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  • Published: 23 July 2024
  • ISBN: 9781804994139
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $22.99
Categories:

What You Are Looking for is in the Library




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

THE TWO-MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING INTERNATIONAL NOVEL

The Top Ten Times bestseller
A Time Magazine Book of the Year
'An undeniable page-turner' New York Times

'I ADORED this uplifting, hopeful novel ' Daily Mail
'It made me laugh and cry and feel comforted' 5***** Reader review
'A tribute to the transformative power of books and libraries' Irish Times

An inspirational tale of the love, comfort and growth you can find in the pages of a good book.
_________________
What are you looking for?

So asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi.

But she is no ordinary librarian.

Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it.

We meet five visitors to the library, each at a different crossroads:

- The restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills
- The mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave
- The conscientious accountant who yearns to open an antique store
- The gifted young manga artist in search of motivation
- The recently retired salaryman on a quest for newfound purpose

Can she help them find what they are looking for?

Which book will you recommend?
_________________

'An undeniable page-turner' New York Times

For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this feel-good Japanese book shows how the perfect book recommendation can change a life.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAPAN BOOKSELLERS' AWARD

'I definitely want to visit this library. I feel kinder after this book' 5***** Reader review
'A quirky slice of feel-good fiction that you could recommend to anyone' Mail on Sunday
'Wonderful. It made me look for connection in my life' 5***** Reader review

Times bestseller, August 2023

  • Published: 23 July 2024
  • ISBN: 9781804994139
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $22.99
Categories:

About the author

Michiko Aoyama

Michiko Aoyama was born in 1970 in Aichi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan. After university, she became a reporter for a Japanese newspaper based in Sydney before moving back to Japan to work as a magazine editor in Tokyo. What You are Looking for is in the Library was shortlisted for the Japan Booksellers' Award and became a Japanese bestseller. It is being translated into more than fifteen languages. She lives in Yokohama, Japan.

Discover more

Article
Contemplating a life change? You need to read this cosy Japanese fiction

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.

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