Instant USA Today bestseller!“Abbi Waxman is both irreverent and thoughtful.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin“Meet our bookish millennial heroine—a modern-day Elizabeth Bennet, if you will… Waxman’s wit and wry humor stand out. She is funny and imaginative, and “Bookish” lands a step above run-of-the-mill romantic comedy fare.”—The Washington Post“Abbi Waxman offers up a quirky, … Washington Post
“Abbi Waxman offers up a quirky, eccentric romance that will charm any bookworm…. For anyone who’s ever wondered if their greatest romance might come between the pages of books they read, Waxman offers a heartwarming tribute to that possibility.”–Entertainment Weekly
The author of Other People’s Houses and The Garden of Small Beginnings delivers a quirky and charming novel chronicling the life of confirmed introvert Nina Hill as she does her best to fly under everyone’s radar.
Meet Nina Hill: A young woman supremely confident in her own…shell.
The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.
When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They’re all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She’ll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It’s a disaster! And as if that wasn’t enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn’t he realize what a terrible idea that is?
Nina considers her options.
1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)
It’s time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn’t convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It’s going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.
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I like the style of this book it’s easy to read with likable characters. It focuses on Nina, who is an introvert that was raised by a nanny with no contract from her father and occasional visits from her mother. Although that sounds depressing the author presented the story in a manner that is light and fun. It was a different kind of book that makes the reader want to see what is going to happen next. I really enjoyed this book and am looking for other novels written by the author.
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill tells the story of Nina who is living a one dimensional life, but one day turns into a three dimensional life when she inherits a family. This was an okay story, but not great.
It felt like a play that was trying to introduce too many characters and as a result you did not get to know the characters as well as you would have liked. If this had been the first book in a series, then it would have been a good lead-in. However, you are left with a lot of questions about some of the characters that were introduced into the story, because their stories were cut off midstream.
Having said all of this, if you are looking for a light, easy to read book, this will provide what you are looking for. It has some great one-liners and it offers some great conversation starters. It just would not be categorized as the best book I have ever read and I would not spend a lot for it. I will keep and eye on this author and see if she is able to grow with her world building.
I returned it, I disliked it very much
Quirky and different.
Nina Hill is an only child of a mom who was rarely in her life and an absentee father. Her “aunt” cared for her most often. Books were her one escape into a world where she fit in. No surprise that she grew up to be an introverted librarian. The whopper of a surprise is that her deceased father has left her something in his will , plus an assortment of siblings! I really enjoyed watch Nina navigate the familial waters while also struggling to maintain her first relationship. A very good read.
I loved the characters in this book. It was an easy read, but there were enough surprises to keep me interested. The ending was not so surprising, but it was a satisfying read. I loved the growth in the main character.
I absolutely loved this crazy book it was wonderful. Anyone who feels they don’t
Quite fit in will see how great it is.
Very well written – clever
I loved this book. My only “problem” with it was that I kept awake laughing with audio version instead of drifting off to sleep like usual. I thought I would slide off the couch laughing about the penis descriptions. It has a multilayered storyline well woven . I read it a second time right after finishing it the first time. I never do that unless I am studying content text.
Nina certainly has an interesting life. Raised by a wonderful Nanny cause her mom traveled and really wasn’t all that close to her daughter when she got too big to fit into a drawer. Then lo and behold she finds out who her father is, was, and that she has quite the family. For a shy, rather be by herself girl, this was quite a jolt. Thank goodness she has a job she loves and her trivia and book club to keep her going. I wish I could retain all the knowledge she has. I found this to be a very entertaining story and loved the characters. Some of my favorites are Phil, Millie and Clare.
Nina Hill is a bookish millennial living in the Larchmont section of Los Angeles. She has a job in a bookstore and a cat named Phil, runs numerous book clubs, and competes in a top trivia team. For a shy only child, it’s the perfect life. Almost. There is the cute guy on the opposing trivia team she’s too bashful to speak to.
Then the father she never knew dies and names her in the will. Suddenly she has a brother and sisters and nieces and nephews, and it’s all so overwhelming. It takes a village to coax Nina out of her over-organized, over-scheduled shell, but the journey is so much fun.
I found this to be a delightful book. Nina is smart, awkward and endearing. Her slow-burning romance with Tom is sweet, and her new-found relatives are a hoot, as is Waxman’s depiction of Larchmont.
Recommended for anyone looking to escape reality for a few hours.
I always enjoy a book about bibliophiles.
Twenty-nine-year old Nina Hill works in a bookstore in Los Angeles and likes her life just the way it is. She grew up as an only child of a single mother. When the father she never knew passes away, she learns she has siblings and a large family living nearby. I enjoyed reading this witty book.
I want to give this two stars, but three stars on Bookbub is “ok”…which this book was. It was an okay romantic comedy and something light if you want a quick read, but I’m hesitant to even give it three. Maybe two and a half? Barely.
First, it is entirely predictable. There was only one moment in the book toward the end where I was surprised by what the main character (Nina) did.
Second, it’s a little ridiculous to believe a woman who works in a struggling-to-survive book shop is able to live in Los Angeles and afford to buy rounds of drinks for people and pay for yoga classes and, well, you get the idea. I know it’s fiction, but I can only suspend belief so much.
Third, inconsistencies abound. Nina is too uptight with her schedule to change anything to go out to dinner with a guy she really likes but yet she completely ditches her scheduled yoga class to go have coffee with a relative she barely knows. She says she doesn’t like spontaneous things, but on a whim goes and does crafts with a mom of one of the kids in the bookshop’s book club. What?! For a book lover, she doesn’t seem to spend much time reading…except for one night a week. And finally in my nitpicking, when the bookshop owner is having a crisis, the first person she calls is Nina, who has JUST had a major meltdown panic attack after hearing how bad of shape the bookshop is in financially. Sorry, but that is not the person I’m going to call in a crisis.
Overall, I just wanted to get done with the book, but I did finish it because the story was, as rated, okay. If you want romantic comedy, opt for Birdget Jones’s Diary over this.
I really liked Nina and everyone that is in her life (established and new) including her cat Phil who has his own dialogue. I loved Nina’s vulnerability and self reflection as her layers are peeled back (sometimes ripped off).
Nina is an introvert and suffer of anxiety.
3.5 stars, rounded up
I just really loved this book. Really really. It reminded me of “Eleanor Oliphant is Fine” but even better. I always love a book that has bookish characters. And the trivia thing was a super fun quirk, too. I also love that Abbi wrote a character who suffers from pretty severe anxiety attacks and shares how that could affect a person’s life and relationships.
The story of Nina’s dad coming out of the woodwork after he has passed away because her name is listed as a beneficiary was pretty unique. But the most unique thing was the family Abbi had built up for this situation. It was the craziest family dynamic I think I have ever heard and, by the end of the book, I just loved almost all of them.
I enjoyed the budding romance throughout the book. Tom is an adorable character and I liked his persistence. I did get a little frustrated with him after the anxiety thing, but I think it was also good for him to have boundaries.
The only reason I don’t give this book a higher rating is because of some of the content. There is a whole scene that includes discussion about male genitalia. And it’s mentioned more than once throughout. I would not label this a clean book. But if that kind of content doesn’t bother you, I do recommend it.
Note: there is definitely swearing; talk about genitalia and body parts; drug and alcohol use; homosexual characters; dysfunctional family relationships; anxiety attacks
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Read by Emily Rankin—She’s a decent reader. Maybe not a lot of difference in some of the characters, but to be fair, it’s difficult to have a different voice for that many different female characters.
This is chick-lit, not a romance as such. WONDERFUL characters. Full of humor. A time or two I actually burst out laughing. The protagonist has many flaws, which her friends understand. she finally meets a man she can relax with and is afraid to let go.
On top of unpredictable life changes. But she knows what she wants.
I loved this book! I am an older book nerd. Really great story, if you are a book fan. Lots of great lines. I was laughing out loud! Great job.
Waxman breaks all the writing rules with this book, but it works. I enjoyed Nina’s story and kept reading entertained by her journey. This is more personal journey than romance.
Nina Hill is a book lover, trivia junkie, bookstore worker, obsessive planner, and only child. Growing up she had a lot of anxiety when dealing with other kids and it has stayed with her into adulthood. She loves her job and her routines, but when she gets some unexpected news she isn’t quiet sure how to deal with it. I liked her character and her flaws and was drawn back to this book, even when I only had a few minutes to read. I loved the planner pages at the beginning of each chapter too. This is a cute, light book that would be a perfect beach read.