A cozy book about the love of books and making a brave decision: The Bookshop on the Corner
Set in the UK and Scotland, a book about the love of books and the desire to match everyone with their perfect book is the basis for this charming story. This is the story of how a librarian becomes a literary book matchmaker.
The Bookshop on the Corner, Jenny Colgan
Genre: General Fiction, Chick Lit
Published 2016, 384 pages
A light, breezy read with no plot surprises, it none-the-less was a pleasure to read. Though predictable, the writing style is very readable and the main characters a bit stereotypical, but entertaining - which is a tribute to Colgan's writing.
"If you thought of all the tiny things that divert your path one way or another, some good, some bad, you'd never do anything ever again."
Nina, a 29 year old who loses her job and is filled with uncertainties about what to do with both her professional and love life ends up making some drastic life changes. She takes a big leap into the unknown, heads off to Scotland, and meets a whole cast of people in a rural town. As she falls in love with the people (one special person?) and Scotland, she realizes that she's on the path to her "happy ever after".
There are great bookish inspirational quotes sprinkled throughout the book.
"But for Nina, whenever reality, or the grimmer side of reality, threatened to invade, she always turned to a book. Books had been her solace when she was sad, her friends when she was lonely. They had mended her heart when it was broken, and encouraged her to hope when she was down."
"There was a universe inside every human being every bit as big as the universe outside them. Books were the best way Nina knew - apart from, sometimes, music - to breach the barrier, to connect the internal universe with the external, the words acting merely as a conduit between the two worlds."
Recommended for those in the mood for a light love story, a story of life-changing decisions and overcoming fears, a story of a scared but feisty heroine, or a great summer read.
Have you read anything else by Jenny Colgan? What would you recommend?
photo by Terrie Purkey, bookshop in Madrid