NNO Book Club: Oona Out of Order

Thurs. 5/12: LOCATION CHANGED! See below.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY NERD NIGHT OUT BOOK CLUB!!

In 2015, on a random Thursday in May, Nerd Night Out book club met for the very first time. Yes, we used to meet on Thursday nights – you are WELCOME that we switched to Saturday afternoon. What did we read for this inaugural event?, asked no one. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - which seems perfect somehow for the group we’ve become.

Here we are – seven years and 76 books later! Yes, I know that math doesn’t work quite right. There were months we did not meet, months we met but didn’t have a book and a few months we had more than one book because why not. After much pondering on how to make our previously read list accessible to all (without building a website, because just no), here is a Goodreads shelf that should be publicly viewable: See Our Full List HERE.

The list isn’t perfect as we’ve read one book three times (The Handmaid’s Tale), are about to read one book a second time (An American Plate), and does not let me indicate months we skipped or did not pick a book, but it gives you a good idea what all we’ve read and when. Maybe you will find a new favorite?

ABOUT THIS MONTH:

So enough wandering down memory lane – what are we reading this month. May is “host’s choice” in book and restaurant. Luckily, your host really likes high concept, time travel-esque books and so do many of you. This one might have fallen off your radar as I’ve seen it labelled as everything from “chick lit” to “contemporary fiction” to “magical realism” but all you really need to know is that is was good and will make for some great discussion. For May we are reading “Oona Out of Order” by Margarita Montimore.

General Note: For some baffling reason, this book was published in UK as “The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart” which, if you ask me, is a terrible rename for no reason. But in case you see it listed that way, it is the same book.

Note of Warning: If you make it to Part III and are suddenly like “I hate this book”, try and give it part Part IV. Part III is a sharp right turn and a tonal shift from the rest of the book. Really guys, trust me. I try not to torture you all and I did read this already in 2020 for a different book club (Thank you, Ellen!).

***Book summary from Goodreads***
It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn nineteen, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her boyfriend? As the countdown to the New Year begins, Oona faints and awakens thirty-two years in the future in her fifty-one-year-old body. Greeted by a friendly stranger in a beautiful house she’s told is her own, Oona learns that with each passing year she will leap to another age at random. And so begins Oona Out of Order...

Hopping through decades, pop culture fads, and much-needed stock tips, Oona is still a young woman on the inside but ever changing on the outside. Who will she be next year? Philanthropist? Club Kid? World traveler? Wife to a man she’s never met?

Surprising, magical, and heart-wrenching, Margarita Montimore has crafted an unforgettable story about the burdens of time, the endurance of love, and the power of family.

***This month's restaurant selection***
I was really torn between Seasons 52 and PF Chang’s but Seasons won because I don’t have to talk to a human on the phone to reserve a table for a group our size. *shrug* It’s the little things. Seasons has a lot of good options across a range of price points and most importantly, they are the original (and still best) at tiny, full-fat desserts served in little glasses. Other places tried it and were basically serving overpriced pudding parfaits. There is NONE of that here – only the best.

***Not sure about book club or never been to one before? ***
Read the book (or some of the book). Come to the Meetup. Eat yummy food and chat with folks about what you thought about the book. REPEAT!

***Not sure where to get the book? ***
All books we select have a decent number of copies (at least 3-4 across all formats) at both the Hillsborough and Pinellas County Library. And, of course, you can always buy a copy.

***Didn’t finish/hated this book?***
Come to the Meetup anyway! If you didn't finish - just be aware, there will be spoilers. If you hated it, come and rant! In my experience, the books that generate the best conversations and the books we really love are rarely the same books.