The Bookshop Woman – Hanada Nanako (2024)

This book is a love story to books: to climbing all the way down a book's rope, free diving to its bottom, and resurfacing at its close, ready to breathe a different kind of air. Nanako Hanada's life is in crisis. Recently separated from her husband, living in youth hostels and internet cafés, she finds that her work is going no better. Sales at the eccentric Village Vanguard bookstore in Tokyo, which Nanako manages, are dwindling. Fallen out of love in every aspect of her life, Nanako realises how narrow her world has become, with no friends outside her colleagues and no hobbies apart from reading and arranging books. To inject some excitement into her life, she joins a meet-up site where people meet for 30-minute bursts to find romance, build a network or simply share ideas. She describes herself as a sexy bookseller who will give personalised book recommendations. Over the following year, Nanako meets an eclectic range of strangers: some want more than just a book, while others become true friends. Written with a subtle but sharp sense of humour, this heart-warming book follows a bookseller's self-discovery, offering a glimpse into bookselling in Japan and the quirky side of Tokyo and its people. Books once again provide inspiration and serve as channels for human communication.