Hey everyone!
I recently read the book What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama and I really enjoy the book and am looking for more like it.
I'm not sure exactly what this genre is called. These books seem to entail the following key plot points:
- Someone is going through a difficult time in their life
- They visit a strange/enchanted location (a library, a bookstore, a coffee shop, etc.)
- They receive unconventional help at that location and find a way to solve whatever is troubling them
These books are also written almost as short story collections, where different characters who are often unconnected all come to the same location for help with different problems.
Other books in this vein include Before the Coffee Gets Cold and The Full Moon Coffee Shop. But so far, my very favorite is the Library one.
I've been going nuts for these books and am not sure how to find more of them or what they're called. Can anyone help and recommend your favorites?
by sleepyhollow_101
1 Comment
I love this little sub genre, they are so comforting to read. 🥹 I have a couple cozy bookshop/library recs! But they aren’t necessarily short stories.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin – small bookshop owner’s life takes a 180 when he finds an abandoned child in his store which then leads to big changes in his life and the lives of his customers (my fave! Her other book, “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”, is one of my favorites of all time but isn’t in this cozy bookshop genre, lol)
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George – floating bookstore in Paris that has “literary prescriptions” for its visitors, helping them heal and find their purpose in life