fallow time as time to cut loose — wild nights out, indulging in junk food, alcohol, random sex, and all the things she must deny herself otherwise. It’s an odd life, but it’s hers, and for once, she doesn’t have to worry about money, or much of anything at all.

But midway through the book, things change in a way that Natalie couldn’t have foreseen, and her cozy life of pampered pregnancies and fallow periods is knocked off course. From here, events occur (no spoilers!) that take Fallow out of the realm of corporate culture into something else entirely. It’s quite a transition, and requires a sharp adjustment for readers right alongside Natalie.

In some ways, Fallow reads as a satire of corporate culture. Breaking down barriers, enabling true workplace equality… by eliminating the need for maternity leave, a workplace protection that took years to enshrine into employment rights. The idea of Natalie writing a self-evaluation after each delivery is absurd, yet fits within the skewering of corporate life and the ladder to success.

At the same time, Fallow is an exploration of finding one’s path amidst the untenable reality of mounting bills, housing and health insecurity, and lack of safety nets. Natalie takes the Company job not just for the life of ease it promises, but also because she really has nothing else on the horizon and can’t imagine any job or career that offers a realistic option for her. She’s quite clear that she doesn’t want to work — but would that change if she actually found meaning or joy in any of the work she might be able to find?

The back half of the book goes in a very different direction, as Natalie finds herself in a situation she didn’t expect. Without going into detail, I’ll just say that it’s weird and jarring, but ends up being a fantastic contrast to the first half of the book, and finally gives Natalie the space to think about what she actually wants. I did wish for a bit more resolution at the end. We get a good idea of what Natalie’s life might look like going forward, but I would have liked an epilogue or at least something a bit more concrete to tie it all together. That’s a minor quibble — overall, I was satisfied with the plot and character development, and my attention never flagged.

I read Fallow in about two days — it’s fast-paced, totally engaging, a lot of fun, and hard to put down. The premise sounds off the wall, but the execution is so good that we readers have no choice but to buy into it and go along for the ride.

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