September is ending the summer heat and busy tourist days, bringing cloudy skies with a hint of the cool weather. It is a time of year when I am thinking about cardigans, warm drinks, and comforting books. The fall is my favorite time of year and it puts me in the mood for more thoughtful and soothing stories, before of course I am drawn the ghostly and ghastly reads of October. I don’t know if you also find yourself in a particular mood, but let me share a few recent reads that I enjoyed.
All of them are about book lovers and how books can provide healing and, surprisingly for a solitary enjoyment, community. My first read was What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama. It tells stories of a retail clerk, an accountant for a furniture manufacturer, a mom who was a magazine editor, a young man who thinks of himself as a NEET (not in employment, education, or training), and a man who has recently retired.
They all become connected through a small community library with an unusual librarian named Sayuri Komachi who is intimidatingly large, doesn’t speak much, and often creates small felt animals at her desk. These people who are at a low point in their lives find the librarian possesses an almost supernatural gift for finding them the tome that opens their minds and hearts to new possibilities.
The book a picture into the day-to-day lives of people in Japan with similar problems of people here – looking for a job, feeling disengaged from your life, feeling obsolete once you reach a certain age, or feeling like you’ve lost your dreams. There is something wise and kind in this author’s tale and in her simple, straightforward style.
There is a very similar vibe in Welcome to Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum, which takes place in a small neighborhood in South Korea. A woman whose life has fallen apart decides to start over by opening an independent bookstore.
I think every bibliophile dreams of running their own bookstore – contemplating what books you’d sell, if you’d have comfy furniture and a little coffee bar, what events and authors you’d have for the community.
Bo-Reum shows how little by little, the store impacts the people connected to the shop, either as workers or customers. I was surprised by how much in the characters lives reminded me of things I am thinking about or with which I am struggling. I appreciated having a glimpse into a culture that I mainly know from TV shows. There are times the translation I read is a little awkward, but the charm of the bookstore and its patrons more than made up for an unusually worded sentence or two I encountered.
Finally, I recently read a cozy fantasy novel, Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree, a prequel to his hit book Legends & Lattes. It follows the adventures of an orc named Viv who ends up, due to a nasty encounter with the minions of a necromancer, convalescing in a small seaside town with a rundown bookshop.
This is a light, whimsical read sure to appeal to people who like their fantasy with a bit of humor and heart. Baldree describes the perfect pastry and the most fantastical creatures, sometimes in the same sentence. If you haven’t read either book, start with Legends & Lattes which introduces the reader to Viv when she’s a bit older, wiser, and ready to pursue a dream that’s very different from the hectic life of an adventurer that she lived before.