The Reading List - Sara Nisha Adams

Fiction

Rating: 9/10

A charming love letter about the transformative magic that books can bestow on even the most unsuspecting reader.

Aleisha bemoans her job at a small neighbourhood library, a necessary escape from her grueling homelife. Not much of a reader, she finds herself struggling to connect with patrons and coworkers alike.  Then one day she finds a reading list tucked away in a book, the perfect antidote for the guilt she feels after not being able to recommend a read to Mukesh. A lonely widower who believes he may better feel the presence of his late wife with a foray into her favourite pastime.  When Aleisha decides to read the books too, they begin to form a bond, inconceivable to some but will come as no surprise to booklovers.

I found all the characters in this book immensely relatable, not to mention lovable.  And the way that the author exquisitely weaves threads from the stories on the reading list into lives of Mukesh and Aleisha was inspired. The reader will feel their struggles viscerally and feel an abundance of hope as they use lessons from the reads to help guide them through. The author never resorting to so pat an outcome as “fixing” them.

A book that reminds me why I love reading.  Not that I required it.

The Reading List

To Kill A Mockingbird

Rebecca

The Kite Runner

Life Of Pi

Pride & Prejudice

Little Women

Beloved

A Suitable Boy

P.S. Loved many of these books and only disliked one of them.  Which I will of course not disclose to you…

Book Pairing(s): Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson, Midnight Library by Matt Haig