‘The Bookshop of Yesterdays’ by Amy Meyerson

Today I did something that I love but haven’t been able to do for some time. Our public library reopened after the lockdown and it was so nice to just browse around the stacks and be in the midst of a whole bunch of books again. Bookshelves have always fascinated me and I miss being in people’s houses and secretly (or not so secretly) perusing shelves to see what their reading tastes might be. This is especially fun in homes (like Air B & Bs) where you don’t know the people and the books and decor are really your only clues to who these people are. Pandemic zoom meetings have actually also offered coveted glimpses into people’s private lives if you can squint and decipher what’s lurking on the shelf behind the person whose face is on the screen! Zoom celebrity stalking is actually a thing:

It goes without saying that readers love bookshops of any kind and thus novels about them. This debut novel has an amazing premise but the writing felt flat to me–Miranda unexpectedly inherits a bookstore complete with scavenger hunt from a beloved eccentric uncle, who she hasn’t seen since his disappearance years ago. In the process of uncovering the mystery, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery with revelations that will change her life! It is reviewed and marketed as a poignant story about family, forgiveness and the joys of reading but I had a hard time connecting with any of it. It was ok to finish, but I didn’t like it as much as other bookshop books like  The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. Here’s a list of 20 books about bookstores if you are really interested in more: click here.