Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum

 

From the blurb:  "Yeongju is burned out. She did everything she was supposed to: go to school, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. In a leap of faith, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop." 

"In a quaint neighborhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. From the lonely barista to the unhappily married coffee roaster--and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju--they all have disappointments in their past. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live."

My thoughts:  My nephew recommended this book to me; he loves Korea, bookshops and reading, so this novel was right up his alley. I liked it, too. It's an introspective character-driven novel set in a bookshop. What's not to love? All the characters are struggling to find happiness in a society where achievement and career success take precedence over personal fulfillment. Hwang Bo-reum describes it this way:  "Everyone in the novel is taking small steps forward, whether it's learning something new, or making a change to their lives. What they're doing might be far from achieving what society deems as success, but ...how others judge where they stand doesn't matter to them. The fact that they've progressed, and are happy where they are, is sufficient." This book is an interesting look at Korean culture and societal pressures. I thought some of the chapters dragged a bit, but I liked all the characters, and enjoyed the story overall. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Favorite quote from the book:  "...happiness is never beyond reach. It's not in the distant past, nor on the horizon of the future. It's right in front of me. Like that day's beer, and today's quince tea. ... I think life becomes easier knowing that happiness is not that far out of reach."

Happy Reading! 

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

 

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. 

 

The Bookshop of Secrets by Mollie Rushmeyer

How it begins:  "Only the sharp clang of a bell above the door and lopsided towers of books greeted Hope Sparrow as she entered Dusty Jackets bookshop. She breathed in their ancient paper dust, their gentle decay. Between pages like these, she'd always found her refuge. Her Lucy Maud, Jane, the sisters Brontë, dear Louisa--all whispered the words she'd pored over in the dead of night and now fortified her strength for what she hoped was the last leg in a long journey."

The plot in brief:  Hope's come to Wanishin Falls, Minnesota, in search of several books her mom left to her. They're her only family legacy, and they just might be the key to finding a rumored family treasure. And Hope could really use a little extra money right now, both to help her leave her traumatic past behind, and to make her dream of owning her own food truck come true. 

The owners of Dusty Jackets, Mags and Ulysses Barrick, offer to help her search for her mother's books if she'll work in their bookstore for a few months in return. Their handsome grandson, Ronan, is willing to help, too. But Hope isn't big on trust, and would rather not get too close to anyone in Wanishin Falls. Only the people around her are too kind and generous to just give up on her. 

My thoughts:  There's a lot to like about this one: a charming small town setting, a dusty old bookshop, family secrets and a lost treasure. And I liked Ronan and Hope. But there are several side characters and small side stories that never felt fully developed, and that sometimes detracted from the main plotline. And when you combine Hope's complicated past with Ronan's complicated past along with their families's history there's almost too much going on; I felt like it forced the author to do more telling than showing, which slowed the pacing and kept the characters at a distance. And I really wish that the mystery itself, and Hope's and Ronan's search for the treasure, had unfolded a little faster. While the overall story has heartwarming and uplifting moments, for me this ended up only being a 3-star read. 

Happy Reading!

P.S. This book counts towards Susan's Bookish Books Reading Challenge.

The English Bookshop by Janis Wildy

The plot:  Five years ago, Lucy made a promise to her dying stepfather that she would keep the family business going. But Wellslept Mattress is losing money. And her brother, Aaron, and her mother both want to sell. Only Lucy can't give up on that promise she made. Then she gets a letter from England that offers her some hope. It seems her biological father, Brian Baslow, recently died and left one-third of his business and property to her in his will. If she can convince the other two heirs to sell, she just might get the money she needs to save Wellslept. Only Baslow's Bookshop is charming as is the small English village of Wakeby where its located. And everyone in Wakeby is so welcoming and kind. And she likes Sam Burke, the single (and handsome!) manager of the bookstore. And she doesn't like Brian's wife's, Maura's, plan to sell the bookstore to greedy developers. But she really needs the money! What's a girl to do?   

My thoughts:  There are so many things to love about this book! There's a bookshop, and a dog named Barley. Wakeby is a quaint village full of genuine people who quickly befriend Lucy because of who her father was. I liked them, and I liked Lucy and sympathized with her as she struggled to deal with the death of a father she never really knew while trying to figure out how to save her family business back home in Seattle without destroying his bookshop. And I really liked her relationship with Sam. Theirs is a cute romance. Is this book predictable? Yes. Did I mind? No. I just enjoyed the happy ending. 

Happy Reading!

 

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs

 

Short summary of the plot: 

Natalie Harper has a safe job she doesn't really like, and a safer boyfriend she just doesn't love. But everything in her life changes when her mother unexpectedly dies. Now Natalie is in charge of her mother's beloved bookstore, The Lost and Found Bookshop, and she's also responsible for her aging grandfather who's been experiencing memory issues. To make matters worse, the bookstore is drowning in debt and unpaid bills. The logical answer is to sell it. Only the historic San Francisco building that houses the bookshop belongs to her grandfather, and he refuses to sell because he's convinced there's a treasure hidden somewhere inside. But the old building is practically falling down around them and in need of some serious repairs, none of which Natalie can afford. So, to keep her grandfather happy, Natalie has to figure out some way to save her mother's bookshop. 

My thoughts:

The thing I loved most about this book is Natalie's sweet relationship with her grandfather, and how she tries so hard to honor and take care of him. I also loved the bookstore and its interesting history. Bookstores have always been a favorite setting of mine. Then there's Peach Gallagher, the ex-marine Natalie hires to do some repairs on the bookstore, and his cute daughter Dorothy. They're both such great characters; I loved them, too. Books, family, friendship, loss, hope, and love. All of these things make this novel a joy to read. And it's got a happy ending, too! And right now, don't we all need one of those?

Happy Reading!

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!

A bookish gem...

Title & Author:  The Lost For Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
Setting: York, England

First paragraph: A book is a match in the smoking second between strike and flame. Archie says books are our best lovers and our most provoking friends. He's right, but I'm right, too. Books can really hurt you.

Main Character:  Loveday Cardew--an introvert who "isn't very social" but who loves books and has the first lines from several of her favorite novels tattooed on her body. She's also a poet who's guarded, fiercely independent ...and a bit fragile, too, especially when it comes to opening up and trusting others.

My thoughts:  I love Butland's writing and how she weaves together the pieces of Loveday's past and present into one magical, unputdownable story. Nathan, the magician/poet Loveday meets at the bookshop is one of my favorite characters; I love how he interacts with Loveday, and how their relationship slowly grows over time. There's a bit of an intriguing mystery, too, regarding Loveday and how books from her past keep showing up at the Lost For Words Bookshop. It was unexpected and added to the fun. All in all, I really loved this book. It's one I could happily read again....and again.

Happy Reading!

How to Find Love in a Bookshop...

What this book offers:  heartwarming, memorable, and sometimes quirky characters, a quaint English town full of charm, friendship and romance, and the best bookshop in the world. I wish Nightingale Books really existed; I'd go every week! Needless to say, I loved this book. Veronica Henry's story is  enchanting, her prose poetic. And her characters, especially Julius and Emilia Nightingale, will forever be favorites. This book reminded me in many ways of my favorite Rosamunde Pilcher reads. But if that's not enough to make you want to read this book, check out these three quotes:

• Her father was still here, thought Emilia, in the thousands of pages. Millions--there must be so many millions--of words. All those words, and the pleasure they had provided for people over the years:  escape, entertainment, education...He had changed minds. He had changed lives. It was up to her to carry on his work, so he could live on, she swore to herself.
• Books, after all, were her escape from the horror she had been through. At night she could curl up with Ruth Rendell or Nancy Mitford, and the stress melted away, and for a couple of hours she could be somewhere else.  Reading gave her comfort.
• She knew, from all the books she had ever read, that life was complicated, that love sprang from nowhere sometimes, and that forbidden love wasn't always something to be ashamed of.

Happy Reading!

Similar reads:

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

A bookish gem...

"All towns need a bookshop."

But what Broken Wheel, Iowa, really needs is Sara Lindqvist. She's a bookish, quiet girl who prefers books to people, but who has come all the way from Sweden to meet her pen pal, Amy Harris, only to arrive on the day of Amy's funeral. Luckily for her, the residents of this shrinking town are determined to make her feel welcome and wanted. They get Poor George to chauffeur her around town, they treat her to lunch, let her stay in Amy's house, and even try to set her up with Amy's handsome nephew, Tom. In an attempt to repay their many kindnesses, and to honor Amy's memory, Sara opens up a bookshop on Main Street, filling it with all of Amy's books. Now if only she can convince the residents of Broken Wheel to read them.

This story has everything I love:  pen pals and letters, good books, humor, charm, friendship and romance, heart, and a town full of quirky, fun characters. I loved it! Seeing the town pull together on Sara's behalf was very entertaining, and her effect on each of them, especially on Tom, made me smile. This bookish gem is a novel I would happily buy and read again and again; it's that good!

Happy Reading!

Similarly delightful reads:

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets by Jessica A. Fox

The Little Bookshop of Big Stone Gap by Wendy Welch

A bookish treat...

Title:  The Bookshop on the Corner
Author:  Jenny Colgan
First line:  The problem with good things that happen is that very often they disguise themselves as awful things.
The protagonist:  Nina Redmond, a shy 29-year-old single librarian who describes herself as "the quiet one, on the sidelines, observing things through the medium of the novels she loved to read." Her world consists of books, and more books. But then they close her library and Nina has no idea what she's going to do next. Unless she opens up her own small bookshop in an old converted van...

My thoughts:  This is a novel about books and reading, and daring to follow your dreams, AND it's set in Scotland where the men are 'boys' and the women are 'lasses'. What's not to love? I've never read Jenny Colgan before, but I'd definitely read her again. This book is a delight, from Nina's early mishaps driving the van, to the slightly motley yet oddly engaging assortment of characters she meets along the way, to her own unexpected romance. There's even a dog named Parsley. The whole thing is a lot of fun. In fact, I think I'd happily live in this book if I could. I didn't even mind the predictable bits. I just lost myself in the Scottish landscape and enjoyed each and every page. So, if you like bookshops and happy endings, give this one a try.

Happy Reading!

Similar read:

Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets by Jessica A. Fox