This book was just delightful. I work in a Library and feel so many of the emotions described by the staff in the book. We all try to increase membership and maintain public use of our libraries. One of our reading books read this book recently and it's encouraged many of them to re read some of the books in the list. Thank you.

A fascinating book if a little hard to read at times.
Loved the concept of books and a library bringing lost souls together, especially people who perhaps otherwise would never have met.
Enjoyed the fact that I had read several of the books on the list, time Travelers Wife and To Kill a Mockingbird Bird are particular favourites of mine.
I appreciated how the author brought out how different readers perceive the books and how you get different things out of them when you are at different stages of your life.
Loved how she showed how books can bring generations together. Great ending, but I won't spoil it!

I really enjoyed this book. The concept was beautiful and the characters well rounded. Another book I just had to buy after it was published to enjoy again.

A gloriously heartwarming love letter to libraries, books and the people who enjoy them! Two strangers from very different lifepoints meet in a library and bond over a reading list of books - and together they enjoy them , finding common themes and reference points. The books are classics which many of us may have read - I haven't read all of them personally, but enjoyed the discussions around the books and how this impacted on the characters lives in so many different ways.

I loved this book. Filled with love, loss, friendship, and hope, it's a wonderful rollercoaster of a ride. I loved the two main characters and the way their relationship grew and how they themselves grew through their reading. Not going to lie, it's very sad in places but it's still a wonderful, fabulous read.

Wow. I mean wow. SIMPLY WOW.
A tribute to the legendary books in the book world? or a legend on its own?

This wonderful story following two VERY different people (an 80 year old man and a 17 year old girl) is the thing I most needed in my life that I didn't even realize.
So heart-warming, so beautiful, so ecstatic, I'm running out of words.

It's about friendship, it's about family, it's about BOOKS.
Every book lover needs to read this <3

The reading list:

The time traveler's wife
To kill a mockingbird
Rebecca
The kite runner
Life of pi
Pride and prejudice
Little Women
Beloved
A suitable boy

Those of us who read already know what those who don’t are missing.

Mukesh Patel, missing his late wife, nervously visits the local library for the first time. However, temporary librarian Aleisha has family problems of her own, and isn’t overly helpful, until she finds a curious list of books. As one by one she reads them Aleisha passes them on to Mukesh, and an unlikely friendship develops as they both find comfort in the stories.

This is an emotional but uplifting book. I have to admit I struggled to get into it at first but I think more because I didn’t have the time to indulge. Once I had the opportunity to read more than a snatched few pages, I loved it.

The two main characters are beautifully written, and my heart ached for them both as they silently struggled with their family life away from the library. It is a reminder that we never really know what is going on in other people’s lives once they close their front doors.

There was a big part of the near end I had already sort of guessed, but it didn’t matter, and the ending was sad, moving, but also joyful and hopeful.

The list and the books pepper the story throughout, uniting all the characters together at various points. Most of the books on the list I had read, a couple I hadn’t. I did find the connections easier with the ones I had read, but the main themes of each book are woven through Aleisha and Mukesh each time, so it would not be necessary to have read them beforehand - although you will definitely want to after!

I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Reading List

A book of love and grief.
Friendship and family.

This book could mean very different things depending on the person reading it.
I know this true for all books.
But, I feel it has depth in many ways and will tug on your heartstrings for different reasons. Depending on your stage of life. Understanding of life. Or what you have been through.

It could teach you lessons. It could guide and hold your hand through a time when you need it.
Or it could give you comfort.

I would recommend.

A lovely book about reading... I think netgalley for the opportunity to read this book..it was an enjoyable read and would recommend to readers who want an easy but enjoyable read.

Excellent read, about reading!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access this book in exchange for my feedback.

Mukesh Patel, an elderly widower makes an unlikely friend in Aleisha a teenage girl who is having problems at home. Aleisha works on the front desk at a local library. Together they embark on a reading journey thanks to the list of books Aleisha has found tucked into the pages of a returned novel.

A beautiful story about how books can bring people together

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams is a book about how books can bring people close together and improve strained relationships. It is a story about love and hope, peace and friendship, and the power of books and community.

It is the heartwarming story of a widower and his attempts to deal with the death of his beloved wife, while trying to maintain a sane relationship with his daughters and connect with his granddaughter. His and several other stories are all bound by a reading list people discover in various circumstances - in the library, at the supermarket, at a public gathering. The books in the said list are all great reads in themselves.

At the very least, The Reading List serves as a gentle reminder of why we love reading.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC.

A sweet story about loneliness and books. The characters are lovely and I liked the focus on the reading list and the books mentioned but I struggled to connect with them fully to lift the book to be a special read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved the idea of a reading list, who wouldn't?! I have several reading lists myself. I also liked some of the characters, Mukesh is a lovely character and so is Aleisha. Their friendship is heart-warming but their home situations are quite sad. For me though, the book was quite slow in parts and I struggled to connect with the story as much as I'd hoped. I also found myself being quite picky with how the library was being run, but that was probably just the library worker in me coming out!

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and HarperFiction and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

My Opinion

This is a book about books, so why didn't I love it? I liked the concept, but it could have been done so much better as this was such a struggle to finish. I have seen very mixed reviews on this book and clearly I am in the minority - for me, this book didn't work but it could work for you.

Rating 3/5

Despite the tragedy its main characters were faced with, this novel was able to interweave heartwarming moments of joy and friendship and left me with a feeling of hope.

Would I recommend?…Yes, if you want a novel that celebrate books and the people who cherish them

While the synopsis intrigued me. I felt this could be the light read I was in need of. Sadly however this just fell flat for me.
I struggled to really care from the beginning. The writing just slow and I felt bored throughout.
I can see how some might see this as a feel good book but for me the story felt contrived and overall underwhelming.

I feel like this book just represents my life as a whole - the idea of working your way through stories and getting lost in them is a magical thought. I just loved this one, the characters could not be more different, they are worlds apart, yet this book shows that friendships can form even in the most unlikely of places for the most unlikely of people. This has made me want to explore the books on this list and discover what the characters in this book have discovered. This was wonderful.

A beautiful story about friendship, family and the power of books! The story follows Aleisha and Mukesh, as they both balance their complicated family lives and build a friendship following a reading list. A wonderfully written book, that gets you hooked from the beginning. The characters are well thought out and so easy to love.

January bookclub choice. Heartwarming story around a list of books. Loved the selection if characters - very well written. Liked how the books helped their in certain situations.