Bookstore Fiction
While the number of brick and mortar bookstores seems to be declining, many people are still drawn to the warm and nostalgic emotions connected to the small, independent bookstore. That response makes the bookstore the perfect setting for a novel. The reader is easily transported to a place full of comfort, excitement and mystery. Check out this list of novels with a bookstore backdrop.
The Bookman's Tale: A Novel of Obsession by Charlie Lovett. After the death of his wife, Peter Byerly, a young antiquarian bookseller, relocates from the States to the English countryside, where he hopes to rediscover the joys of life through his passion for collecting and restoring rare books. But when he opens an eighteenth-century study on Shakespeare forgeries, he is shocked to find a Victorian portrait strikingly similar to his wife tumble out of its pages and becomes obsessed with tracking down its origins.
Goodnight June by Sarah Jio. June Andersen is professionally successful, but her personal life is marred by unhappiness. Unexpectedly, she is called to settle her great-aunt Ruby's estate and determine the fate of Bluebird Books, the children's bookstore Ruby founded in the 1940s. Amidst the store's papers, June stumbles upon letters between her great-aunt and the late Margaret Wise Brown, the author of the childhood classic "Goodnight Moon."
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. After a layoff during the Great Recession sidelines his tech career, Clay Jannon takes a job at the titular bookstore in San Francisco, and soon realizes that the establishment is a facade for a strange secret.
The Storied life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. A. J. Fikry, owner of Island Books, has already lost his wife. Now his most prized possession, a rare book, has been stolen from right under his nose. One night upon closing, he discovers a toddler in his children's section with a note from her mother saying she can no longer raise her. It doesn't take long for the locals to notice the transformation of both bookstore and owner, especially to the lovely yet eccentric sales rep, Amelia Loman.
The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay. Eighteen years old and completely alone, Rosemary arrives in New York from Tasmania with her love of books and an eagerness to explore the city. Taking a job at a chaotic emporium of used and rare books, she knows she has found a home. But when Rosemary reads a letter from someone seeking to “place” a lost manuscript by Herman Melville, the bookstore erupts with simmering ambitions and rivalries.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of 12 enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida visits the life she meant to bury for good. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them and are transformed by the truth.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. In 1945, the city of Barcelona is slowly healing from its war wounds, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer's son, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled "The Shadow of the Wind" by Julian Carax. When he sets out to find the author's other works, he makes the discovery that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax's books in existence. Soon Daniel's quest opens a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets.
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