Reading Recommendations: The Bookish Life
A new month means another batch of reading recommendations! November’s theme is books about books! Each book featured has some kind of book-themed focus (see previous post here). I hope you enjoy these picks!
Zora Books Her Happy Ever After
Zora has committed every inch of her life to establishing her thriving DC bookstore, making it into a pillar of the community, and she just hasn’t had time for romance. But when a mystery author she’s been crushing on for years agrees to have an event at her store, she starts to rethink her priorities. Lawrence is every bit as charming as she imagined, even if his understanding of his own books seems just a bit shallow. When he asks her out after his reading, she’s almost elated enough to forget about the grumpy guy who sat next to her making snide comments all evening. Apparently the grouch is Lawrence’s best friend, Reid, but she can’t imagine what kind of friendship that must be. They couldn’t be more different.
But as she starts seeing Lawrence, and spending more and more time with Reid, Zora finds first impressions can be deceiving. Reid is smart and thoughtful—he’s also interested. After years of avoiding dating, she suddenly has two handsome men competing for her affection. But even as she struggles to choose between them, she can’t shake the feeling that they’re both hiding something—a mystery she’s determined to solve before she can find her HEA.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m iffy about love triangles in my romance novels but this one was done very well. And the mystery and sub-plot twist added to the reading experience. Both men are friends which complicates things and so Zora must follow her heart, while also getting help from her grandma and best friend Emma. I loved the dynamic this trio of strong women has in the book, and I enjoyed it just as much if even more than the romance. The bookstore seemed like a literary haven for books, and I appreciated how Zora put so much effort into helping young, local Black and Brown writers get their start. It really connected with me.
The Great Passage
Kohei Araki believes that a dictionary is a boat to carry us across the sea of words. But after thirty-seven years of creating dictionaries, it’s time for him to retire and find his replacement.
He discovers a kindred spirit in Mitsuya Majime―a young, disheveled square peg with a penchant for collecting antiquarian books and a background in linguistics―whom he swipes from his company’s sales department.
Along with an energetic, if reluctant, new recruit and an elder linguistics scholar, Majime is tasked with a career-defining accomplishment: completing The Great Passage, a comprehensive 2,900-page tome of the Japanese language. On his journey, Majime discovers friendship, romance, and an incredible dedication to his work, inspired by the words that connect us all.
This novel delves into the world of publishing and focuses on the dictionary department who through trials and tribulations are working to bring a new project to life. I think while this slower-paced, this story is heartfelt even though its characters seem out of the ordinary. The novel felt like a love letter to workds and the power/multiple meanings each one holds. Each chapter switches its point-of-view and leaps through time to show the project’s growth as well as the characters. I love the family that is built over the course of the story. The world of dictionaries never seemed quite so peculiar and intense, but readers are treated to their labor of love.
The Library of the Dead
When a child goes missing in Edinburgh’s darkest streets, young Ropa investigates. She’ll need to call on Zimbabwean magic as well as her Scottish pragmatism to hunt down clues. But as shadows lengthen, will the hunter become the hunted?
When ghosts talk, she will listen…
Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker. Now she speaks to Edinburgh’s dead, carrying messages to the living. A girl’s gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone’s bewitching children–leaving them husks, empty of joy and life. It’s on Ropa’s patch, so she feels honor-bound to investigate. But what she learns will change her world.
The novel takes readers through the streets, alleys, and cemeteries of Edinburgh as Ropa tries to navigate her quest for answers. Supernatural occurrences happen in the most mundane of places adding many exciting twists and turns throughout the story. The novel was highly immersive, and I loved the attention to detail, especially the world building of the fantasy elements. The Library of the Dead scenes was the highlight of the story for me. Though ominous and creepy but somehow it also seems inviting as well. From the unique layout, café, and the magical books it’s an interesting place to explore.
The Bookstore’s Secret
Aspiring pastry chef Nicole Evans is just waiting to hear about her dream job, and in the meantime, she goes to work in the café at the local bookstore. But that’s before the recently widowed Nicole meets her temporary boss: her first crush, Liam Mendez! Single dad Liam has always kept his life—and his heart—closely guarded from Oak Hollow gossip. Will his simmering attraction to Nicole be just one more thing to hide…or the stuff of his bookstore’s romance novels?
From the cozy setting of Liam’s bookstore Sip & read to the heroine who is a voracious reader and talented chef, this story is so heartwarming. The romance only has a little spice and is sweeter and more wholesome than anything else. Liam and Nicole get to rekindle their crushes from the past and get a second chance at love. Seeing them pick up where they left off since high school felt natural and not forced. Reading this novel feels like a warm hug and it spoke to anybody who has a deep passion for books and their special magic.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a booklover’s paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building lies a shop filled with hundreds of second-hand books.Twenty-five-year-old Takako has never liked reading, although the Morisaki bookshop has been in her family for three generations. It is the pride and joy of her uncle Satoru, who has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife Momoko left him five years earlier.
When Takako’s boyfriend reveals he’s marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle’s offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above the shop. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the Morisaki bookshop. As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.
Most books about books are about characters who are fascinated with reading already, but where this novel differs is that the main character Takako finds joy through working at the Morisaki Bookshop. This novel is definitely an ode to the reader as it discusses the power of book and how the story can transport you anywhere and give you purpose. Takako not only renews her footing life but is also able to strengthen the bond with her uncle and make new friends with the eccentric customers of the bookshop. It’s a great story of new beginnings, books and family!
BL Metamorphosis
Ichinoi, a 75-year-old woman living a peaceful life, unwittingly buys a Boy’s Love manga one day…and is fascinated by what she finds inside. When she returns to the bookstore to buy the next volume, the high school girl working there–Urara, a seasoned BL fan–notices a budding fangirl when she sees one. When Urara offers to help Ichinoi explore this whole new world of fiction, the two dive into BL fandom together, and form an unlikely friendship along the way.
A sweet start to a very wholesome series about two unlikely people bonding over a shared hobby. Urara and Ichinoi are both dealing with loneliness despite dealing with people every day, Urara struggles with growing apart from her childhood friends and social anxiety. Ichinoi is looking for a hobby to help fill the void left by her last husband and wants a change in a mindless routine. Soon the two become best friends despite their background and age gap. While this series is about friendship, it’s also about dismantling stereotypes (with an additional focus on the manga community).
That concludes my reading recommendations for books about books! What books do you recommend or what are your favorites? Comment below!
Of course I want to read all of these (even the one I’ve already read, Huchu’s, because it was so good).
I hope you get to read some of these picks soon!
I loved Days at the Morisaki Bookshop and I’ve got The Great Passage TBR on my Kindle, if not, then on my wishlist, and this inspires me to drag it out one of these days! Nice post!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the recommendations!