A cute and fun read! I could definitely see my library using this book as a book club book as well. I will recommend it to my library for purchase.

This book was precious. Jess, stuck in a professional and romantic ruts exacerbated by the loss of her mother, rediscovers her passion and reclaims her autonomy when she stumbles upon the Museum of Ordinary People. In its curious characters and even stranger collection, she finds her curiosity revived and the talents we never knew she had, the past we didn't realize she'd given up, comes to light. We all have been or know someone who has been Jess, letting the general current of our lives and other people's wishes steer us forward. Jess' renewed commitment to herself made me realize how often we see the trope of a character almost throwing away their growth, and only fully changing in response to another's betrayal. Jess put herself first based solely on her increased sense of self worth. We truly love to see it.

Was her boyfriend unbelievably awful? Yes. Was the twist a little unnecessary? Sure. But the book overall was a perfectly paced, feel-good exploration of grief, the importance of connection, and taking control of your life. A perfect rainy day read or travel buddy.

I love the concept of a museum of ordinary people, but this book wasn’t for me. The first half was a slog and the second half was too melodramatic.

I loved the premise of this book - a museum that focuses on things that belonged to ordinary people in their everyday lives. I want to go to that museum. I want to work at that museum. While parts of the story seemed rushed or underdeveloped, there were many beautiful moments and I definitely recommend it!

We build museums for Royals and presidents and other famous people. What about the objects that pass through the lives of "ordinary" people? Are these items all destined to end up in the dump? Jess Baxter discovers an eclectic collection of things that have been saved from the trash. Little notes are attached noting date and location of recovery and a note about the original owner. Jess commits to using her museum curating knowledge to improve and expand the collection. If you have helped an older relative move out of their home or done some downsizing of your own, you can relate to the dilemma of wanting to save a special item you have no room for. Mike Gayle gives us some really good surprises at the end and it felt a bit rushed. I do think this would make a fabulous book for group discussion.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

We all have that one item we can’t let go of, something left to us that is so bound in memories that it personifies the person we lost. For Jess, a Londoner in her twenties, it is the set of encyclopedias given to her by her mother who unexpectedly passed away. Finding a home for those beloved encyclopedias changes her whole life and leads her to the Museum of Ordinary People. Can Jess finally put her museum study degree to good work? Will people actually come see a museum full of ordinary treasures? Will these choices lead Jess to more then just a career, will they lead her to a family and love?

I love the concept of this museum. Even if items were given, and not used, it would help the giver part with something sentimental that they couldn't keep. A therapy service of sorts, and in this case, therapy for the main character as well!
This book is a slow, feel good novel with a creative background.

When her mother passed away, Jess is devastated. Her boyfriend (Guy) and a close friend help her through it. A year later, she’s still grieving and has things from her mothers house that she hasn’t been able to get rid of. She doesn’t want to throw them away but doesn’t have room for them either. Then she realizes there are others just like her, people with things that have value to them but don’t have any monetary value.

I love the idea/premise. I lost someone years ago and I had no idea what to keep of theirs and what not to. And those things I decided I didn’t want to keep? Well, I also didn’t want to throw them away. It just felt wrong.

I can understand (kinda) why so many love this one. It’s quirky and heartfelt. And while it’s nothing like Ove in writing style or plot, it gave me similar feels. Like a cup of cocoa on snowy evening. And again, I loved the concept. Some items, even if they hold no monetary value, mean so much to us. They hold memories, prices of the people we lost and/or miss.

I didn’t like Guy (I don’t think I was supposed to). But I also had a hard time connecting with Jess in some ways. She felt like such an inconsistent character (and a bit stiff/formal).

Some of the things that happened felt far fetched. It was a predictable story. While I don’t normally like predicable stories, I think this is part of its charm. I had my doubts at the 1/3 mark, but it kind of won me over by the midway point. I definitely didn’t love it but I’m glad I read it. Again, great concept/idea. A cute story.

Thank you @netgalley and @hachettebooks for the gifted copy.

I usually gravitate towards dark, dramatic and gritty tales over "heartwarming" but something just drew me to this book and I am glad I decided to give it a go. What a sweet read, full of nostalgia and redemption. As I think someone else said, it's like a hug in book form. I'm a newcomer to Mike Gayle but now I need to know if all his books are this charming.

This was such a heartwarming read💕
The book embodies the feelings of nostalgia and sentimentality all rolled into one. That’s the only way I could describe it when I put it down after finishing. It just feels like grabbing an old favorite if that makes sense. It was so immersive from the start that I found myself looking up other books by the author. With a cast of characters that are witty and endearing, the storyline will make you tear up in many places (especially Alex’s story). This one just got me in the heart. It’s a poignant read that has encouraged me to pick up more of Mike Gayle’s books. 5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second book I have read by MIke Gayle. This book centers around Jess, a Londoner in her twenties whose mother dies unexpectedly. As Jess sets about selling her mother’s home she comes across a set of encyclopedias her mother got for her as a child. Jess cannot bear to part with them so she finds a quirky museum that takes items of ordinary people that they cannot throw out. Jess desires to be a museum curator and asks the museum’s owner if she can head the museum. As the museum is opened to the public in a proper way, the reader finds out secrets from Jess and others connected to the museum.

One of the things I enjoy about Gayle’s writing is that he brings the reader into life in Great Britain with his descriptions of places and people. In this book, he assembles another interesting group of British people who keep the reader interested in reading about their lives. Another thing I enjoy about the author’s writing is that he writes in a manner that doesn’t make everything seem tragic. The character and circumstances are just everyday life. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of the author’s work.

The Museum of Ordinary People is a place for items that needed saving, things no one would buy but it would feel wrong throwing them away. They may look like junk but they all once been loved and treasured by someone. It is a place to honor the memories of ordinary people.

This book will make you emotional if you ever used encyclopedias to do research for homework assignments:) Jess stumbles upon The Museum of Ordinary People while she is trying to find a new home for her encyclopedia set gifted to her by her late mother. As luck would have it Jess has always wanted to be a museum curator and she ends up managing this strange museum. Every item displayed on the shelves has a story to tell. As Jess and Alex spend more and more time together they become very close. The secrets from their own pasts are revealed in the process.

The Museum of Ordinary People is a wholesome book. The story is a touch predictable but I appreciated the overall message. I think the romantic relationship could have been left out. Sadly, even though I liked discovering the stories behind the pieces in the museum, I found the book and especially the main character Jess a bit boring overall. I did not enjoy this book not as much as his previous release All The Lonely People.

Lovely story! 4.5 stars

"While it might be true that some things are thrown away for good reason, it's equally true that some things are saved for a purpose."

I really enjoyed this book, it is filled with heart, humor, love, and learning how to find inner strength after loss and change.

I think this book really resonated with me because we have recently moved my never married aunt with no children into memory care. She's my dad's (who passed away in 2012) only sibling, so my mom and my sister and I are pretty much it for dealing with her home and her possessions. She is still fairly with it (although she has ups and downs and is totally unsafe to live alone) so she was able to label many of her possessions with their origins over the years. Yesterday, in going through the house in order to have an estate sale, my mom and I came across object after object with little notes as to where they came from and it was kind of a fun treasure hunt. So despite it being a very overwhelmingly huge undertaking, the notes inserted some laughs and nostalgia into the process.

All that being said, this process reminded me so much of this book and filled me with an intimate sense of knowing why people would want sentimental items to have a place somewhere instead of donating them to a charity shop or tossing them in the dumpster.

This book is about Jess, who grew up the beloved daughter of a single mother. When her mother dies suddenly, Jess is tasked with clearing out her house. She keeps very few items, but one of those items she does keep is a set of 1970s encyclopedias that she used to pore over as a child. Although Jess's dream and education is to be a curator of a museum, life circumstances have stood in the way and she is currently working as a receptionist. When Jess and her boyfriend Guy decide to sell the home they are living in, she reluctantly needs to part ways with the encyclopedias. Jess hears of an odd museum called The Museum of Ordinary People, and what and who she discovers when she goes looking for it is exciting and comforting at the same time.

I enjoyed getting to know Jess and everyone else in the story, she is thoroughly likable and I was rooting for her success throughout. Although it's pretty obvious from the beginning what will happen romance-wise in the book, it's still fun to watch unfold as you read.

If you like stories filled with relatable characters, humor, and heart, and you are as intensely curious about the items that other people are sentimentally attached to, then definitely pick this book up, you won't be disappointed.

Reading about Jess cleaning out her mom's home is both sad and beautiful. I lost my mother a couple of years ago so really identified with having to say goodbye to someone so important. Even though it may not make sense, it can be hard to let go of their things. The Museum of Ordinary People is the place for the special things that reminds us of our loved ones but that we don't have space to keep ourselves. How wonderful to have a place to visit those memories and see the beloved things of others.

The whole idea of a museum of ordinary people is intriguing and heartwarming. I felt just as excited as Jess at the prospect of such a museum. However, this museum isn't just about preserving special memories, it just might be the thing to get Jess' dreams back on track.

I adored this story! Not only a touching read, there's a tad bit of a mystery and a little twist at the end that I totally did not see coming! All in all, I recommend adding The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle to your tbr!

Read this if you like:
• Dual timelines
• Heartwarming reads
• Museums

What a cute book! If you have been reading thrillers, or anything "dark" and need a pick me up this is the book for you!
All of the characters are super relatable - from Jess being a 30-something year old going from one dead-end job to the next and stuck in a relationship she's unsure about to Alex, a self-conscious man with scars and a story behind it; this book was so heartwarming.

I loved the idea of having a "museum" of sentimental things that people do not want to throw away and how Jess found some stories behind them. I also liked the twist, which was a tad bit predictable but worked anyway.

This is one book I definitely recommend!

I had high hopes for this one after absolutely loving All The Lonely People; read it if you haven't! Even better; listen to the audio!

Anyways

The Museum of Ordinary People had a unique premise but it ultimately fell flat for me. The story is a SLOW burn and combine that with characters that were a bit one dimensional, I just couldn't get into it like I had hoped.

Also, the main character's relationship with her boyfriend was awful from page one and just dragged on and on and on.

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced readers copy of the novel**

I struggled between giving this a 4 or 5 star rating, but ultimately decided to give it 5 stars.

I enjoyed reading the novel. I read most of it in a day. The pacing, plot, characters, and their relationships with one another were interesting. While it focused around heavy topics like death and grief, I didn't find the book too heavy or sad. It was pretty heartwarming and I found myself rooting for Jess and wanting everything to work out for her. It was the perfect book to kick off my summer reading.

I've read some other reviews saying that the subplots made it confusing to the plot, unnecessary or took too long to resolve. I disagree. I think those subplots, the conflict it creates for the characters and their journey to resolve them, builds their character and is the reason why the Museum of Ordinary People means so much to them. It's the everyday, little things that we sometimes take for granted that can leave the biggest legacy.

This is the first novel I've read by Mike Gayle and happy to report that I'm a fan! I can't wait to read more of his work.

The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle is a feel-good, meringue-with-ice-cream-strawberries-and-hot-fudge dessert of a novel. I loved Gayle’s All the Lonely People and his latest shares the same sensitivity. Jess is overwhelmed with grief after her Trinidadian mother’s recent death. After cleaning out her mother's home, Jess has kept several momentos and has given many of her mother’s other possessions to charity shops. Jess shares an apartment with her white boyfriend Guy, a minimalist, who enjoys his carefully curated modern apartment. The apartment isn't large and Jess understands that there isn't room for the set of encyclopedias her mother gave her when she was eleven so she tries to donate them, but no charity shops will accept them and she can't bear to think of throwing them away.
Jess’s friend Luce learns of an odd space called the Museum of Ordinary People housed in a warehouse that takes such items so Jess visits the warehouse and meets Alex who has just inherited the warehouse and accompanying business. He's planning to sell it, but when Jess proposes a collaboration, a dream is born.

Later, two major secrets are revealed. They almost feel unexpected, yet they make sense and add to the fairytale quality of the book.

My favorite part of this novel is the following quote which has had me thinking for days:

“The older you get the more home becomes about people rather than place. The older you get the more roots are about where you want to be rather than where you come from.” Jess needs to find out where she wants to be, but first she must deal with where she comes from.

Summing it Up: if you're looking for a diversion and a charmer, The Museum of Ordinary People is just what you want. It sweetly shows how tied we are to possessions that evoke memories of those we've lost and how we can find ways to retain those recollections. It's a great beach read.

Rating: 4 Stars

Publication Date: May 30, 2023 (U. S.)

Categories: Dessert, Fiction, Sweet Bean Paste

Author Website: http://www.mikegayle.co.uk/

What Others are Saying:

Kirkus Reviews: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mike-gayle/the-museum-of-ordinary-people/

“Moving and heartwarming, this is a story about love and loss and holding onto the memories that make us who we are. Fans of character-driven relationship fiction by Clare Pooley, Rachel Joyce, and Freya Sampson will want to pick this one up.” —Booklist

This was my first book by this author, and it won't be my last. I loved this book! It was beautifully written, with excellent character development and such an interesting premise. I look forward to recommending this title to our patrons!

This is a very unique story that makes you not want to put it down. The characters are very rich and entertaining. The idea of a museum for ordinary things is intriguing and makes you wonder what you might want to put in it. I highly recommend reading this book to see where it takes Jess and all of her ordinary people.

I received an advanced copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily