This book made me incandescently happy. It also made me single tear three times then completely sob three times.
I loved this book. LOVED it.
A.J. Fikry is a grumpy rude standoffish bookstore owner dealing with recent personal tragedy. This book follows his life in its deteriorating state and how a ‘package’ dropped off in his bookstore saves his life (well that and the help of his community). The package is a little girl named Maya who obviously comes with a mystery attached, she is not the first or last mystery of this book.
The thing that is really amazing about this book is that it is about people that love books and the places these people love them in. I listened to this book as an audiobook on a 9-hour round trip drive (I think it was only 6 hours of Firky) on my way to an author event at an Indie bookstore. So I was already feeling close to books but this book is really deeply an exploration of people that love books. All books. All the people who love them. There is the snobby bookstore owner that loves lit fic, short stories, and (we find out later) Lord of the Rings, the eclectic publishing house employee that loves the books that are underdogs, the winter releases, and a particular memoir of an old man, a police chief who loves crime fiction and young adult, and many many more people.
The plot was awesome as well. It is a 'reader figures it out before the characters do’ book that makes sure you engage with the plot to put it all together.
I loved reading about people who love books. It did not feel hokey, or contrived, it just truly made me so so happy. I really love this book. So much. Everyone should read it.
I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads and read it on January 13th, 2018.
