Fast becoming a favorite subgenre! I can't get enough of books about books!
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan 2017
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I read this book because I heard about it on an episode of the podcast What Should I Read Next? In which they were discussing books about books. I didn’t know a lot about this book before I started reading it, and I was a little surprised that it is actually a relatively dark novel. The main character, Lydia, deals with something that happened to her when she was a little girl. The author skillfully kept me interested in the mystery; I kind of knew what the revelation might be, but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story at all. The way Sullivan wove in Lydia’s backstory with the current plot as well as the way he connected the different characters reminded me a little of Gillian Flynn, so I would definitely recommend this book to mystery fans and those who enjoy a darker read. However, it is definitely not as dark as Flynn’s novels, so the reader who doesn’t like to go too dark could really like Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. Sidenote: A+ on the cover!
Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan 2012
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I expected this novel to be quirky and fun, and it did not disappoint. I’m a major character development person, and I think Sloan did a good job with his cast of characters-they were all authentic and interesting. The setting was San Francisco and Google was a heavy player. More than anything though, this is a plot driven book, and it goes along at a good clip--I was definitely eager to find out the exact purpose of the bookstore. Sloan does a nice job of building that expectation. All-in-all, it’s a nice, quick read and falls into the books about books category that I am coming to love very much.