What You Are Looking for Is in the Library | 
so-soThis book reminded me of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series but without the fun time travels aspect. There are several short, interconnecting stories, each from a different narrator and all having life changing experiences due to services they discover at the community library, giving my library loving heart all the feels. I did find the stories a bit boring though.
pickI read this one before the first one, but I think that is okay, I think the stories stand alone. I really enjoyed each story and even more how they all fit together tangentially. Quiet, thoughtful, and beautifully written, I look forward to another.
pickThis was just lovely. Billed as a novel, this is actually five short stories in which the characters are interconnected. This was gifted to me, & I'm so glad I own a physical copy, because I foresee returning to this.
⭐⭐⭐⭐✨/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
How could I not bring this book home from the new book shelf of my public library?! Just look at its title and cover art! 🥰
pickI really enjoyed this book. It‘s a set of interconnected short stories about different people who are struggling when they find their way to a small library in a community center. There they are connected with books that inspire change. I read this for the #PS2025 Healing Fiction prompt. I hadn‘t heard of that genre but will definitely read more of it.
pick5 short stories of different people at different stages of their lives connected by a common library.
Random note: There are beautiful illustrations before each of the stories.
I had to hit Barnes and Noble to return some Xmas duplicates today and picked up these three beauties. For the life of me I couldn‘t find my copy of The Ex Hex anywhere so I bought a new one.
so-soA gentle, easy read about a librarian who helps people find their purpose in life by recommending unlikely books. Each character is distinct so it reads like a collection of short stories. A nice sense of place in suburban Tokyo & a reminder of the importance of community (& libraries). Satisfying to see the characters transform their lives. I didn‘t love it, perhaps because it felt a little contrived. A sweet, soothing read.
pickThis book is a gentle reminder that sometimes the most profound answers lie in unexpected places. Each story in this collection centers around visitors to a humble library, each searching for something—purpose, direction, fresh start. The beauty is how librarian Ms.Sayuri gently guides them, knowing exactly the right book to unlock new chapters in their lives.
If you‘ve ever longed for a sign, THIS book is IT. It definitely was for me! 🥰
A book about a library, with a black cat on the cover, of course I had to get it, and I am enjoying the different character per chapter all connected by the same librarian.
“You may say that it was the book, but it‘s how you read a book that is most valuable, rather than any power it might have itself.”
pickFive wonderful cozy heart warming stories to cuddle up with at night in front of a fireplace. Just sayin.
For the rest of my review, visit my Vlog at:
https://youtu.be/FGvSbTdEDMA
Enjoy!
pickJust a sweet, life affirming book about five different people who find their way to a community library and find new ways to see themselves and others. It shows importance of making connections and approaching life with an open heart.
pickPeople from different walk of life struggle with disillusionment until they find the library and the special magic it contains. Each person‘s struggle follows the same story arc. A cozy, comfort read. It would have been 5 stars except I didn‘t appreciate the descriptions of the librarian.
pickCute little book that have 5 stories of people who are at a crossroads in their lives but don‘t know what they are looking for in their lives. Set in Japan and written by a talented Japanese author. A perfect book to cozy up to with a hot beverage this fall. 🍁☕️🍂 📖
pickI adored this book! Set in Japan, there are 5 separate stories about 5 people of various ages who are searching for something, but they don‘t know what. They all eventually find themselves in the Community House library and encounter Ms. Kamacho, the formidable librarian who helps them with their book requests, with an extra seemingly unrelated book recommended to each of them, along with a little gift. Each of them finds a new path to take ⬇️
While in a Waterstone‘s (❤️❤️❤️) in England, knowing I had limited suitcase space to bring back books, I took photos of all the books I found interesting in hopes of finding them back home! This is just a small sample of the photos I took. Anyone else do that?
Now I have to add them to my tbr list.
Yesterday's #flatlayfriday
This is a Bookstagram staple that I'm loving.
Get your books out. Lie them down. Look at everyone else's.
pickAny absolutely charming and heartfelt book.
pickThis book was so quietly relatable with so many life lessons brought to the fore... never give up on your dreams, you're never too old to learn/try something new, we are all linked together in some way even though that's not always apparent, etc. 5 people are highlighted, each with their own unique life & challenges. All are linked through the librarian, Ms. Komachi, who helps each find their way. Loved this! 5/5⭐️
(April 7, 2024)
pickI enjoyed this one.
5 people in the same community end up at the local library getting recommendations from the librarian. While they know they are dissatisfied with their lives, these book recommendations and accompanying bonus gifts help them to realise what they want and that they are already turning their lives around. Overall a good slow paced read.
#BookSpin
pickSuch a charming booking, with a lovely peaceful cover! Of course all the answers are found at the library. 😄
#MarvellousMarch @Andrew65
#gottacatchemall @PuddleJumper (prompt 43, Sinistea: Tea cup on cover)
so-soI'm usually on board for any book championing the value of libraries and community centres, which often offer free or reduced price services/classes, and can help people find enriching hobbies or a change in employment in myriad ways, in addition to offering books as resources. 1/?
Ugghhh....Shuji there's a feminist comic called The Mental Load that you really, REALLY need to read.
Yeeeaaaahh... there's a high probability that the first thing I'm going to do at work tomorrow when my fingers hit the keys is mutter "Shoo-tatatatata" sote voce. ?
pickI am in absolute love with this book. It is filled with everything and nothing. There is not a lot of action and these are ordinary people discovering their own ordinary extraordinariness. The librarian is not oracular, she just has a heightened sense of intuition. All are remade, but by their own effort and will. This book will lift your heart, fill your heart, heal your heart. If you read only one book this year, make this book the one.5⭐️
pickGentle, slice of life, short story collection with characters that are all connected not just through the library but by also just by living and working in the same community. I really liked getting a second glimpse of most of the characters, as we meet them after they did indeed find what (they didn‘t know) they were looking for at the library.
pickI loved this short story collection! Each story (there are 5) is interconnected by a librarian who matches books with what she thinks will inspire the person…this book taught me about the craft of felting. I had never heard of felting before!
It‘s just so much fun and there‘s a list of the books mentioned in the back. Translated by Alison Watts. #Japan
pickFive main characters, who have reached a crossroad in their lives, or kind of lost their way in life, met a mysterious librarian who has a capability of recommending the right book which helps them. I liked that all the characters are connected to the library, though unknown to each of them. This is a heartwarming book which matches the cute cover. It‘s uplifting, and celebrates the power of books/literature & human connection.
„You may say that it was the book, but it was how you read a book that is most valuable, rather than any power it might have itself.“
this book 😍
pickThis was an easy book to start and finish on the plane today. It doesn‘t ask much of the reader just provides sweet little tales of discontented people who meet a librarian who recommends seemingly random books that end up altering their lives. I did wonder often how it made the #tob24 list as it is such a simple read. A light pick.
pickUltimately, I was disappointed by the lack of cats in this book. There are cats only in the second chapter, which features a bookshop that sells coffee, books about cats, and has resident cats, which sounds absolutely delightful. But alas, no cats actually live at the library, and neither was the librarian a talking cat (hey this is Japanese lit, anything can happen - see, THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS). Still, a warm and cozy read.
so-soKind of twee story about five somewhat lost people who meet with a mysterious librarian who offers book suggestions that unexpectedly point their lives in new directions. I can see why many people found this gentle and heartwarming but for me it fell flat and has ultimately been forgettable. Not quite a pan as I‘m too attached to the idea of finding meaning and direction in books :)
Such a sweet read!
#12booksof2023
pickThere were things I liked about this book — nice, quiet, loosely connected stories and that people went to the library for help. There were also some things I didn‘t care for — the librarian is portrayed as very unapproachable (which is NOT what you want in a reference librarian) and a couple of the stories were a little boring. Overall, though, I liked it. Continued with DCI Barnaby on my #audiowalk
On a road trip, posting this to get it on my Litsy banner of current reads, but I will now go read hardcover of Ward‘s Let Us Descend, which is due tomorrow, which means that it will be returned late to the library, and so I offer an apology to the next person in line and yes, I should be ashamed of myself.
#tob2024
pickFeatured in #MMDBookClub 2023 Fall Book Preview
• fiction • literary • emotional • hopeful • lighthearted • japan • magical realism • translated works • books about books/libraries • 4 Stars
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library tells the stories of five different library patrons who are looking for something in their lives, such as purpose, meaning, or connection. ⬇️
pickThis was sweet. Five short stories in of characters ranging in age from their 20s to their 60s, and each feeling they were not ‘enough‘ in their respective lives until each found themselves challenged by a knowing librarian. It really does have the feel of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series.
pickSweet and contemplative with really beautiful writing to make you stop and think.
