Hi and welcome to another week of bookish reads!! I know the title sounds vague but please bear with me for a while. This week’s post has a ‘trio of reads’ of the adult variety of book-themed chick lit reads. So if your inner bibliophile needs a small pick-me-up, this is the post to dive into…
The three titles featured here have one small thing in common: they all feature a library, a librarian, and… most importantly… books!! Let’s delve further shall we!!
My first selection is this lovely read I found titled The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander (Orion Books, 2021). In this story readers are thrust into village life as librarian Jess Metcalf relocates to a charming cottage in an English country village following the passing of her beloved grandmother and losing her job at the local library. Armed with boxes of her grandmother’s books, Jess moves to picturesque Devon and slowly finds herself adapting to village life. This lovely story of loss, love, and family really tugs at the heartstrings. What I loved the most was when Jess turned the unused red telephone box near her cottage into a little library!! Avid bibliophiles will also love the literary titles within the chapters and the lovely descriptions of the Devon landscape!!
My next book, The Library by Bella Osborne (Head of Zeus Ltd, 2021) is another interesting title about a different inter-generational pair of readers. Teenager Tom finds himself escaping into the local library after a row with his dad. Pensioner Maggie has been happily alone with her beloved novels for ten years – at least, that’s what she tells herself. When they meet, they recognise something in each other that will change both their lives forever. Then their library comes under threat of closure, and they must join forces to prove that it’s not just about books – it’s the heart of their community. They are determined to save it – because some things are worth fighting for. What a surprising uplifting story this was!! I thought it would be one of an unexpected friendship between an inter-generational pair who end up saving their local library, but I got so much more than that. Taking the role of the library at the heart of this small-town community somewhere in Warwickshire, Osborne has given us a book that explores human interactions and the many relationships we create together. There was so much to love in here!! The characters, how Maggie’s farm is described and that thanks to her Tom starts reading romance books!!
The last title, Elodie’s Library of Second Chances by Rebecca Raisin (HQ Fiction UK, 2022) is one I decided to add to this list while on my holiday!! This uplifting read takes readers to a little country town, Willow Grove, and to the small library there. Elodie applies for the job of librarian as she longs to work with the thing she loves most: books!! This sentence alone had me hooked, but the whole story that unfolded held me captivated so much that I completely forgot to write a review in my notebook!! Pretty soon Elodie realises that there are others in Willow Grove who might need a fresh start. Together with local journalist Finn, Elodie decides these people have stories that need sharing. What if instead of borrowing books readers could ‘borrow’ a person, and hear the life stories of those they’ve overlooked? There’s something romantic about library’s being a place for second chances!! Despite Elodie’s initial secrecy, the hard work she puts in and the developing romance with Finn, brings a well-layered story. You can’t help but fall in love with the colourful characters in this read, especially young Alfie!! A delightful read for a lazy Sunday!!
So there you have a collection of literary/library related chick-lit from me!! If you have read anything similar, I’d love to hear from you.
Stay safe and keep reading
Miss Mahee
Miss Mahee's Library of Reads 