While I normally love books about bookish people or bookstores, this one was not what I was expecting. It's a bit darker than the blurb would suggest. However, I pushed through and saw some of the humour come full circle during the chaos at the end. There is a little something missing from the narrative that would normally keep my turning the pages. I felt for Sophie and what she was going through and loved the idea of a nook in which to hide. But she was just a bit too dysfunctional for me. I was worried for her mental health, not amused. Luckily, my concerns were erased with a satisfying ending. I wish there had been a little more of the "post-chaos" feel earlier in the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I enjoyed this novel—which I read very quickly—but I was hoping to get more from the book.

On the plus side, I loved the inside look at working in a bookstore. We get a great feel for the routine of bookstore life, including customers looking for books with hilariously vague descriptions. And then there’s the dilemma of the book-loving staffers desperate to find a way to dispose of unloved advanced-reader copies in a way that shows respect for the hopes and hard work those books represent for authors.

In addition to having an interesting setting, this book excels at humor. At one point, it made me laugh harder than a book has in a while.

I wish, though, that the author would have given us a deeper look into the inner life of the main character, Sophie, who is the owner of the shop. As the book opens, we find her grappling with both the death of her husband and the unsettling headlines in the news. I wish her feelings had been linked more closely to Sophie’s memories and world and uniquely tied to her. Instead, her mindset comes across as a general despondency about widowhood and the changing world, making it harder to connect with her. I did, however, enjoy the look at how the protagonist, who is in her fifties, struggles to relate her younger staff and keep up with technology (including an online dating site).

More compelling for me was the story of the other focal character, Clemi, who is dealing with some personal issues of her own while managing events at the store along with all the complications that go along with that.

The book has a lot going on with a variety of characters and subplots, and this sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Some of the characters are memorable and richly drawn, but some are either caricatures, not fully fleshed out, or over the top to the point of being unbelievable (and even at times silly.)

I wish the book had ended with a more satisfying answer to the questions raised within the pages about finding peace or momentary joy in chaos. But I did love the fast-paced ending of the book, where the many subplots come together in a way that leaves a reader with that delicious feeling of something big about to erupt. All in all, this is an enjoyable inside peek at being a staffer at a busy bookstore during a memorable week.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advanced digital copy provided for my honest review.

It took me more than a few pages to get into this story, however once I was invested in the plot I was completely sucked in! So many funny/bad things happen to the two main characters that it's not really comedy - it's DARK comedy! The adventures and events never stop for these women and you're taken on a crazy ride. Every situation and element that comes together during the time of this story is useful and important; I love a story without "extra parts".

The kicker for me was reading that the author once worked at Politics and Prose - a "bucket list" bookstore for me.

What do you get when you follow the stories of a bunch of bookish people? This riot of various characters who are each brewing plural personal storms. It mirrors life in that even we have to possess superhuman multitasking at times but most of us do not have to coordinate bookstore events, put up with author demands, figure out whether a certain tortoise is really talking or not, and be the witness to a battle between the birds and the cats on any given normal day. The last one in particular is a massive #ifyouknowyouknow scenario.

Be it Sophie or Clemi, both of them have so much to catch up to and despite their best efforts, things continue to remain just out of their reach leading to craziness and multiple messes. And Raymond, hopefully learnt his lesson about (unsuccessfully) avoiding to talk about one particular thing with everyone around him downright obsessed to be talking about exactly that. And Autumn T, well you keep on writing those epic End of Day Reports, girl!!

Sophie, that memoir in vacuum cleaners is really not a bad idea! Detailing the changes in life with the evolution of technology truly sounds great. We all take technology for granted at times or it is rather that technology creeps up on us till one day we realise exactly how much of our is influenced by its presence or absence. Hence such a memoir would surely help put a lot of things in perspective while also allowing the passing of unsolicited life advice.

Bookish People is out this August, you know just a four-your-information in case you’d be interested in meeting these crazy people. I received a complimentary copy of this book through @netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview of this book. I wish I could say I enjoyed this, but I found this book so hard to follow and very confusing.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me around 20%. The premise is great and the characters are very interesting, but I couldn't connect as well with the story. This may be a case of the wrong book at the wrong time, so for that reason, I'll give it a 3/5. I think a lot of others will love this book, even if it wasn't for me right now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had a difficult time getting through this one. I'm not sure if the characters stymied me or the plot. It was interesting, don't get me wrong, but there were a few issues here. Some of the characters weren't that interesting and I wasn't overly sure why they had a major role or why I was reading things from their perspective. Sophie is hard to like, really. I didn't dislike her either. The fact is that she just seemed so dull. I don't enjoy that. The redemption came in the last third of the book. Everything started to flow more naturally and the characters started to make sense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

As soon as I saw this cover, I thought, this is the book for me! It's eye-catching, it pops, and it has books! But unfortunately what was inside the cover lacked. There were more times than not that I was so confused. The writing was lacking something. It fell flat. This was supposed to be a comedy and honestly, I did not laugh once. I could not connect with any of the characters, and I almost DNF'd a few times but I pushed through.

Bookstore ~ Comedy ~ Parents ~ Turtles ~ Vacuum cleaners ~ Books ~ Roommates ~ Secret rooms ~ Car keys ~ Chaos ~ Death ~ Books ~ Interesting characters ~ Too much!

Interesting main story but with too many little subplots it created a chaotic atmosphere! My blood pressure was rising just by reading this book! And, what’s up with the dog on the cover?!?

Dnf at 40% I tried to complete this book but it just made me more and more confused. I had to reread previous paragraphs to understand what is happening and everything was not getting in sync with the overall storyline. The story has a lot of potential tho but sadly it was not for me.
Thank you netgalley and publishing house for giving me ARC of this book.

I really wanted to love this one- and in my defense I really tried to- but I didn't love it.

I thought the plot was promising, but I felt it hopped around so much I couldn't keep up. It took me longer than usual to read it in part because I felt lost but also because for example there was one portion that was pages about vacuum cleaners. This is an example of the reader trying to gain more perspective on Sophie, but the backstory is lost in the rambling.

I do think that the story line was interesting, and at times I was absolutely hooked. I think it could have been pared down a bit and it would have been a solid book perhaps. However, as it was I was not a fan.

Regardless, I appreciate the opportunity to read this one in exchange for my honest feedback.

Middle of the road book. The cover was a adorable and the plot was definitely there. But the book was hard to get through

Bookish People tells the story of a variety of characters all connected through a DC-area bookstore. This book is hailed as a comedy, but it really just dragged on. As a story taking place in a bookstore, I was really excited to read this, but was ultimately let down by the disjointed and disconnected multiple perspectives of this novel, as well as the lack of a true plot.
Each character and the problems they face do touch on real-world issues and have the potential to relate to the reader, but they really only scratch the surface and remained under-developed. For all of these reasons, I really can't give the book a higher rating.

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

UGH! I wanted to love this one so bad. I truly did. I love any book concepts that have to do directly with books. This one, however, I felt was so undeveloped in its plot. I didn’t feel connected to any characters, which is also really important for me in a novel. I would definitely give this author another try, though!

Sadly, I could not finish this book. It had so much of what I love but I could not connect. Sophie, the main character, is grieving the loss of her spouse. She owns a bookshop and my confusion just grew from there. There was a lot of detail about this little nooks she created for herself that she might want to live in. The subplots were hard to follow. I hate rating poorly but it was hard to finish the book.

Sadly a DNF at 25% for me. The premise sounded so intriguing but I couldn’t get into the various subplots and I got lost with the focus on vacuums. I struggle with leaving not positive reviews but this wasn’t the book for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advanced reading copy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Bookish People is set in an independent Bookstore in DC., America. The plot with its various characters - the bookstore owner, booksellers and it's customers is crazy, chaotic and absolutely funny. And beneath it all there's solace to be found in ,not surprising, books and literature.

Sophie owns a bookstore and is dealing with her growing anxiety over the outside world on her own after the death of her husband. Clemi is the head of events at the store, and is insisting on hosting a controversial poet for a signing because she thinks he might be her biological father. Autumn T is the new store manager now that Jamal is moving away with his partner. The book centers around these and other characters as they deal with their personal lives while they all revolve around life at this bookstore in Washington DC.

I wanted SO MUCH to like this book. Seriously. I'm obsessed with reading books about bookstores, libraries, book restoration sand preservation... If the book is ABOUT books, I'm in. But it's taken me 38 days to get 41% into a book about books. I don't like any of the characters. I'm not rooting for them. I don't feel any attachment to them at all. There were two chapters devoted to discussing vacuums. They're supposed to be the "comic relief" in the book, I think. I wasn't laughing. I was just bored.

I HATE not finishing a book. I don't like leaving a story unfinished. I always want to know more, tell me about the lives of these people, I need more! With Bookish People, though, I just felt like I was given someone's stream of consciousness writing and told that it's pure gold... I just... Can't.

The literal only bright spot for me was Autumn T's end of day reports. If we SAW more of those moments, instead of being told about them in passing, after having read pages upon pages about someone's almost-romance over a turtle, or waxing poetic about a Roomba, the book might be more engaging. Bring told that now fun was had, but we missed it felt like a slap in the face.

I'm guessing that there are people out there that "get" this type of storytelling better than me, or think that this book is hilarious. There must be. This book was just 100% not for me. I wish the story was told in a different way. Or with more focus elsewhere. I just... Don't get it.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity.

I love books about booksellers but I couldn't finish this one. I found it had too much tell and not enough show rather than the other way round. It may have been the wrong book for me at the time, but I was disappointed that I didn't love it.