The Bookshop on the Corner: A Novel

Jenny Colgan

Sep 2016 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

Nina Redmond is a librarian with a gift for finding the perfect book for her readers. But can she write her own happy-ever-after? In this valentine to readers, librarians, and book-lovers the world over, the New York Times-bestselling author of Little Beach Street Bakery returns with a funny, moving new novel for fans of Nina George’s The Little Paris Bookshop.

 

Nina is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more.

 

Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile — a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling. 

From helping her grumpy landlord deliver a lamb, to sharing picnics with a charming train conductor who serenades her with poetry, Nina discovers there’s plenty of adventure, magic, and soul in a place that’s beginning to feel like home… a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending.

Ratings and reviews

I loved everything about The Bookshop on the Corner. Except the name. It’s a bookmobile not a corner store, which gave me the wrong mental image. Same with the book cover. I want to see the van. It’s awesome. Come on, work with me here! So I should say, everything substantial was perfect. I knew when I started the Message to Readers dedication this was going to be good. That was adorable and sweet. Don’t skip it! I LOVE Colgan’s voice/writing. Her backlog is now on my TBR list. The Good: LOVED Nina Loved the writing Loved the plot Loved the message to readers in the beginning Every character felt real Quotable Book recommendations Nina is wonderful and flawed. I connected with her so much it hurt. She’s been coasting through her life with books and her life is in upheaval with the library’s new direction. It’s a mid-life crisis. She’s a hopeless romantic. It’s brilliantly introspective rather than external cruising for dudes and make-overs. I am so impressed with how real her character is, her internal dialogue, and her progression. The first third is set-up: her life at the library, what’s changing, and getting on the path to the aforementioned bookmobile store. At no point was I anxious to move on. I loved every minute of it. She’d managed to hold reality at bay for the best part of thirty years, but now it was approaching at an incredibly speedy rate, and she was absolutely going to have to do something—anything—about it. And then the fun of her new venture began. OH BOY! Here’s two non-spoiler pieces that I picked out: the ewe birth and silly conversation about what kind of a sofa Nina's is. After that, I sped through it. I couldn’t stop to make Goodreads updates. I did make pages of bookmarks and highlights though. Including like every passage about book recommendations. Not only was it a book lover's dream, it wasn't predictable. I didn't know who, how or why as far as the romance and Nina's business went. There are some sex scenes later on. It’s glossy perfection rather than erotic details, which can be read in public without embarrassment. I was reading my copy at work because it was slow and I couldn’t resist. P.S. very disappointed Up on the Rooftops isn’t a real book. I honestly searched for it after finishing The Bookshop on the Corner, desperate to read it. That’s just mean, Colgan.

Loved The Bookshop on the Corner. If you want an easy escape to Great Britain and a need to repurpose your life, you will find this fun and energizing.

I have not enjoyed a book this much in years! I am in LOVE!

About the author

Jenny Colgan is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels, including The Christmas Bookshop, The Bookshop on the Corner, Little Beach Street Bakery, and Christmas at the Cupcake Café. Jenny, her husband, and three children live in a genuine castle in Scotland.