“Abbi Waxman is both irreverent and thoughtful.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin
“Meet our bookish millennial heroine—a modern-day Elizabeth Bennet, if you will… Waxman’s wit and wry humor stand out. She is funny and imaginative, and “Bookish” lands a step above run-of-the-mill romantic comedy fare.”—The Washington Post
“Abbi Waxman offers up a quirky, eccentric romance that will charm any bookworm…. For anyone who’s ever wondered if their greatest romance might come between the pages of books they read, Waxman offers a heartwarming tribute to that possibility.”--Entertainment Weekly
The author of Other People’s Houses and The Garden of Small Beginnings delivers a quirky and charming novel chronicling the life of confirmed introvert Nina Hill as she does her best to fly under everyone's radar. Meet Nina Hill: A young woman supremely confident in her own...shell.
The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.
When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster! And as if that wasn't enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn't he realize what a terrible idea that is?
Nina considers her options.
1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)
It's time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn't convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It's going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.
I know I have an unpopular opinion once again, but hear me out. This book wasn't bad. I'm sure there are people who will enjoy it. I just wasn't one of them. The biggest problem of this book, in my opinion, was the main character. God, was she annoying. I get that she didn't have the best childhood, to put it nicely. But there's just no reason to treat people around her like that. She always ignored people who tried to help her or wanted to hang out with her. And I can't stand people who think that their taste in books is superior to others'. Nina is one of them.
"She looked up at him. “Do you read books?” He frowned. “Sure. Occasionally.” “Good books?” “Well, books I think are good.” “Have you read Jane Austen?” “No.” “Kurt Vonnegut?” “No.” “Truman Capote?” “No.” His face was blank, but she could see he was getting vaguely irritated by this line of questioning."
Come on... I would ignore a person if they told me something like that. I guess we should crown Tom for being so patient with her. And for carrying the entire book on his shoulders, it must be hard. Also, the synopsis made me think that we will see Nina communicating with her family A LOT. Guess I was fooled, it's fine.
I received the digital arc from Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.
