A bookish gem...

"Because it's complicated explaining why you love a book. And I can't always do it. There are books that when I've read them I feel ... well ... something stirs inside me."

The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury is one of those unexpectedly and delightfully charming books that don't sound like much at first, but are actually quite enchanting. The story centers around Juliette, a young woman who loves books but who is disenchanted with her job and the dull routine of her life. Though she does like making up stories about the people she sees riding on the Metro every morning. Then, one day, she stumbles upon a cramped and dusty bookshop in an out-of-the-way Paris street and everything changes for Juliette. The owner asks her to pass along some of his books to strangers that she meets. And unexpected things happen...in their lives, and in hers. That's the magic of books. They can change lives. And that's what I liked about this gem of a novel. The Girl Who Reads on the Metro is a bookish fairy tale with it's own quirky, happy ending.

"If she had learned one thing, it was this:  with books, there were always surprises."

Another favorite quote:

"...Juliette was sitting cross-legged, the books arranged in a fan around her. Seventeen books. She'd counted them. Held them, sized them up, flicked through them. She'd inhaled the smell of their folds, peeked at the odd sentence, words as appetizing as sweets, or sharp as blades.... So many words. So many stories, characters, landscapes, laughter, tears, sudden decisions, hopes, and fears. But for whom?"

Happy Reading!