BOOKISH FRIDAY: “THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which I  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers, who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

What a great way to spend a Friday!

Today’s feature is a recent download, a book I’ve been eyeing for a while:  The Bookshop on the Corner, by Jenny Colgan, a funny, moving new novel for fans of Nina George’s The Little Paris Bookshop.

 

Beginning:  The problem with good things that happen is that very often they disguise themselves as awful things.  It would be lovely, wouldn’t it, whenever you’re going through something difficult, if someone could just tap you on the shoulder and say, “Don’t worry, it’s completely worth it.  It seems like absolutely horrible crap now, but I promise it will all come good in the end,” and you could say, “Thank you, Fairy Godmother.”  You might also say, “Will I also lose that seven pounds?” and they would say, “But of course, my child.”

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56:  Nina glanced down at her phone.  A new e-mail was blinking.  She didn’t even have to open it.  “I regret to inform you…” was the first line that came across in the preview screen.

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Synopsis:  Nina is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more.

Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile — a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling.

From helping her grumpy landlord deliver a lamb, to sharing picnics with a charming train conductor who serenades her with poetry, Nina discovers there’s plenty of adventure, magic, and soul in a place that’s beginning to feel like home… a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending.

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What do you think?  Have you read it?  Would you keep reading?

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