The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson

 "Cover the bookstore while I'm out." Her voice became more animated. "From August to December. You could stay with me, get away from your parents, and work at the store. You could use the time to figure out what you want to do next."

 Maggie Banks is at loose ends. So when her friend, Rochelle, needs someone to work at her bookstore while she's out on maternity leave, Maggie heads to Bell River, a small town near Washington D.C. Maggie's not much of a reader; she especially doesn't like reading classic novels, which is all that the Bell Society will allow Cobblestone Books to sell.

But Maggie's never been one to follow the rules. She begins sneak-selling more modern books...first romances, then mysteries. Then, to bring in more revenue, she starts hosting literay mashup events. And she's having a lot of fun. But if the Bell Society finds out, Rochelle might lose the bookstore. 

What I loved about this novel:

• Maggie learning to love books and reading...even a few of the classics.
• The banter between Maggie and Malcolm, the Bell Society's 'spy', and their slowburn friendship. (Their 'dates' are very entertaining.)
• The clever mashup events Maggie hosts with local authors who turn Moby Dick into a romance and The Great Gatsby into science fiction.
• Maggie's exuberance and ability to connect with so many people in town.
• The humor and the happy ending. 

This is a very charming bookish book...perfect for Susan's Bookish Books Reading Challenge.

Happy Reading!

It's a Mystery...

 

Sometimes I don't connect with a book, even when it's well-written and the story is interesting. Like Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan. There's nothing wrong with this book. In fact, there's a lot to like about it. Lydia, the main character is very sympathetic: she has a secret from her childhood she doesn't want anyone to know about, she's kind, and she works in a bookstore. (And you know how I love a bookstore setting!) I also thought the mystery surrounding Joey --one of Lydia's quirky bookstore customers who commits suicide at the beginning of the novel--was intriguing, with the book codes he leaves for Lydia, and how his past ends up tying in with her own traumatic childhood. 

So then why didn't I connect with this one? 

I think it's because the narrative moves from the present with Lydia in the bookstore, to moments from her childhood with her father, to the present again with her boyfriend, David, then back to the traumatic incident from her past, to the present mystery with Joey, and back again. And I'm not saying the author doesn't do it well. He does. It's just for me, personally, this narrative style can make me feel like I'm constantly getting yanked between the past and present, so that I never fully connect with either timeline. Which is why I don't love it. But that's just me.

Would I recommend this one? I say, if the plot and that bookstore setting appeal to you, definitely give it a read. Because you just might end up liking it more than me.

Happy Reading!

Another bookish list...

I love books. And bookstores. I also love books about bookstores. And, as an unapologetic bookworm, I have to admit I even love reading books about books and reading. (Almost as much as I love bookish lists.) So in the interest of combining all these loves in one post, here's my list of 10 bookishly bookish reads:

The "bookstore" books:

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap by Wendy Welch
Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets by Jessica Fox.
     (Which is not at all about rockets, but about love and romance and a bookstore in Scotland.)
Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins
     (This one takes place in Hay-on-Wye in Wales!)
The Yellow-Lighted Bookstore by Lewis Buzbee
Shelf Life by Suzanne Strempek Shea

All of the above titles are memoirs about books and bookstores...if you like that kind of thing. Which I do.

"I am the unique sum of
the books I have read.
I am my literary DNA."
--Susan Hill  

          The "Reading" Reads:

Howard's End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading From Home by Susan Hill
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Reading the OED by Ammon Shea
    (This crazy guy actually read the entire Oxford English Dictionary!)
The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma
The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller

"Is it wrong to prefer books to people? A book is

like a guest you have invited into your home, except

you don't have to play pictionary with it."     

--Andy Miller        

A bonus eleventh recommendation:

Happy Reading!

Got books?

Wendy Welch and her husband, Jack, purchase an old Edwardian house in Big Stone Gap--a tiny Appalachian coal town in southwest Virginia--and almost on a whim, decide to turn the downstairs into a used bookstore. Opening a bookstore had always been one of their dreams, but they weren't exactly prepared for their dream to arrive so soon.

"We bought the house in July and planned to open shop in October; a quick turn-around meant the place could start paying us back for its purchase. Since we didn't have any investment capital, without remorse or pity, we culled our personal library for inventory...The books from our personal cull barely filled half of one room's shelves, yet three rooms waited. It didn't feel cozy or full of promise, more barren and tomblike...The book morgue that wanted to be a shop was our problem, waiting for our solution. But hook, crook, or sheer force of will, we would find more books--without going into debt for them."

5 things I loved about The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: a memoir of friendship, community, and the uncommon pleasure of a good book by Wendy Welch:

• It's a book about books...and a one-of-a-kind bookstore! Two of my favorite things. 
• Welch's writing is humorous, honest and heartfelt. making this memoir a delightfully funny read.
• Big Stone Gap itself and the sometimes quirky, always interesting, book-loving characters who live there.
• Every chapter is headed by an awesome bookish quote. (And I love bookish quotes!)
• At its heart, this story is about making your 'someday dreams' come true. Because...

"What if someday is today?"

Happy Reading!

Similar read: 

Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets by Jessica A. Fox (Which is about a girl and a dream, a bookstore in Scotland, and a fairy tale romance.)