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An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb. Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in Wembley, in West London after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries. Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It's a list of novels that she's never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she's facing at home. When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list...hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again.… (more)
If you’re a book lover like me, then you’ve probably read your fair share of books about books or libraries or book clubs. It’s usually a sure hit for my bookish soul, so when I picked up The Reading List and didn’t love it (also a big believer in right book, wrong time), it got me thinking of other books about books that I do love. ( )
Do you love a multigenerational friendship odd couple that brings people together, this heartwarming book is just that. Characters navigate different losses together and open their worlds via each other and a great list of pivotal books. ( )
Delightful book for book lovers who truly understand the value and saving power books can have on one’s life. Many characters, many scenarios, many books to lift the spirit, create friendship, assuage loneliness and just be what each character needed at just the right time. Underlying issue of the devaluation of libraries in a community runs through the chapters, mental health, family makeups, grief and loss are all topics broached in this lovely story. ( )
In loving memory of Granny, Grandad, Ba, and Dada For Mum and Dad Love you lots x
First words
The doors are new: Automatic open. Fancy.
Quotations
Sometimes, books take us away for a little while, and return us to our place with a new perspective.
Books aren't always an escape; sometimes books teach us things. They show us the world; they don't hide it.
Priya was reading a book he knew all about. He knew the world Priya was in right now. There was something magical in that - in sharing a world you have loved; allowing someone to see it through the same pair of spectacles you saw it through yourself.
Last words
"Packet chai okay with you?" Mukesh called. "Of course. My favorite," Naina said.
An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb. Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in Wembley, in West London after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries. Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It's a list of novels that she's never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she's facing at home. When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list...hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again.
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Book description
Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in Wembley, in West London after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.
Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It's a list of novels that she's never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she's facing at home.
When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list...hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again.
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