Blurb from Goodreads: 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.
My thoughts: This novel is quietly enchanting, especially the first half. I loved Takako's time at the bookshop with her uncle, and how books and reading became so important in helping her find her way out of her depression. I also loved reading about Jimbocho, Tokyo's famous book district. What a cool neighborhood! In the second half, Takako leaves the bookshop and her aunt, Momoko, who has been gone for five years, comes back. I didn't like Momoko very much, and Takako doesn't spend much time in Jimbocho or at the bookshop in this part of the book, so I didn't enjoy the last half nearly as much as I did the first half.
Here are two of my favorite quotes from this book...the first one is Takako's Uncle speaking of his adventurous youth traveling the world, and the second one is Takako talking about her newfound love of reading.
"I wanted to see the whole world for myself. I wanted to see the whole range of possibilities. Your life is yours. It doesn't belong to anyone else. I wanted to know what it would mean to live life on my own terms."
"It was as if, without realizing it, I had opened a door I had never known existed. That's exactly what it felt like. From that moment on, I read relentlessly, one book after another. It was as if a love of reading had been sleeping somewhere deep inside me all this time, and then it suddenly sprang to life. ... I'd never experienced anything like this before. It made me feel like I had been wasting my life until this moment."
Happy Reading!
P.S. This book counts towards Susan's Bookish Books Reading Challenge.
That quote from Takako beautifully sums up the joy of reading and the hold that it has on all of us constant readers.
ReplyDeleteHer discovery of a love for books and reading was what I loved most about this book...because I feel the same way about books. :D
DeleteThe first part sounds excellent but what a shame about the second half! I keep seeing this book around the online book community and was wondering whether to read it. Still not sure...
ReplyDeleteRead the first half...it's short and sweet. And if you like it, you can keep going. If not... ;D
DeleteI've been interested in this. Too bad it didn't end as well as it began.
ReplyDeleteI really did love the parts centered around the bookshop and Takako the most; the rest not so much.
DeleteSounds lovely!
ReplyDeleteThe first part especially. :D
DeleteLooks like you're doing well with the Bookish Books Challenge! I think I've met my goal (it was a low goal), but I'll have to check. Especially since we're almost at the end of the year!
ReplyDeleteThis was my 14th bookish book for Susan's challenge, and my last. There was one more I wanted to read in December, but it's go too many holds on it at my library, so I probably won't get it until next March. ;D
DeleteOh I'm glad you liked it! I agree with you though, I liked the first half MUCH better. I wanted more of all that- Jimbocho, the time at the bookshop, her relationship with her uncle. the second half was different.
ReplyDeleteThat Jimbocho neighborhood sounds so cool! I'd love to go there and wander through all those bookshops someday. :D
DeleteI like those quotes. Too bad the second half of the story wasn't as good as the first half.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was a little surprised at the switch halfway through the book. And I really didn't warm up to her aunt at all.
DeleteI love those quotes you shared. I haven't read many books set in Japan, but I'd love to add more to my list.
ReplyDeleteThis one is very short and it reads fast. And I really liked Takako. I think you'd like this one, too.
DeleteOh, I love those quotes. I think that I would enjoy the part of the book that takes place in the bookshop more too.
ReplyDeleteI just love that bookshop setting so much, I was sad when it didn't figure into the second half of the book very much.
DeleteI love those quotes, they are great! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThere were a few more good ones I could've posted, but I don't like making my posts too long. ;D
DeleteThe quotes are great. Too bad the first half was better than the ending.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was. But I still ended up liking this book.
DeleteI have this book, purchased it recently. I don't know if I will read it before the end of the year, but I am looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing your thoughts on this one. :D
DeleteThat quote (especially the second one) sums up why we became readers. Love it!
ReplyDeleteIt's a pity that the second half part isn't as enjoyable as the first. Now I'm curious... well, I'll see for myself in January anyway! :)
Looking forward to reading your review of this one next year. :D
DeleteSounds like a good read and I'm intrigued by the Japanese setting, too. Will add to my wishlist. :)
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot to like about this one! (And it's very short and reads very fast.)
DeleteWow. I must read this. Regine
ReplyDeleteIt's a good one. I loved that Japanese setting.
DeleteThis does sound good...and inspirational. I love novels that stress all the benefits of reading lots of books and genres. I'm a strong believer that reading teaches empathy as well as any other experience, and that it opens a person's eyes to what we have in common no matter the culture being explored. Novels are wonderful experiences.
ReplyDeleteReading does teach empathy, and it introduces you to places and people that aren't like you, but helps you see the similarities all people share. Books are the best!
Delete"Quietly enchanting" is a wonderful description! I love that this one seems to showcase the power of a good book!
ReplyDeleteThat was my favorite part! :D
DeleteThis book does sound like a gem! I love that quote about learning to love reading and how it opens up the whole, wide world to us. I definitely feel that way, too.
ReplyDeleteReading is the best! And this book is a good taste of Japanese fiction. So I do recommend it, though I didn't love the second half as much as the first.
DeleteI love these book shop kinds of books ... and even better set in Japan. Enchanting.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese setting was fascinating!
DeleteAdding this one to my TBR. I read What You are Looking for is in the Library which was also a Japanese translation set in Tokyo and it was one of my favorites for the year.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to read that one next, but there are like 50 library holds on it already so I won't get it until next February! :P
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