I loved this memoir about Nanako Hanada's life as a book seller and her idea to sign up for a dating website in order to meet more people and give them personalised book recommendations. This was a heart warming and wholesome story that left me feeling like I need to read lots of the book recommendations that she made in the book. 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

It is a non-fiction book that reads like a fiction book. It was very enjoyable, although a bit chaotic, maybe because of the translation, I'm not sure. It is not very clear to me what the aim of the book is, but it is entertaining, funny and interesting. The book recommendations are very good, although most of them are not translated from Japanese, which is a pity. The author's journey and how it evolves is very funny and helps you realise that life is constantly changing, even if sometimes you seem stuck, you always end up finding your way, which I think is hopeful and a great message to keep in mind.

Nanako Hanada's "The Bookshop Woman" is a five-star gem that enchants and inspires. The novel beautifully captures the magic of books and the transformative power of literature. Hanada's protagonist, a resilient and passionate bookshop owner, is wonderfully relatable and endearing. The story is a heartfelt journey of self-discovery, community, and the love of books. Hanada’s writing is evocative and lyrical, painting vivid scenes that draw readers into the charming world of the bookshop. With its rich characters, engaging plot, and profound themes, "The Bookshop Woman" is an absolute delight for bibliophiles and anyone who cherishes the written word.

Nanako Hanada’s memoir was a huge hit in Japan, later adapted for TV, under its original title roughly translated as My Year of Using a Dating Site to Meet 70 Strangers in Real Life and Recommend Books I Thought Would Suit Them. It’s a highly readable account of reinvention, in January 2013, Nanako who was in her early thirties left her husband. A solitary bookworm whose job in a chain bookstore was increasingly frustrating as its ethos shifted from alternative to hyper-commercial, she felt adrift. So Nanako made, what was for her, a bold decision, she joined ‘PerfectStrangers’ a social networking site, advertising herself as someone who could match people with their ideal book.

At first Nanako’s profile seemed to attract pushy men intent on hookups or establishing a kind of friends with benefit situationship. But as time passed, Nanako began to make more positive connections, ones that put her in contact with a fascinating cross-section of Tokyo society. Her love of reading, her desire to share her enthusiasm, enabled her to communicate with strangers in ways she’d never imagined, particularly because she’d always seen herself as socially inept. Nanako’s memoir’s brief and fragmentary – it grew out of a series of magazine articles. But Nanako’s a surprisingly likeable narrator who constructs an interesting overview of life in Japan particularly for her generation of women: taking in subjects that range from café culture to the potential isolation of urban existence and the ways in which online interactions might offset that. It’s also an entertaining, convincing tribute to the power of traditional booksellers and to reading: from reviewing to reader communities. It comes with a comprehensive listing of the many books recommended by Nanako, a number of which I’m now desperate to track down. Translated by Cat Anderson.

This is a fantastic book. I ended up looking up so many of the books that are recommended.
I did not realise until the end that it is a true story and that Nanako actually did recommend books to people. and really shows the power of books and the people you can meet along the way.
The intricacies of the people and lives she meets as you progress through the book are fascinating. and reading this will probably lead to a fascination with other Japanese books and authors

It was a fun read that sadly became repetitive after a while. Nanako Hanada without a doubt has a talent to tell a story and is very observant, but the structure of "The Bookshop Woman" became quite predictable after a while.

As someone who worked in a bookshop for many years, recommending books to people, and then became disillusioned with it much about this book hit a nerve.
I've also run events like speed dating with books/ being a book doctor so much about this book was familiar and I found myself nodding along a lot.

Nanako is braver than me in many ways and her insight to Japanese life was fascinating - especially as I'm on quite a roll reading cosy fiction/cosy fantasy books set in Japan

A charmingly quirky story about a woman for whom books are the most important things in her life. Working in a bookstore she idolised as a teen, she has begun to get disillusioned by the fact that the job is less and less about books and more about merchandise (something that as a fellow bookseller, I really sympathised with). She begins to use a dating site to meet people, not for romance, but to connect with them and to end every meeting with a book recommendation. Her encounters begin, in a subtle but profound way, to change her life and remind her of what's important. This is an undemanding, cute read that really is perfect if, like me, you have a life where books are a core part of who you are.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC! I requested this one because which bookworm doesn’t love a good book about books? The premise of this memoir is Nanako recently separating from her husband, finds her career stagnating, reaching a turning point in her life. So she signs up to PerfectStrangers to meet new people and give them book recommendations. While I did enjoy the book recommendations aspect (such a shame that so many of them are not yet translated into English!) I thought overall it felt a bit superficial. I’m finding that unfortunately with a few of the memoirs I’ve picked up this year - too much telling and not enough showing, and too much ‘this happened then this happened then this happened’ without the author taking time to ruminate and reflect on those events. I learned at the end that a good chunk of the book had first been published online, and that made sense. Some sections just have that quick-read quality of an online article, and I sped through the book as a whole.

There were some good parts about navigating online spaces and meet ups as a woman (one part made my jaw drop, the audacity of men). And I also liked the emphasis it placed on platonic friendships - I’m so glad Nanako was able to form such relationships as a middle-aged woman, as sometimes it seems like it’s impossible to make friends after your twenties!

A little underwhelming, but wholesome enough and obviously a testament to the power of a good book recommendation.

I chose this book for the holiday because it promised a cozy experience, and it did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about another reader's journey. I highly recommend it to anyone feeling a bit lost or in need of some motivation to make life changes.

This is a memoir about books but more so it is a memoir about people. The Bookshop Woman is a memoir about Nanako Hanada, who decides after her divorce to use a meet-up website to meet with strangers in order to recommend them the perfect book. Nanako has her ups and downs with this experience, from meeting people who just want to sleep with her to meeting a life coach who helps her through some difficult emotions. In this experience, she learns a lot about what makes someone who they are, and how to view speaking with someone new. As someone with social anxiety, this book felt oddly peaceful. Nanako was worried about meeting with strangers but everything turned out okay. She ended up making the best out of all the scenarios she gets herself into, and it made me feel more encouraged to do the same.

Before writing this book, Nanako wrote about her experience online through twitter and blogs. The book is only a little over 200 pages translated, but it did begin to feel a bit unnecessarily long at times. But overall it was just a really beautiful, thought provoking memoir that I think will really stick with me.

Thank you to Octopus Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant read! I loved this memoir it's a book about making connections, communicating and letting yourself be vulnerable to trying something new and branching out to find your place. The book really shares some of the nuances and allows you a peek into Japanese culture. The memoir sees Nanako take the reigns of her life after a separation from her husband and makes the choice to meet people more using a website called 'perfect strangers' it's a fun memoir seeing Nanako develop and question her life and learning from others that she meets along the way.
I do wish I could read some of the recommendations Nanako shares with the people she meets, I do enjoy receiving a good new recommendation myself and with that in mind I recommend you all go read this.

Definitely a fun read with lots of eccentric characters, a simple premise that's quick paced and easy reading!!

This was such a surprise of a book, a delight, I loved it.
A love story to books, bookselling, reading , this book made my heart sing. I loved the writing, the protagonist Nanako, the Tokyo setting and the eclectic cast of secondary characters.
Quietly wise ,humourous and heart warming, this is a book I will buy as a gift to a fellow book lover.
A gorgeous read.

The life of a woman who loves books and all she wants to do is read and recommend books.

I enjoyed this book but I do think the title was misleading, as working in a bookshop had very little to do with the actual story. I did like the care she took in recommendations for people.

I think this book could have been longer and gone deeper into the thoughts of changing jobs and hunting out the job you actually want. But it was more about becoming comfortable talking to strangers.

The Bookshop Woman by Nanako Hanada

A perfect book to read in this summer, especially for those who love books and agree books will lift you up!

Nanako just had a tough life that you could not imagine. After separating with her husband, spending nights in a small room and could not think about the future, she had a chance to meet people she knew online.

She always started the conversation with books, sharing books with her new friends, not only she loved books, because she managed a bookshop. However, the men she met wanted more than books…

I enjoy the story because it’s about bookshop, meeting new friends and books could bring people together. The story plot was strong and entertaining. I could imagine Nanako was a lovely lady with a good personality.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Jun6, 2024

'The Bookshop Woman' is a memoir written by Nanako Hanada.
Recently divorced Nanako has been living in hostels and internet cafés since she ended her marriage.
She's been working as a bookseller for year but lately she's lost the passion for it. She's been feeling a bit down in her personal and professional life.
In an attempt to meet new people and tackle her feelings of loneliness, she decides to create a profile on "Perfect Strangers", a website that matches you with complete strangers. People join the website for different reasons - romance, networking, companionship etc.
You can meet up with them in real life for 30 minutes.
Nanako's headline on the profile is simple: she will recommend the perfect book for you!
She meets a huge variety of people from all walks of life through the website, and she really pushes herself out of her comfort zone.
She receives some great life advice from the strangers she meets, and the meet ups help her understand people and their experiences much better.

'The Bookshop Woman' is a light and easy read. I usually enjoy reading books about books, but sadly this one just wasn't for me. It was a bit too superficial for my liking and repetitive at times. It was still a fun and quick read that I would recommend to book lovers everywhere.
Nanako's book recommendations and other books mentioned in 'The Bookshop Woman' are listed at the end of the book.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free digital arc of 'The Bookshop Woman' in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. It reads like fiction, the way the writing just flows and carries you through.
Hanada is in a bit of a rut and decides to meet more people. They then start to recommend books to those they've met online.
I would really like to read a lot of the books recommended but they aren't available in English.
The feeling that came across was of that connection between people. Especially between readers, discussing books, making recommendations. Beautiful

"I'm the manager of a very unusual bookshop. I have access to a huge database of over ten thousand books, and I'll recommend the one that's perfect for you."

The Bookshop Woman is a book that feels like a warm hugs. The book following author’s life when she must handle biggest life crisis. She recently separate from her husband, living in hostels and internet cafes, her work also dwindling. Nanako choose to meet new people each day for 30 mins to find connection through a dating site called PerfectStrangers. After meet and chats, she will recommends themna perfect match book for them.

The experience of her healing process is so unique and delightful. I found this book is page turner and inspiring. Although some books mentioned here not translate yet into English edition I still excite to know more about the topic. Nanako also share tips how to decide which book to recommend. But she also show us to make it specific for each person. My issue with this book is sometime i cant feel the emotions from the naration.

Thank you Netgalley and Brazen from Octopus Publishing for providing copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expecting release date: 6 June 2024

The Bookshop Woman by Nanako Hanada is a bit atypical in that it feels more like fiction, autofiction, than straight-up nonfiction. still it was fairly enjoyable.

Well that was lovely. Understated, entertaining and beautifully narrated. You can't help but like Nanako Hanada. She tells the true story of her quest to connect with people by way of book recommendations. She meets lots of peole via a dating app, Perfect Strangers, where you actually propose a date idea online and if someone wants to go on that date with you, they request it. Her niche is she is well eead, a bookseller, and she recommended books to people based on how she perceives them. A stunning memoir.