Our Discussion of Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

From the creators of the wildly popular Welcome to Night Vale podcast comes an imaginative mystery of appearances and disappearances that is also a poignant look at the ways in which we all struggle to find ourselves...no matter where we live. Located in a nameless desert somewhere in the great American Southwest, Night Vale is a small town where ghosts, angels, aliens, and government conspiracies are all commonplace parts of everyday life. It is here that the lives of two women, with two mysteries, will converge. Goodreads

It quickly became apparent that for the group, Welcome to Night Vale was something of a “love it” or “hate it” title.

Below are a sampling of our comments:

• This was a little too weird and quirky and there didn’t seem to be a plot until Jackie and Diane joined forces.
• It would help to listened to the podcast for context before reading the book.
• This was written in a similar style to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
• The descriptions of teenage Josh as a shapeshifter were good.
• This may be an example of when the short form works better (podcast vs. full-length book).
• I liked how they could never get out of the city and their acceptance of the bizarre.
• Certain characters and storylines are long-running in the podcast, like Cecil and Carlos’ relationship and sightings of the man in a tan jacket with a deerskin suitcase.
• The Voice of Night Vale cracked me up.
• This book did not make sense – I am baffled that some of you found it amusing!
• The story reminded me of Twin Peaks.
• I really enjoyed Jackie and Diane’s visit to the Library and when all the Troys spilled out of the bar in varying levels of intoxication.

Please add any additional thoughts or comments you may have about Welcome to Night Vale. We gave this title the codes PNL, LEL, HAA, AGE & LIBN with an average rating of 3.1.