I don’t often read “adult” books these days; in fact, I sometimes get impatient with adult novels and their detailed descriptions when maybe fewer words might have sufficed. (ie. tighter editing)

But I just finished The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (Gabrielle Zevin, 2014), and it’s one of those perfect books – just the right length, just the right emotional heft, it’s set in an independent bookstore, it’s full of insightful lines (the ones you stop to re-read several times) and I even love the cover. Each chapter begins with a synopsis of a favorite short story of A.J. Fikry’s, recommendations to his teenage daughter, a foundling left in Island Books one day. Now I want to read those stories, too!

Some of my favorite lines:

“Remember that a fine education can be found in places other than the usual.” (p. 27)

“There ain’t nobody in the world like book people.” (p. 254)

“We aren’t the things we collect, acquire, read. We are, for as long as we are here, only love. The things we loved. The people we loved. And these, I think these really do live on.” p. 251

“I like talking about books with people who like talking about books. I like paper. I like how it feels, and I like the feel of a book in my back pocket. I like how a new book smells, too.”(p. 255)

For sure I’ll be looking for other titles by Gabrielle Zevin. Have you read anything lately that swept you away?