The Bookshop on the Corner, one of our September picks, was my first experience with a Jenny Colgan novel.
Before the story started, Colgan left a message for the reader, reminding us that books are beautiful and often change lives. She offered a list of places she recommends taking out your book along with the pros and cons of reading at these locations. He recommendations include: the bath, bed, sunbed, walking down the street, book group, hammock, commuting, traveling, in front of the fire, the hospital, and under a shady tree in a sunny park.
My favorite passage from this unorthodox (but most welcome) introduction was about trains:
After reading this “Note to the Reader,” I knew I would enjoy the novel as Colgan had proven herself to be a kindred spirit.
In the beginning of the story, the reader is introduced to Nina Redmond – a librarian who is being downsized. She is in a state of despair for books are all she knows. Libraries are becoming more like community centers and the city she lives in is already saturated with bookstores. What is a bibliophile to do?
With the encouragement of her friends and some good luck, Nina decides to relocated to a small village in Scotland, buy a van, and convert it into a mobile bookshop. Because of her deep knowledge of literature, she is able to match the people in this literature-deprived village with a book that she thinks would best suit them (a better version of the “literary apothecary” concept introduced in The Little Paris Bookshop, in my opinion).
The book is not complicated, but sweet and endearing. Watching Nina adjust from a big city to a small village struck a chord. Jenny Colgan did an excellent job of showing what a struggle it can be to move to a new place. Even if the people are nice, it is often lonely and easy to be discouraged.
If you are a bibliophile, read this book. Careful, the story may cause you to contemplate a mobile bookshop of your own.
Live, Love, Learn,
Candice & The Write Teacher(s)