Sara Nisha Adams

Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Heart restoring. A love letter to books and people, and a love letter to the power of books to bring people together. "Books show us the world; they don't hide it". This book reminded me of exactly why reading has been the greatest love of my life since I learned to read, because it reminded me of the power of falling in love with characters and loving something imaginary so much that it starts to live alongside you.

Some parts were a bit strong on the show more foreshadowing, such as who actually wrote the titular list, and what was going on with the brother, but I didn't mind those things because Aleisha and Mukesh were both fully realized characters at different ends of their lives but both with powerful things to say about the books they were reading together, which also brought me back to those same books as I have read 7 of the 8 books on the list.

This book was a fantastic start to my 2023 reading! show less

If you are a lover of reading, of libraries, of the smell of old texts, you MUST read this book. Because it is written for you, for all of us!

In THE READING LIST, author Sara Nisha Adams introduces us to a disparate and largely dissatisfied group of individuals -- young and old, lonely and gregarious, suffering and thriving. What ALL have in common, besides the fact that their lives are just like ours, is that they all live near the same local (and little used) library branch, that is in show more danger of closing. And, they also happen to stumble across the very same reading list, an anonymous list of recommended books.

Aleisha, 17 years old and feeling friendless, winds up working part-time at the library during her final summer before college, partly as a way to escape caretaking responsibilities for her depressed mother. Mukesh, a widower, worries his three grown daughters because he has become so reclusive since his wife's death. Indira, exceedingly talkative, is simply desperate for someone to communicate with. And on and on.

But the novel actually becomes less about the individuals and more a story about reading the books on the list and how that action impacts each character. And about the power books have in general. How they can teach. How they can make people question their actions, choices or outlook. How they can present alternate paths. Ultimately, the book is about how books are able to change people and help them make new connections.

I won't say more about the plot since that would no doubt spoil the joy of your own discovery. Because this is a very human story, about all of us readers, and all that our books offer us. show less

It's a big call to make so early in the year but this may end up being a 2022 favourite!

An absolutely lovely story with characters that were easy to connect with. The novel took me to highs and lows as I was drawn into a world that is a bibliophile's dream. The author did an incredible job of illustrating how books and libraries can nurture connections. These connections became instrumental in creating positive changes in our characters' lives. A list of books makes its way through a random show more collection of people within a community. No one knows who wrote the list or what it might mean, but when people start reading the books they start to find their own profound meanings in the pages of these great novels.

It has inspired me to reread some of the books mentioned and have borrowed a couple I have not read from the list. Loved it.


CW: suicide, grief, mental health issues show less

Digital audiobook performed by Tara Divina, Sagar Arya, and Paul Panting
3.5***

Aleisha is a teen struggling with family issues and working a summer job in the library. Mukesh is an aging widower who still feels lost without his wife, despite his loving daughters and granddaughter. These two very different souls forge an unlikely alliance based on a reading list found tucked into a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.

This is a very good debut for Adams. The characters are complex and have a show more variety of issues. On the surface one wouldn’t expect them to have anything in common or to be able to relate to one another at all. But Adams brings them together, first by happenstance, and slowly by shared experiences and their individuals needs for human connection.

My heart went out to Aleisha, whose mother suffers from clinical depression and who is shouldering more than any teen should have to shoulder. Mukesh has more of a support system in place, but he is missing the connection to his wife that he cannot get over losing. The possibility of sharing a book with his book-loving granddaughter is what first takes him to the library where he and Aleisha cross paths.

There are a number of serious issues involved here, from grief to mental illness to loneliness. But Adams gives us moments of tenderness and love and humor that nurture both her characters and the reader. The supporting cast of characters are equally rich and interesting.

I loved how this varied list of books brought all of them together. One of her characters says it best: “…the books that had found her at the right time, that had given her comfort when she needed it, had given her an escape, an opportunity to live beyond her life, an opportunity to love more powerfully, a chance to open up and let people in.“ And at the end of the book, Adams gives us a bonus list of books that entered her own life “at just the right time” to inspire, motivate and teach.

The audiobook is performed by a talented group of voice artists: Tara Divina, Sagar Arya, and Paul Panting. They really bring these characters to life.

Trigger warning: suicidal ideation show less