This Book Made Me Think of You

I absolutely loved this book! I want to buy it and flag all the things. This book made me laugh out loud, it made me cry--or sob. And I just felt like there were so many mentions of things that I just related to. A super big fan of this book. And I definitely want to re-read it at some point. I feel like it's going to stay with me a while!

[contains spoilers] A lady lost her husband six months prior. And she gets a call from the local bookstore that there's a book for her there. She shows up and come to find out, prior to his death, her husband bought 12 books and each month for the next year, she has to go in and get the book. Through the different books, she goes on adventures, learns to do new things and starts to heal from losing show more him. It's such an incredible book. It also has great book references. In the end, she falls in love with the bookstore owner and she helps him save it and she decides to go freelance with her book editing. Just a very heartwarming story with lots of tears from me...but also lots of chuckles. I would love a book two of this and see what the next half of her life holds for her. Highly recommend! show less

Tilly is grieving the loss of her husband Joe when she receives a call from a bookshop called Book Lane and specifically a bookseller called Alfie. He tells her that she has a book to collect from the shop, one that was chosen by Joe before he died. In fact, there are twelve books in total, one for each month of the year. Tilly is shocked at first, but as the months go by she begins to heal and to enjoy new experiences (well, most of them anyway) as well as getting back the love of reading that she lost when Joe was ill.

If you’ve ever given or received a book as a gift, you’ll know that so much thought can be put into it and it can be such a personal thing. Even more so for Tilly as each one comes with a letter from Joe telling her show more why he chose it. The books are well-timed and along the way Tilly makes new friends who help her to deal with her loss, Alfie being chief amongst them.

Having read all of Libby Page’s other books and considering myself a fan, I knew I would enjoy This Book Made Me Think of You but I loved it even more than I expected. The storyline hit just the right note without ever becoming twee, and I found it just as joyous and uplifting as I did heartbreaking and emotional. Page tells Tilly’s story, and Alfie’s too, so beautifully and empathetically throughout.

What makes this book even more special is the bookishness of it. I loved the idea of Alfie’s bookshop and the personal touch he bestowed on every single customer. I also really liked that at the beginning of each month there is a list of reading recommendations and they’re not the usual suspects. I follow the author on social media and I recognise many of the books as ones she has read and enjoyed herself and I was particularly pleased to see so many modern books on the lists too.

This book is about grief, love and books and I found it touching and captivating. show less

This is a book about books and how they can change someone's life. This is a book about love and grief, family and friendships and most importantly it's about how books can make a major difference in someone's life.

Tilly's fiancé, Joe, had been dead for several months and she is just basically just getting by and having a tough time getting beyond her deep grief. When she receives a call from a local bookstore that there is a book on hold for her that was ordered by Joe, she's pretty skeptical. When she goes to the bookstore and meets the owner, Alfie, he tells her that before Joe died, he ordered 12 books - one for each month of the next year. The books were carefully chosen to help Tilly get through the next year. There was a book show more about Paris that inspired her to take a trip to Paris where she made new friends, there was as cookbook that inspired her to start preparing wonderful food and a book about running that inspired her to train and run a half marathon. She still missed Joe but the books he picked gave her other avenues to create a life without him.

This beautifully written book made me laugh and made me cry. I totally understood Tilly, the main character losing her love of reading after the death of her husband. The same thing happened to me after my husband died -- after years of reading 15-18 books a month, I read nothing for 3 months. I missed reading but just couldn't pick up a book. I loved the way that books ended up helping Tilly's grief by giving her new goals to accomplish. I was so impressed with this book that I just ordered three of Libby Page's earlier books. Plus I've added several of the books that were mentioned to my tbr lists. show less

“The right book in the hands of the right person at exactly the right moment can change their life forever.”

When book editor Matilda ‘Tilly’ Nightingale receives a phone call from Book Lane advising her they are holding a birthday gift for her from her husband, she is sure they have made a mistake. Joe has been dead for almost six months.

Proprietor Alfie Lane carefully explains that before his death Joe arranged for Tilly to receive one book a month for the next twelve months, each including a handwritten note encouraging Tilly to move past her grief and embrace this new chapter in her life.

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page was exactly what I expected from reading the premise - sentimental, poignant, yet show more uplifting.

It’s a challenging journey for Tilly who does her best to honour Joe’s wishes expressed through each book and , while still in mourning. Page writes with compassion for her character’s journey through grief, anger, and guilt to acceptance and hope for the future.

Alfie is a sweetheart. Though struggling with issues of his own, including a threat to his bookstore, he sympathises with Tilly and becomes someone she can turn to. He falls first, but he is respectful of her grief and the slow course of their friendship and their romance is delightful.

Booklovers will delight in the many references to published books. Aside from the twelve titles Tilly receives from Joe, every section, divided by month begins with ‘Book Lane Recommends’ and lists four books that then speak to the months theme. The books vary widely in genre from children’s fiction to romance to nonfiction. Several high profile bookstores are also mentioned as Tilly travels, including Shakespeare & Co in Paris to The Ripped Bodice in New York.

The predictability of the plot is offset by the emotion the story inspires. This Book Made Me Think of You is written for the reader who understands the power of books to comfort, guide, heal, and encourage, and desires a happy ending. show less

"This Book Made Me Think of You" has a premise that all but guarantees a soft landing: a grieving woman, a stack of handpicked books, and letters from a husband who knew he would not be there to shepherd her through the first year without him. For the opening stretch, it works. The grief is immediate, the numbness feels recognisable, and the bookshop setting offers a believable kind of shelter.

»Crying like that had emptied her out completely.«

That is the novel at its best: plainspoken, emotionally attentive, and willing to sit in the messy quiet after a loss. Tilly’s tentative return to reading is also a lovely idea, because it promises something literature can genuinely do—give you language, shape, and temporary room to show more breathe.

The trouble is that the “journey” takes far too long, and not in a luxuriant, character-driven way. It is long as in dilated: set pieces that should have sharpened into transformation instead sprawl, repeat, and then, just when you are ready for the narrative to commit, it adds obstacles that feel designed rather than discovered. You can see the destination early on, and the detours only make that inevitability more frustrating.

Worse, the ending leans hard into calendar-style wisdoms—sentences that sound as if they were minted to be photographed, shared, and forgotten. There is a moment that should have landed as hard-won tenderness, but instead reads like a slogan.

»Love is always scary. But maybe we can be brave together.«

I confess I had the same reaction I left in my annotation: an involuntary “uh”. Not because the sentiment is poisonous, but because the book has not earned the simplicity; it feels like the novel wants to be deep without doing the difficult work of being specific.

In the wider field of bookish contemporary fiction, I kept thinking of novels that use reading as an engine rather than wallpaper—where the conceit tightens the plot and clarifies the emotional arc. Here, the conceit can become a mechanism for postponement. And, compared with brisk, unapologetically paced romance (Kendall Ryan comes to mind), Page’s hesitations feel less like tenderness and more like fear of finishing.

I have not read Page’s other work, so I cannot say whether this is a one-off wobble or a pattern. I can say that I wanted to love this, and, because the idea is genuinely beautiful, I ended up more disappointed than I would have been by a merely mediocre book. There is a good novel inside it. I just do not think this is quite that novel.

Three stars out of five.

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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam show less

Oh wow. I finally understand why this book has captured so many hearts. It’s such a warm, comforting, and uplifting story.

Tilly Nightingale receives an unforgettable gift from her late husband - twelve books, one for each month of the year - meant to guide her back toward happiness after losing him far too soon. The journey she takes through these books is incredibly touching. And she wouldn’t be able to navigate it all without Alfie, the bookshop owner who helps her along the way by giving her each book.

It’s a beautiful book, full of heart and joy. I listened to the audiobook, and Zadeiah brought the story to life beautifully.

Tilly gets a call from a bookstore telling her she has a book ready to pick up, but she doesn't understand because she didn't buy a book.

The bookstore owner suggested that she stop in so he can explain.

What a surprise!! Her husband who had passed has surprise books scheduled to be delivered to Tilly every month for an entire year.

Tilly wants all the books, but the bookstore owner said he promised that he would only give them out one month at a time.

The books have a note from her husband that makes Tilly feel he is right there with her. Each book has something to help her get back into reading and to help herself cope.

This was the sweetest read. I was excited to see what book was next for Tilly and what adventure Joe wanted her to show more experience.

If you need an uplifting book with wonderful characters, please read this book.

You will get many book recommendations and also visit the Library Hotel in Manhattan.

The cover is as adorable as the book. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own. show less