The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

Nina is an only child with an absent (photographer) mother and no real family to speak of but for her old nanny Lou, and her cat Phil. She’s ticking along just fine with her obsession with scheduling and organizing, leaving her Thursdays as sacrosanct to read whatever she likes for however long she wants. She’s always been fascinated with books and reading: she’s a trivia savant, and she’s got no room in her life for surprises. Well, surprises happen but she’s so anxious about them, and focused on her anxiety that she often overloads and falls incapable of even the smallest tasks unless or until she has the time to overthink her every option and place the ‘new thing’ into a box that she can either ignore or schedule to fit her life. There’s a certain camaraderie with Nina for those of us who are more introverts than normal, who love books and reading, and would (if pushed) read the same book over and over again if nothing new caught our eye. She’s got her favorites that are all “mood dependent”, and her relationship with her boss Liz, her co-worker Polly and the customers that come into King’s Bookshop where she works are intriguing – even they are trying to get her to ‘let go’ of her over-organized life and be spontaneous. But, as Nina says, “I’d rather be home reading”. A sentiment I can fully get behind as Nina and I use books in the same way: to explore other people, places and options, all while being transported away from where we are, or to those places that feel happier and simpler. But things are getting more complicated for Nina by the second: her competitors in the “Trivia League” are closing in on them, and their captain: gorgeous, arresting and obviously Sports aware is intriguing, even though she doesn’t want him to be. If that’s not enough to throw a spanner in the works, she is visited by a lawyer who has a bequest from the father she never knew about, and there’s a TON of family that comes along with the information. None of the family knew of Nina, and she didn’t know about them – and it’s just one more thing that she ‘wondered’ about as a kid, but never really thought was possible for her. What emerges is Nina trying to ‘acclimate’ to the news, with a nephew that is wonderfully accepting and takes her though the family connections, to an older brother (in utero when her mother and father had their moment) who is surprisingly like her, and all of the other ‘emotions’ one might expect from a family who has suddenly discovered your existence. From laugh out loud moments to her attempts to ‘figure out’ just why people act the way they do without her books, and her budding relationship with Tom, captain of the rival team, Nina’s plate is pretty full. Waxman details Nina’s philosophies, her reading and even her anxiety in ways that make you want to be her new best friend – with hours of ‘quiet co-reading’, coffee, tea, snacks and plenty of comfy socks. There’s so much happening in this book that it gives Nina no time to ‘process’ the information as she normally would, and the changes in her, as well as her commitment to the books she loves, the store and her dogged determination to keep her life “sane if lonely” is a lovely story and one that many readers can relate to on one level or another. Easy to read, funny and heartwarming, this is a book to grab and enjoy, particularly if you are a ‘reader’ who devours everything around them, usually multiple times. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

4.5 stars The Bookish Life of Nina Hill was such a quirky and fun read. The writing hooked me right from the start and really drew me into the story. The Los Angeles setting was a wonderful surprise, and I loved seeing all of the different locations and references, especially the book store where Nina worked. I have actually visited this store (which is cleverly called Knight's in the book) and I cackled several times at the author's hilariously accurate descriptions of the area and different LA-isms. Book lovers will identify and relate a lot to Nina. She sometimes came across as a socially awkward book snob, but I still found her character very endearing. She's living what she considers to be a wonderful life, but as the book progresses we see that that life isn't quite as fulfilling as she believed it to be. Though there is romance in the book, I really feel like the main love story is between Nina and herself. She's coming into her own, accepting, growing, making mistakes, and adapting to all the new things and people in her life. Considering her world got turned completely upside down, I felt like she responded really well. I loved the colorful cast of characters that we meet throughout the book, especially Peter, Lydia, and how cute was Tom? He complemented Nina well, but I would have liked a little more time spent on establishing and building their connection. There is a little bit of drama, and I feel like Tom overreacted, but I also liked that he wasn't a doormat and knew what he wanted. The resolution to their drama was perfect though and left me with a huge smile on my face. Overall, this was a fantastic novel and I definitely plan to read more from this author. *I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

1 I'm beyond confused why 85%of all reviews are humans just spitting back the synopsis of the novel from a book cover or previous review .That DOESNT help its useless and way too long gibberish.2 as for this book I nearly fell.asleep.halfway thru chapter 2 .just SO SO boring .If a book cant be interesting by end of chapter 1 /beg of 2 then I'm done. Also nina is so NOT interesting.zero interest in gettin to know her based on the first 2 chapters..I blame this "writer " zero talent. I will not attempt to continue another hackneyed "akward shy bookworm who metamorphoses " .I wasnt that keen based on the subject but was willing to try it .but so bloody slow gettin started(chapter 1 and 2 could be 1 chapter) .explains why it's over 300 pages.