{"id":39417,"date":"2021-05-13T22:39:46","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T02:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=39417"},"modified":"2021-05-13T22:39:46","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T02:39:46","slug":"review-of-the-bookish-life-of-nina-hill-by-abbi-waxman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=39417","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, by Abbi Waxman"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Bookish Life of Nina Hill<\/em><\/p>\n

by Abbi Waxman
\nread by Emily Rankin<\/p>\n

Penguin Audio, 2019. 9 hours.
\nReview written May 10, 2021, from a library eaudiobook
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

This book was recommended by members of my Silent Book Club Facebook group as a feel-good read, and I was delighted with it.<\/p>\n

Nina Hill lives alone with her cat and likes it that way. She has plenty of activities after her work day at a bookstore, but she\u2019s careful to schedule one night per week for reading. She was raised by a nanny, as her international photographer mother was always traveling, and her mother told her she didn\u2019t even know who Nina\u2019s father was.<\/p>\n

So Nina is surprised when a lawyer informs her that her father has died and she\u2019s mentioned in the will. It turns out that her mother had told him to never contact Nina, but he was, in fact, her father. It also turns out that she now suddenly has a great big family of siblings and nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews who also live in the Los Angeles area. (When I say “great big,” it’s not anywhere near as big as my family. But going from zero to a dozen or so is a big change. So I’m talking big for a normal person.)<\/p>\n

At the same time, her trivia team members are urging her to get to know the handsome man on an opposing quiz team \u2013 and his team members are urging the same thing. But can Nina have a good relationship with someone who doesn\u2019t read?<\/p>\n

Honestly, I took it a little personally that the book implied that Nina looking for a man who reads would be unrealistic. I couldn\u2019t actually see that they have a whole lot in common and wonder what they will talk about after they stop spending all their time together having sex. (Though admittedly, it turns out that his occupation is perfect.)<\/p>\n

On top of that, every new family member she got to know had something in common with Nina, many being avid readers, and it was easy to see she\u2019ll become good friends with them. Shouldn\u2019t she also have something in common with a romantic partner? (Bear in mind that I\u2019m unduly sensitive, since I would like to find a man who reads. I suppose if he\u2019s good-looking, smart, and kind, like this guy, that might be enough \u2013 but I\u2019m reserving some skepticism.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a delightful book, though. I related to book-lover Nina so very much. I did keep wishing she\u2019d discover Library Science, though! She could get a Master\u2019s in Library Science, become a librarian, and do all the things in a library that she was doing in the bookstore \u2013 without having to make a profit and getting a little more respect for her prodigious knowledge. She could still run book clubs and activities, but instead of needing to sell books, she could simply encourage people to read books. And her encyclopedic knowledge of trivia would come in handy at the reference desk.<\/p>\n

But that’s the book I wanted, not the book before me. And the book before me was wonderful!<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a book-lover at all, there\u2019s an excellent chance you\u2019ll love this particular book \u2013 the story of one of us.<\/p>\n

abbiwaxman.com<\/a>
\npenguinrandomhouse.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Fiction\/bookish_life_of_nina_hill.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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