Bookish People
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- Create Date：2022-08-06 18:21:42
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Susan Coll
- ISBN：B09N9BB8GV
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Summary
A perfect storm of comedic proportions erupts in a DC bookstore over the course of one soggy summer week， punctuated by political turmoil， a celestial event， and a perpetually broken vacuum cleaner。
Independent bookstore owner Sophie Bernstein is burned out on books。 Mourning the death of her husband， the loss of her favorite manager， her only child’s lack of aspiration， and the grim state of the world， she fantasizes about going into hiding in the secret back room of her store。
Meanwhile， renowned poet Raymond Chaucer has published a new collection， and rumors that he’s to blame for his wife’s suicide have led to national cancellations of his publicity tour。 He intends to set the record straight—with an ultrafine Sharpie—but only one shop still plans to host him: Sophie’s。
Fearful of potential repercussions from angry customers， Sophie asks Clemi—bookstore events coordinator， aspiring novelist， and daughter of a famed literary agent—to cancel Raymond’s appearance。 But Clemi suspects Raymond might be her biological father， and she can’t say no to the chance of finding out for sure。
This big-hearted screwball comedy features an intergenerational cast of oblivious authors and over-qualified booksellers—as well as a Russian Tortoise named Kurt Vonnegut Jr。—and captures the endearing quirks of some of the best kinds of people: the ones who love good books。
Independent bookstore owner Sophie Bernstein is burned out on books。 Mourning the death of her husband， the loss of her favorite manager， her only child’s lack of aspiration， and the grim state of the world， she fantasizes about going into hiding in the secret back room of her store。
Meanwhile， renowned poet Raymond Chaucer has published a new collection， and rumors that he’s to blame for his wife’s suicide have led to national cancellations of his publicity tour。 He intends to set the record straight—with an ultrafine Sharpie—but only one shop still plans to host him: Sophie’s。
Fearful of potential repercussions from angry customers， Sophie asks Clemi—bookstore events coordinator， aspiring novelist， and daughter of a famed literary agent—to cancel Raymond’s appearance。 But Clemi suspects Raymond might be her biological father， and she can’t say no to the chance of finding out for sure。
This big-hearted screwball comedy features an intergenerational cast of oblivious authors and over-qualified booksellers—as well as a Russian Tortoise named Kurt Vonnegut Jr。—and captures the endearing quirks of some of the best kinds of people: the ones who love good books。
Reviews
the_litterature
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Bookish PeopleBy: Susan CollPub Date: August 2nd， 2022Audiobook Narrator: Alexa MordenSynopsis:Independent book owner， Sophie Bernstein， is dealing with the loss of her husband and issues with a controversial author signing books at her store。 One of the bookstore employees， Clemi， pushes for Raymond Chaucer to come talk and sign books at the store but controversy surrounding him may cause issues she can’t foresee。Review:As much as I appreciated the gifted ALC from Libro。FM and the E-Arc from Ne Bookish PeopleBy: Susan CollPub Date: August 2nd， 2022Audiobook Narrator: Alexa MordenSynopsis:Independent book owner， Sophie Bernstein， is dealing with the loss of her husband and issues with a controversial author signing books at her store。 One of the bookstore employees， Clemi， pushes for Raymond Chaucer to come talk and sign books at the store but controversy surrounding him may cause issues she can’t foresee。Review:As much as I appreciated the gifted ALC from Libro。FM and the E-Arc from Netgalley， I found this book to be very disappointing。 I love books about books made for book lovers but I was bored throughout most of this book。 The main character （Sophie） meandering and rambling for most of the book。 This was certainly a character-driven story with a great concept but almost nothing happened and I didn’t care about the things that did。The story itself was 2。5 stars but I bumped my rating to 3 stars because I did like the conversations on handling controversial authors， as well as， the struggles of independent bookstore owners。 。。。more
Franny lu
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uuuggghh I can't get past the first chapter。 will try again in a few weeks。 uuuggghh I can't get past the first chapter。 will try again in a few weeks。 。。。more
N Castelino
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Drawn to an intriguing premise， set in the confines of a bookstore in Washington DC， I was called to read Bookish People。 We have Sophie， the owner of an independent bookstore， trying to find her footing on shaky grounds - her husband Soloman passes away， and the bookstore manager is leaving to pursue law， coupled with her unspoken anxiety about the life path of her only son。 All she wishes to do is retreat from her surroundings。 On the other hand， Clemi， the bookstore's event coordinator， is ba Drawn to an intriguing premise， set in the confines of a bookstore in Washington DC， I was called to read Bookish People。 We have Sophie， the owner of an independent bookstore， trying to find her footing on shaky grounds - her husband Soloman passes away， and the bookstore manager is leaving to pursue law， coupled with her unspoken anxiety about the life path of her only son。 All she wishes to do is retreat from her surroundings。 On the other hand， Clemi， the bookstore's event coordinator， is barely hanging on by a thread。 She is dealing with roommates and her spontaneous mother and is close to learning the truth about her father。 The bookstore is the epicentre for strange and hilarious situations。 The book was fair for me; it had some laugh-out-loud moments with witty and sharp dialogues and narratives。 However， I struggled to connect with the characters and the sub-plots were sometimes dragged， drawing parallel lines to the plot progression。 I never give up on my books， and I'm glad I pressed through， for the book's second half was good！ A 3-star read。 Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for this ARC。 This honest review is left voluntarily。 。。。more
Jill
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Sophie Bernstein has owned an independent bookstore for over 20 years in her Washington D。C。 community。 She has spent her life choosing and handselling books to her friends and neighbors。 She has led her team of booksellers until they move on to graduate school or motherhood or whatever。 She has kept the lights on and the bills paid and has made thousands of readers happy。 And then her husband died。 And everything changed。 All the joy that Sophie had felt all those years has fallen away。 She wan Sophie Bernstein has owned an independent bookstore for over 20 years in her Washington D。C。 community。 She has spent her life choosing and handselling books to her friends and neighbors。 She has led her team of booksellers until they move on to graduate school or motherhood or whatever。 She has kept the lights on and the bills paid and has made thousands of readers happy。 And then her husband died。 And everything changed。 All the joy that Sophie had felt all those years has fallen away。 She wants to find that happiness in her store again， in the books she sells， but she doesn’t know where that is or how to get it back。 But she knows that there is a hidden nook that no one else in the store knows about， and Sophie keeps thinking about it。 She thinks about getting away from all the pain and violence in the world， and just move in to her nook and read。 But the more time she spends back there， the more she realizes how dusty it is， and trying to clean it up starts her epic war with the bookstore’s vacuum cleaner。 Clemi works at the bookstore， scheduling the events and making sure everything is set up and taken down each night。 She finds it stressful， as there is no way of knowing in advance how many readers will show up for a reading， so she’s never quite sure how many books to order。 Then there are the specific demands of the authors and publicists， and finding the balance of authors to keep their customers happy。 This week is especially stressful， as Clemi has a couple of controversial authors scheduled。 There is the author whose non-fiction book about how cats are bird killers and should be kept inside or fitted with bells or something to warn the birds of their presence。 The cat people are very upset with the idea of their beloved felines not being free to hunt at will， and the bird people are appalled at how much damage the cats have already done to their winged friends and wants to cur the violence。 And the next night is a poet who is a known misogynist and may have pushed his wife towards taking her own life， which he insists was merely a very upsetting oven accident。 Meanwhile， Clemi is dealing with a roommate who is vacillating between a mental breakdown and near psychic insights， her crush on coworker Noah， her unhappiness with her own novel-in-progress， pressure from her former high powered literary agent mother， a new pet tortoise named Kurt Vonnegut Jr， and the fact that the embattled poet she has invited to appear at the store may or may not be her biological father。 Add in lots of rain （and a leak or two a the bookstore）， a solar eclipse， a good-bye party for the store manager heading for law school that featured an unusual golden liquor tasting remotely like gasoline， more than one cranky European appliance， lots of doodle jokes （that’s doodle， the dog breeds， not doodle， the mindless artistry）， protestors in costume， a towed car， a missing van， an $8 bagel， and an NPR radio interview gone completely awry， and you have one crazy week in the life of an independent bookstore。 Bookish People is a charming and funny look at the lives of those who sell the books we all crave。 This wacky week made for genuine laughs， but there is also a lot of heart and genuine emotion as these characters work hard to live their best lives， even if their appliances， their customers， their authors， and maybe even the stars are against them。 Author Susan Coll brings her bookstore experience to this story， giving it authenticity and poignancy。 I really loved Bookish People。 I think it’s a mix of screwball comedy and love letter to bookstore customers， reminding us of everything we love about our fellow book lovers， from the publicists to the authors to those who handsell us our next favorite read。 Those who love bookstores will want to grab this book and devour it。 Egalleys for Bookish People was provided by Harper Muse through NetGalley， with many thanks。 。。。more
Jamie
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3。5 stars
Kirby
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Thanks to Libro。fm for the ALC！ There are a couple things holding this book back:1。 The cover does not represent the content at all。2。 FormatI actually think this would make an AMAZING play。 The humor fell flat for me in print （and on audio）， but I could see it being funny combined with facial expressions， gestures， and he right voice inflections。 Its a good idea， just not the right execution。
Marcia reading past dark
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How I needed this book。 Bookish People by Susan Coll is a humorous novel that takes place in an independent bookstore in Washington， D。C。 The writing is so smooth and clear that I felt like I was sitting in a comfortable corner of the shop watching the unique and somewhat eccentric characters。 They’re all book people， my kind of people。 Sophie Bernstein， owner of the bookstore， is still mourning her husband’s death， is about to lose her best employee， and is regularly frustrated with her young How I needed this book。 Bookish People by Susan Coll is a humorous novel that takes place in an independent bookstore in Washington， D。C。 The writing is so smooth and clear that I felt like I was sitting in a comfortable corner of the shop watching the unique and somewhat eccentric characters。 They’re all book people， my kind of people。 Sophie Bernstein， owner of the bookstore， is still mourning her husband’s death， is about to lose her best employee， and is regularly frustrated with her young adult son。 She yearns to hide away in a secret space behind a bookcase in the store。 The story is narrated by Sophie and by Clemi， the bookstore’s event coordinator。 I loved watching the inner-workings of a bookstore， including customers searching for books and authors hoping for a venue willing to host a reading or book signing。 One of my favorite parts was reading the end-of-the-day reports。 So funny。 With a variety of subplots and rare characters， this fun read holds something for everyone。 Believable vacuum cleaner problems occur throughout the book， 50ish Sophie tests on-line dating， and each character has his or her own life complications。 Bookish People was a much-needed change and a satisfying， momentary escape。 。。。more
Kendall Sicnolf
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2。5 stars， didn’t hold my attention
TheBookstagramBabe
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The premise is pretty self explanatory。 This is a story about a group of people who work at a bookstore in DC。 It revolves all around the book store， their employees and their problems。 I had really high hopes for this book and it just didn't live up to them。 There were too many characters and it was hard to decipher between them。 I related to the owner Sophie。 Her husband dies and is feeling very overwhelmed by the current events in America filled with racism， antisemitism and mysoginy to raise The premise is pretty self explanatory。 This is a story about a group of people who work at a bookstore in DC。 It revolves all around the book store， their employees and their problems。 I had really high hopes for this book and it just didn't live up to them。 There were too many characters and it was hard to decipher between them。 I related to the owner Sophie。 Her husband dies and is feeling very overwhelmed by the current events in America filled with racism， antisemitism and mysoginy to raise a few。 This book was set in 2016 around the Charlottesville protests and honestly in the years since， it hasn't gotten any better。 I often find myself overwhelmed by the negative decline we are facing。 Besides that， I just had a problem staying engaged。 。。。more
Readingcaptures
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Disappointing， boring and did she have a roomba endorsement？！ This had so much potential and it just did not rise to the occasion。
Leah M
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Thank you to libro。fm for providing me with an ALC of this book。I really tried with this one， but ultimately ended up DNFing it at 40%。 Even going that far into it， I honestly couldn't tell you what it was about， or where it was going。 Rather than a cohesive narrative， it felt like a disjointed grouping of chapters that never quite seemed to meet anywhere other than at the fact that both of them work at the same bookstore。Sophie， who owns the bookstore， is taking the loss of her husband quite ha Thank you to libro。fm for providing me with an ALC of this book。I really tried with this one， but ultimately ended up DNFing it at 40%。 Even going that far into it， I honestly couldn't tell you what it was about， or where it was going。 Rather than a cohesive narrative， it felt like a disjointed grouping of chapters that never quite seemed to meet anywhere other than at the fact that both of them work at the same bookstore。Sophie， who owns the bookstore， is taking the loss of her husband quite hard。 But rather than allowing the reader to connect with Sophie in her feelings of grief and loss， Coll presents us with a collection of strange fixations that Sophie has。 She's hyperfixated on Anne Frank， and there's a near constant focus on Nazis and creating a hideout in her bookstore that was absolutely jarring and more than a little disturbing。 As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor， I might have found it easier to connect with her if this was presented in the context of intergenerational trauma， especially since the events at Charlottesville were referenced， but 。。。 nope。 Instead， there's a tenuous link to her husband mentioning Anne Frank just before he died？ I failed to see how this one mention would have led to this obsession of hers suddenly。 In addition， there's another constant focus about vacuum cleaners。 I found it incredibly boring and distracting， and while I was expecting a story about books and bookish people （I know， silly me）， instead， I got a book where vacuums seem to be a central plot point of the story for no identifiable reason。 I found myself drifting off and completely losing interest。 When the majority of a chapter was devoted to the vacuum， that's when I finally got fed up and decided to DNF。The other character， Clemi， just felt like a mess。 She doesn't have a lot of direction， either in life or in the story， and doesn't really seem to know what she wants。 She doesn't speak up， and for some reason， decides to keep a tortoise at her job？ This seemed so far beyond what was realistic， but I guess maybe not since Sophie was so busy worrying about the vacuum and her hideout， she probably wouldn't notice much of anything going on in her store。By 40% into the book， I still didn't really know what was going on or have any connection to the characters or the story。 And I figured that probably wouldn't change， so it was time to cut my losses。 。。。more
Annarella
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This book is full of potential and I liked the ideas behind this story。 Unfortunately the story didn't keep my attention and fell flat。Not my cup of tea。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine This book is full of potential and I liked the ideas behind this story。 Unfortunately the story didn't keep my attention and fell flat。Not my cup of tea。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more
Nikki Brooks
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This started out really well and I had high hopes for a book all about my favourite places in the world - bookshops！ Sadly I thought that it was a wee bit flat in places and at times all the sub-plots were vying for attention， so you kind of get lost。Sophie's bookstore in Washington DC is a haven for any book lover。 The staff are like family， regular customers treat the place like home。 However， Sophie's own son has no interest in running the store and a Poet that has been booked to speak at the This started out really well and I had high hopes for a book all about my favourite places in the world - bookshops！ Sadly I thought that it was a wee bit flat in places and at times all the sub-plots were vying for attention， so you kind of get lost。Sophie's bookstore in Washington DC is a haven for any book lover。 The staff are like family， regular customers treat the place like home。 However， Sophie's own son has no interest in running the store and a Poet that has been booked to speak at the store is， shall we say， controversial？？？The staff moving on， potential lawsuits， family drama and office-crush romance are all well worked out and written， I just thought we could have done with one or two less subplots。 I really loved the colleague's interplay and witty banter and the daily emails were a hoot。So whilst I did enjoy the book， I did feel that it would have worked better as a collection of stories set in the bookshop rather than one tell-all story。 The pace just seemed to stall。I did think one quote from the book just summed up bookish people in general - “She sometimes thinks the world divides into two types of people， those who think books are for reading when there’s nothing else to do， and those who avoid other things to do in order to read books - ”I received an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley and the Publisher and this is my honest and voluntary review。 。。。more
Louise Foerster
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I so anticipated reading BOOKISH PEOPLE。 This book by Susan Coll is set in Washington， DC， a city I know and love in the world of bookstores， books， and reading， again a known and loved place。 Throughout， I struggled to connect with the main character Clemi and the others around her as they struggle through situations both typical and predictable as well as preposterous and strange。 Sparkling bits of wit and observation kept me forging through the near-constant shifts in point of view and bits o I so anticipated reading BOOKISH PEOPLE。 This book by Susan Coll is set in Washington， DC， a city I know and love in the world of bookstores， books， and reading， again a known and loved place。 Throughout， I struggled to connect with the main character Clemi and the others around her as they struggle through situations both typical and predictable as well as preposterous and strange。 Sparkling bits of wit and observation kept me forging through the near-constant shifts in point of view and bits of backstory and explanation。 I received an early copy of this book and these opinions are my own， unbiased thoughts。 。。。more
Mike
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Coll's "Bookish People" is set up to be kryptonite for so many readers with what I saw as a perfect premise: the owner of a bookstore， exhausted by the responsibilities of such an endeavor， builds a secret nook in the shop， where she can read and live out the rest of her days in peace。Unfortunately， that got muddled - considerably。 In attempting to be overly quirky and， in some places， unnecessarily didactic， Coll let this cute premise fall to the wayside with a mishmash of events and happenings Coll's "Bookish People" is set up to be kryptonite for so many readers with what I saw as a perfect premise: the owner of a bookstore， exhausted by the responsibilities of such an endeavor， builds a secret nook in the shop， where she can read and live out the rest of her days in peace。Unfortunately， that got muddled - considerably。 In attempting to be overly quirky and， in some places， unnecessarily didactic， Coll let this cute premise fall to the wayside with a mishmash of events and happenings that cluttered what I thought was the book's strongest angle。First， what Coll did well。 When the author played around with structure， which she clearly has the skill for， this worked， typically to comic effect。 I absolutely loved when manager Autumn sent out her end-of-day memos as to what went down in the bookstore that day， and it made me wonder if an entire book could be crafted around that。 I think yes。 We could have it as a set of exhibits， and there are others as well: the outlandish letter from the ridiculous lawyer did make me chuckle， and the off-the-rails radio interview also fit into the books anything goes theme。But， when the book was settling into its main narrative， it felt rambling and disjointed， at times。 I think that might have been the author attempting to be quirky， but sometimes it just felt like the narrator was going on multiple tangents， almost in unedited form。 （The storyline about the vacuum， especially its overly long exposition， didn't seem necessary。） There was a wide cast of characters here， and some worked: I liked Clemi's heartfelt musings as well as Florence's wild articulations。 But there didn't seem to be too much growth in many of them， and many personalities seemed flat and one-dimensional， with several storylines introduced but never concluded。And then， the other issue， was that - at times - the book did feel preachy to me， telling more than showing。 It's set in Washington， DC。 It's 2017。 And， yes， the Charlottesville tragedy was despicable and awful and untenable and every single other negative adjective possible。 Writing an editorial， or even nonfiction， column about that sickening episode could merit some pointed commentary。 But placing all of that here， in a book that is supposed to be quirky and jovial （at least I'm gathering that from the cover） seems woefully misplaced。So while I did appreciate the atmosphere and some of the narrative structure， this one just didn't come together for me like I feel it should have， since it definitely had some potential。Thanks to Harper Muse for the ARC！ I received a complimentary copy of this book， and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own。 。。。more
Lyndi
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What drew me to this book was the bright cover and the comedy description， and while some of the humor lived up to that description， other parts just fell flat。 The plot of the book just seemed a bit random and thrown together。 I loved the description of the behind-the-scenes operation of this busy DC bookstore since I can't seem to resist reading books about books。 The End of Days put together by Autumn T was really funny and I also loved the title Kurt Vonnegut。 Overall an ok read for me。 I re What drew me to this book was the bright cover and the comedy description， and while some of the humor lived up to that description， other parts just fell flat。 The plot of the book just seemed a bit random and thrown together。 I loved the description of the behind-the-scenes operation of this busy DC bookstore since I can't seem to resist reading books about books。 The End of Days put together by Autumn T was really funny and I also loved the title Kurt Vonnegut。 Overall an ok read for me。 I received an advance reader copy of this book。 The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily。 。。。more
mia
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（Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a honest review）Publication date: 02 August 2022Publisher: Harper MuseThoughtsThis is my first book from this author and I chose this book for the blurb。 A book about books is always a weakness for readers。 It did show the reality of bookstore owners and how do they cope with the challenges of running one which is the only good aspect of the book。 Unfortunately the book’s writing style couldn’t keep me interested。 There were too （Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a honest review）Publication date: 02 August 2022Publisher: Harper MuseThoughtsThis is my first book from this author and I chose this book for the blurb。 A book about books is always a weakness for readers。 It did show the reality of bookstore owners and how do they cope with the challenges of running one which is the only good aspect of the book。 Unfortunately the book’s writing style couldn’t keep me interested。 There were too many subplots to keep track of and the flow of the book was messy。 There were also more side characters than I could count， it felt like the focus was not as much on Sophie as it should have been。 This book could have definitely been better。 。。。more
Shannon
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I really， really wanted to love this book。 Perhaps going into it expecting more of a romance than a women's fiction story with very little plot and a cast of quirky characters would have helped me manage my expectations。 Just an okay read for me。 I didn't love it or any of the characters/story line and I'm so disappointed that was the case because a story set around a DC Bookstore with a tortoise as the shop mascot just seemed so interesting。 Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ear I really， really wanted to love this book。 Perhaps going into it expecting more of a romance than a women's fiction story with very little plot and a cast of quirky characters would have helped me manage my expectations。 Just an okay read for me。 I didn't love it or any of the characters/story line and I'm so disappointed that was the case because a story set around a DC Bookstore with a tortoise as the shop mascot just seemed so interesting。 Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review and Librofm for an ALC。 。。。more
Destiny || readingisyourdestiny
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2。5 seems generous honestly- no more to the plot than what is on the back of the book synopsis
Morgan Santos
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I made it about halfway through this book and found myself constant checking how much I had left。 The story just didn’t do it for me， which makes me sad because I love books about books。 It personally wasn’t my cup of tea， but that doesn’t mean it’s not anyone else’s。 Thank you Libro。fm for the ALC
Stephanie
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Bookish People is a book about， well。。。 bookish people。 Set at an indie bookstore in Washington D。C。 the week in 2017 which began with the white supremacist Unite the Right Rally of Charlottesville， VA featuring "very fine people" like neo-Nazis and Klansman， and Trump enthusiasts， et。 al。， and ended with the once in a century solar eclipse （what a week， huh？） The story features a cast of bookstore employees but primarily focuses on owner Sophie， who at 54 has recently been widowed and is grievi Bookish People is a book about， well。。。 bookish people。 Set at an indie bookstore in Washington D。C。 the week in 2017 which began with the white supremacist Unite the Right Rally of Charlottesville， VA featuring "very fine people" like neo-Nazis and Klansman， and Trump enthusiasts， et。 al。， and ended with the once in a century solar eclipse （what a week， huh？） The story features a cast of bookstore employees but primarily focuses on owner Sophie， who at 54 has recently been widowed and is grieving the loss of her husband while ever so subtly carving out a secret room behind shelves where she can go into hiding， and her much younger events manager Clemi， an aspiring author， who is hosting an event featuring a controversial poet who might bring protestors to their door and who might also be her absentee father， there's also a tortoise named Kurt Vonnegut Jr。 I didn't realize this going in， and I don't think I'm alone in this， Bookish People is a character driven work of literary fiction。 I feel like perhaps the cover or synopsis may have given me a different impression， but once I caught the vibe I was really very pleasantly surprised by this story！ It's very of the literary world， Readers will recognize some of the employees and customers （they may even find themselves within the pages） and humorously peppered with gems like describing a new buzzy author as "Lauren Groff meets Haruki Murakami meets Jodi Picoult" or fictional fiction such as a speculative work featuring Vice President Dan Quayle as an undercover narcotics agent， and of course， there's this seasons bestseller which everyone is reading and the store just can't seem to keep stocked: The Girl in Gauzy Blue。 The humor is sharp and sophisticated， the characters relatable and endearing， I just really enjoyed this book！Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Muse for the ARC。 。。。more
Helena
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I received a complimentary copy of this book。 Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own。I was excited as I started reading Bookish People when I realized that Sophie， one of the narrators is Jewish。 I am all about Jewish representation in books。 However， I found Bookish People very difficult to read and Sophie very hard to connect with。The narration in Bookish People distances the reader from the characters。 The tone is straightforward and seems removed from the emotions Sophie and I received a complimentary copy of this book。 Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own。I was excited as I started reading Bookish People when I realized that Sophie， one of the narrators is Jewish。 I am all about Jewish representation in books。 However， I found Bookish People very difficult to read and Sophie very hard to connect with。The narration in Bookish People distances the reader from the characters。 The tone is straightforward and seems removed from the emotions Sophie and Clemi are feeling。 In school， we are warned against “telling” rather than “showing” in writing， and there was a lot of “telling。” The reader is told that Sophie “does not wish to be at this party” rather than given description that reveals that fact。I also struggled with all of the discussion of vacuum cleaners。 There is almost an entire chapter where Sophie goes through every vacuum cleaner Sophie has ever owned。 Through extensive description of Sophie bashing her current vacuum， I tried to figure out the symbolism。 I could see Sophie feeling as those she’s become broken and obselete like the vacuum， but I do feel like description of every one Sophie has owned was overkill。Bookish People takes place firmly in August 2017， right around the time of the “Unite the Right” protests in Charlottesville。 Of course， as an American Jew， it was very disconcerting to see neo-Nazis expressing their views openly in the United States。 Sophie immediately compares herself to Anne Frank and her family and starts preparing an annex in the bookstore for her to live in。 You have to be very careful when comparing anything to Hitler’s actions， and I found this very off-putting。Many bookstores have canceled readings by Raymond Chaucer due to his potential involvement in his wife’s death。 Clemi and Sophie both struggle with whether or not to welcome him to their store。 As soon as this is presented， the reader gets a chapter from Raymond’s point of view。 I found it problematic that the reader is so quickly asked to get into the head of someone who has been set up as such a bad person。 The chapter doesn’t do a lot to convince the reader otherwise either。I really wanted to like Bookish People， but I really struggled with it。 。。。more
Lauren Chatfield
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I did like this book but I don’t know if I enjoyed it entirely。 I did like the cast of quirky characters and Kurt the tortoise。 This book is told from the perspective of 3 characters and I didn’t really connect with any of them。 There was a lot going on and it was just too busy。 I did feel for Sophie。 I felt sad that she had lost her husband and that she felt lost in general。 I did love the scene were her son signed it her up for online dating。 I could see my parents doing that whole scenario， l I did like this book but I don’t know if I enjoyed it entirely。 I did like the cast of quirky characters and Kurt the tortoise。 This book is told from the perspective of 3 characters and I didn’t really connect with any of them。 There was a lot going on and it was just too busy。 I did feel for Sophie。 I felt sad that she had lost her husband and that she felt lost in general。 I did love the scene were her son signed it her up for online dating。 I could see my parents doing that whole scenario， lol。 There were moments that did make me laugh and I was glad I did read this book。 。。。more
Sherri
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***I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for my honest reviewIndependent bookstore owner Sophie Bernstein is having a rough time right now。 Still mourning the sudden loss of her husband， now she is faced with her favorite store manager leaving， the news is filled with all of the latest acts of racial injustice and hate crimes that are popping up all over the U。S。， and she is worried about her only child’s lack of ambition。 Meanwhile， renowned poet Raymond Chaucer has published a new coll ***I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for my honest reviewIndependent bookstore owner Sophie Bernstein is having a rough time right now。 Still mourning the sudden loss of her husband， now she is faced with her favorite store manager leaving， the news is filled with all of the latest acts of racial injustice and hate crimes that are popping up all over the U。S。， and she is worried about her only child’s lack of ambition。 Meanwhile， renowned poet Raymond Chaucer has published a new collection， and rumors that he’s to blame for his wife’s suicide have led to national cancellations of his publicity tour。 He intends to set the record straight—with an ultra-fine-point Sharpie—but only one shop still plans to host him: Sophie’s。 Fearful of potential repercussions from angry customers， Sophie asks Clemi—bookstore events coordinator， aspiring novelist， and daughter of a famed literary agent—to cancel Raymond’s appearance。 But Clemi suspects Raymond might be her biological father， and she can’t say no to the chance of finding out for sure。 This big-hearted screwball comedy features an intergenerational cast of oblivious authors and over-qualified booksellers—as well as a Russian tortoise named Kurt Vonnegut Jr。—and captures the endearing quirks of some of the best kinds of people: the ones who love good books。I really wanted to like this book。 I am a big lover of any sort of book about books， libraries， or bookstores， so this sounded like it would be perfect for me。 I also liked that it was described as a "screwball comedy"。 Unfortunately， this book fell flat in my expectations。 It had way too many sub-plots， and the writing seemed to be all over the place， for one thing。 None of the characters were likeable （except for the tortoise）。， and there really weren't all that many funny parts especially considering the description given by the publisher。 The best parts of the book were the parts with the tortoise， and the nightly memos that went out that summed up everything that went on during the day。 The remaining parts of the book I spent constantly checking to see how much more I had left to read before I could be done， which is not how a book should be read。 Altogether， this is not something I can recommend。 。。。more
Jessica
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I was provided a free advanced copy of this book by @netgalley in exchange for my honest review。 Obviously as a bibliophile I am drawn to books about books， book stores， and bookish people。 So it wasn't surprising that I was drawn to this one。 However， it didn't quite work for me。 It follows two women who work at an independent bookstore in Washington D。C。， and a renowned poet on the oust with many， except this bookstore who has not yet cancelled his event。 The bookstore owner is dealing with he I was provided a free advanced copy of this book by @netgalley in exchange for my honest review。 Obviously as a bibliophile I am drawn to books about books， book stores， and bookish people。 So it wasn't surprising that I was drawn to this one。 However， it didn't quite work for me。 It follows two women who work at an independent bookstore in Washington D。C。， and a renowned poet on the oust with many， except this bookstore who has not yet cancelled his event。 The bookstore owner is dealing with her grief after losing her husband while also running her store。 The bookstore's event coordinator is trying to work out her life， and has her own reasons for not cancelling the poet's event。 And the poet is now being compared to Sylvia Olath's husband， including the similarity of possibly causing their wife's death。 There is a lot of craziness， problems， and angst throughout。 But some of the bigger problems （keys that got sucked into a vacuum cleaner） could be easily solved but continue to be a big issue throughout a large part of the book。 There was some legit drama， but some big things could have also been easily solved。 And I do understand that if you are not in the right mental capacity you may struggle with "simple" things， but with the above example the character Googles how to turn the vacuum on， but apparently can't Google （or ask a bookstore employee） how to open the vacuum。 🤷🏻♀️ Didn't make sense。 I struggled to connect with the characters and therefore struggled to get through the book as a whole。 This book is scheduled to be published Tuesday， 2 August。 #NetGalley #BookishPeople 。。。more
Janilyn Kocher
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Book was an ok read。 I liked the bookstore setting。 I appreciate the dilemmas and quandaries that an independent bookstore owner has to overcome。 I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters， but I loved all the book talk as well as the cover。The huge publisher logo in the middle of almost every page was a deterrent。Thanks to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the early read。
Whitney Erwin
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I love books about books！ So， I was super excited to dive into Bookish People but unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me。 The writing felt pretty amateur， and it was just an okay read。 I didn’t find the storyline or the characters very interesting。 I do however really like the cover， it’s super cute， and grabs your eye！Thank you Net Galley， and Harper Muse， for an ARC in return for my honest review。
Meghan
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I'm really not sure what to write here， there were parts of the book I didn't like but I did like it at the end。 It was a bit hard to get into the characters at first but there were some definite funny parts。 This is less a story about a specific event & more a look at all the various people who work at a local bookstore & how they interact over a week's time。 Overall a solid 3。75 stars。 I'm really not sure what to write here， there were parts of the book I didn't like but I did like it at the end。 It was a bit hard to get into the characters at first but there were some definite funny parts。 This is less a story about a specific event & more a look at all the various people who work at a local bookstore & how they interact over a week's time。 Overall a solid 3。75 stars。 。。。more
Rekha O'Sullivan
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Thanks to Harper Muse， Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book。 I am leaving this review voluntarily。 I read the blurb about this book and it's described as 'laugh out loud' but I would not describe it that way。 I did chuckle my way through it but it's more darkly funny than outright hilarious。 This is a well-written story set in an independent bookstore and centring around the owner， Sophie， who is depressed after leaving her husband and on the verge of a nervous breakdown， and the Eve Thanks to Harper Muse， Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book。 I am leaving this review voluntarily。 I read the blurb about this book and it's described as 'laugh out loud' but I would not describe it that way。 I did chuckle my way through it but it's more darkly funny than outright hilarious。 This is a well-written story set in an independent bookstore and centring around the owner， Sophie， who is depressed after leaving her husband and on the verge of a nervous breakdown， and the Events coordinator of the store who is young and impressionable but has a bit of a spine of steel。These two women are complicated and more than a little neurotic。 While endearing， it's also a little frustrating to read。 I don't want to give too much away， but I think this book would appeal to a specific reader when they are in the mood for something very literary and a wordy。I did enjoy it， but there was just so much going on that I felt a little exhausted by the end。 Still， one that I would recommend to lovers of all things bookish。 。。。more
Barbara Powell
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This is one I’m going to keep short because the story didn’t live up to the idea behind this book。 It felt like a lot of run on sentences/ramblings of my grampa when he started a story and ended up somewhere completely different than you would have expected it to go 😂 I think it’s meant to be an off the wall comedy， and I guess in some ways it is， but it’s more off the wall than comedy。 Sophie runs a bookstore with her employees and now that her husband has passed， she’s left feeling a bit adrif This is one I’m going to keep short because the story didn’t live up to the idea behind this book。 It felt like a lot of run on sentences/ramblings of my grampa when he started a story and ended up somewhere completely different than you would have expected it to go 😂 I think it’s meant to be an off the wall comedy， and I guess in some ways it is， but it’s more off the wall than comedy。 Sophie runs a bookstore with her employees and now that her husband has passed， she’s left feeling a bit adrift and overwhelmed。 The employees are all young and have new ideas and while she knows they’re valid， she’s not sure what to make of them because they mean change。 The biggest change is the Querk vacuum。 There’s a lot about the vacuum。 Be prepared for it。 I think the highlight is the pet turtle that rides around on the roomba。 There’s a sentence you don’t write very often。 Thanks to Harper Muse and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Bookish People
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Bookish People&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Bookish People&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0