February Book Club: Literally Dead by Eryn Scott
Pepper Brooks is not your average English major.
I mean, she literally finds a dead body! Pepper, the nerdy classic literature fan who memorizes Shakespearean soliloquies in her free time, gets thrust into a whodunit on her college campus when her mentor is accused of the crime. She has a supportive and friendly roommate named Liv who cooks for her, brainstorms ideas, and takes care of her dog (Hamburger- what a name!) when she is up to her neck in studying or sleuthing. She faces danger larger than a thick dictionary when she teams up with a cute guy named Alex who works at the library to solve a mystery about a visiting Shakespeare expert.
I’m a fan of mysteries on college campuses in general, but this one felt special because of Pepper’s youthfulness and enthusiasm for the library. As an avid reader myself, I was thoroughly entertained (and impressed!) with the way Pepper was able to memorize every single corner and couch in the library. It was so relatable from my college days in the Middle Ages . . .
Each book in the series features a new mystery related to a classic author such as Shakespeare or Hemingway and there are five books in total. With its mix of humor, mystery, and cozy vibes, this series is an absolute winner. Go Pepper!
Non-fiction recommendation
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
Occasionally I share a non-fiction book I’m enjoying and this month I’m really into Profit First. I call it Accounting for Liberal Arts Majors because he explains a bookkeeping system for small businesses that doesn’t involve lots of fancy spreadsheets or pages of calculations. When he compared someone trying to lose weight by eating food off a smaller plate to an owner cutting business expenses by taking out the profit first, I was hooked. This makes sense to me when most other business books I’ve read fell flat or seemed too complicated for my simple needs.
If you have any kind of side hustle or small business, this is a good book to help you put things in perspective. After all, the whole point is to earn profit, not income. To keep my expenses down, I borrowed the audiobook from the Hoopla app and listened to it, but you could also order it online.
Kelly Brakenhoff is the author of 15 books and a seasoned ASL interpreter. She splits her writing energy between two series: cozy mysteries set on a college campus and children’s books featuring Duke the Deaf Dog.
Parents, kids, and teachers love the children’s books and activity guides because they introduce ASL and the Deaf community through fun, engaging stories. And if you enjoy a smart female sleuth, want to learn more about Deaf culture, or have ever lived in a place where livestock outnumber people, the Cassandra Sato Mystery series will have you connecting the dots faster than a group project coming together the night before it’s due.
A proud mom to four adults, head of the dog-snuggling department, and grandma to a growing brood of perfectly behaved grandkids, Kelly and her husband call Nebraska home.