Books about Libraries and Bookstores
Book Review
If you love books, then you probably love libraries and bookstores. So what could be nicer than reading a book about a bookstore or one set in a library! Here are just a few that I have enjoyed.
Non-Fiction
The Bookshop that Floated Away by Sarah Henshaw is the story of The Book Barge’s journeys along the canals of Great Britain. This one is for all of us who have dreamed of escaping the bonds of everyday life and hitting the road – “Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow” as Toad would say.
The Diary of a Bookseller is Shaun Bythell’s journal of a year in the life of Scotland’s largest secondhand bookstore. It’s a tale of staff with minds of their own (the part-time assistant who is a Jehovah’s Witness places Darwin in the fiction section), battles with Amazon, and customers who profess their love of books but don’t buy any. The book is surprisingly addictive and kept me up well after midnight as I read just one more entry. If you enjoy this book, Bythell has written a sequel: Confessions of a Bookseller.
The Library Tree: How a Canadian Woman Brought the Joy of Reading to a Generation of African Children by Deborah Cowley is the story of Kathy Knowles who started out reading to a group of children in her backyard in Ghana and ended up stocking seven large community libraries and supporting several hundred others.
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer is a fascinating read involving a war zone, 377,000 ancient manuscripts, and the librarian who believed they were worth saving.
Fiction
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George is the story of a floating book barge on the Seine. The owner, Monsieur Perdu, considers himself a literary apothecary and has the gift of finding the perfect book for each of his customers. But can he find the book that will mend his own broken heart?
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan is about the mysterious goings-on in a very unusual bookstore. Who knows? Maybe McNally Robinson hides a magical alter ego behind its everyday appearance!
The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan is a light romantic read. It’s also overflowing with books when Nina buys a van and turns it into a mobile bookmobile.
The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs is the story of a woman who unexpectedly inherits a bookstore, has every intention of selling it and resuming her regular life, but ends up doing the reverse.
La Libraire de la Place aux Herbes by Éric de Kermel is a description of the people who enter a small bookshop on the main market square in Uzès, France, and the books they read.
Mystery
Murder in the Museum by John Rowland was originally published in 1938. It has all the charm of classic British mysteries – well-mannered police officers and their amateur assistants, all well-armed with understated humour. And don’t be fooled by the title. The murder takes place in the British Library, which was at the time part of the British Museum.
Bodies in the Bookshop by Len Tyler is a short story collection I picked up when shopping at Heffer’s Bookshop in Cambridge, the scene of three of the crimes.
Extra
I haven’t yet read The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald, but I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The main character runs into difficulties when she opens a bookstore in a small seaside town. The store is immensely popular, but those with money and power have other plans.