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What You Are Looking for is in the Library
  • Published: 23 July 2024
  • ISBN: 9781804994139
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $24.99
Categories:

What You Are Looking for is in the Library

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The irresistible hardback Times bestseller and bookshop favourite about the healing power of books and community; Time magazine Top 100 books of 2023; 'An undeniable page-turner' New York Times

A TOP TEN TIMES BESTSELLERA TIME BOOK OF THE YEAR
SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAPAN BOOKSELLERS' AWARD

'An undeniable page-turner.' New York Times

'A tribute to the transformative power of books and libraries.' Irish Times

'I adored this uplifting, hopeful novel.' Daily Mail

The internationally bestselling Japanese novel about the life-changing power of books, kindness and second chances.What are you looking for?

That is the question Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian asks everyone who walks through her doors.

Because Sayuri Komachi is no ordinary librarian.

With an uncanny gift for sensing what people truly need, she recommends exactly the right book, together with a tiny handmade felted charm. At first, her choices seem surprising. Soon, they begin to change lives.

Among those seeking her help are:

• A restless retail assistant searching for a more meaningful future.
• A working mother trying to rebuild her career after maternity leave.
• A conscientious accountant dreaming of opening an antique shop.
• A talented young manga artist who has lost his confidence.
• A newly retired salaryman searching for a new sense of purpose.

Each arrives looking for a book.

Each leaves with hope, fresh possibilities and the courage to begin a new chapter.

Warm, wise and quietly uplifting, WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY is a celebration of books, libraries, kindness and community, and a reminder that sometimes the story you need most is the one you never expected to find.
________

Perfect for readers of The Midnight Library, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop and We'll Prescribe You a Cat, and for anyone who believes in the power of the right book at the right time.

'A quirky slice of feel-good fiction that you could recommend to anyone.' Mail on Sunday

*****'I definitely want to visit this library. I feel kinder after this book.' Reader review

*****'It made me laugh and cry and feel comforted.' Reader review

*****'Wonderful. It made me look for connection in my life.' Reader review
  • Published: 23 July 2024
  • ISBN: 9781804994139
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $24.99
Categories:

About the author

Michiko Aoyama

Michiko Aoyama is the author of the multi-million-copy bestselling What You Are Looking For is in the Library, translated by Alison Watts, which was a Time Book of the Year, a Times bestseller and a New York Times Book of the Month. Matcha on Monday is a companion read to the author’s debut, Hot Chocolate on Thursday. Both are set in and around the fictitious Marble Cafe, a tiny community café in Tokyo. Another book available in English by Aoyama and translated by Takami Nieda is the international bestseller The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park. Her latest novel to be published in English, Talking in a Moonlit Forest was also shortlisted for the Japan Booksellers' Award. Aoyama lives in Yokohama, Japan.
portrait photo of Michiko Aoyama

Also by Michiko Aoyama

Matcha on Monday
Hot Chocolate on Thursday
Penguin Readers Level 4: What You Are Looking for is in the Library (ELT Graded Reader)
The Healing Hippo Of Hinode Park
See all

Praise for What You Are Looking for is in the Library

I ADORED this uplifting, hopeful novel ... A joy from start to finish, this book makes you feel anything is possible

Wendy Holden, Daily Mail

There's a wistful, warm-hearted appeal to Aoyama's paean to the power of books ... [it's] a quirky slice of feel-good fiction that you could recommend to anyone

Mail on Sunday

An endearing novel and a tribute to the transformative power of books and libraries

Irish Times

Captivating!

Sunday Post

The novel is an undeniable page-turner, its mechanism energized by a simple question, posed again and again by the uncanny librarian, Mrs. Komachi. The question brings Michiko Aoyama’s characters often to the brink of tears; and not only her characters, but this reader, too. It is the great question of the library, and of the bookstore, and maybe of life: What are you looking for?

New York Times

If what you are searching for is a believable take on contemporary life in Tokyo, seasoned with a dash of whimsy, you’ll find your perfect match in this heartwarming novel

Japan Times

There’s a special kind of magic in recommending books to other people and Michiko Aoyama captures that perfectly here. Full of charm; a genuine comfort read

CULTURE FLY

It's been a rotten year, so spark joy with this!

DAILY MAIL

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Reviewers agree – if you’re feeling in a rut, it’s time to read What You Are Looking For is in the Library. Learn more and see what readers are saying about it.