Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Nominated By : MaryEl Hansen
fiction
Review From:
New York Times
In this sweet, uplifting homage to bookstores, Zevin perfectly captures the
joy of connecting people and books. A. J. Fikry, the cantankerous owner of
Island Books, is despondent after losing his beloved wife and witnessing the
ever-declining number of sales at his small, quirky bookstore. In short
order, he loses all patience with the new Knightly Press sales rep, his
prized rare edition of Tamerlane is stolen, and someone leaves a baby at his
store. That baby immediately steals A. J.'s heart and unleashes a dramatic
transformation. Suddenly, the picture-book section is overflowing with new
titles, and the bookstore becomes home to a burgeoning number of book clubs.
With business on the uptick and love in his heart, A. J. finds himself
becoming an essential new part of his longtime community, going so far as to
woo the aforementioned sales rep (who loves drinking Queequeg cocktails at
the Pequod Restaurant). Filled with interesting characters, a deep knowledge
of bookselling, wonderful critiques of classic titles, and very funny
depictions of book clubs and author events, this will prove irresistible to
book lovers everywhere. --Joanne Wilkinson --This text refers to the
Hardcover edition.
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