The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

 

Once in a while, fair readers, there comes a book you think cannot fail.  It is, after all, a book about READING!!  Whoo Hoo!

Alas, this is not that book.

I was so hopeful for this one - it had great potential in its description.  A story about how a mysterious list of books to read and a library would bring people together just at the moment when those people needed that connection the most.  Sounds great, right?

Told from different perspectives (and narrated for me, I listened to this one), we meet a widowed man named Mukesh whose late wife loved to read; Aleisha, a teenager who reluctantly works in the library and hides her family shame; and a couple of other people who throw in their two cents' worth randomly throughout.

So here was my problem.  First of all this book was WAY too long.  Editors, you failed.  There was way too much build up, too much time with Mukesh and his daughters (although, the renditions of their phone calls to him were pretty funny on audio), not enough time with the woman from a few years ago whose time was so short I don't even remember her name, too much wallowing in Aleisha's sad restricted life, etc etc etc, and not enough time on the Grand Finale where everyone discovers (or not) where the list actually came from, who wrote it, who read it, etc etc etc.

I think the budding friendship between Mukesh and Aleisha is the best part of this novel, and we didn't really get much time with that.  The list of books was interesting.  One of them I had never heard of (wanna guess which??? comment below!) but the rest I was like, YES, pretty good list!  And as other reviewers have pointed out, there are SPOILERS galore for the books on the list, so if you haven't read any of them, beware (I am looking at you, Richard Parker!).  There were some good moments of reflection where the books being read really did speak to the reader at that moment of their life, so there's that.

I just feel that this book missed its mark.  I had to check it out of the library twice and force myself to get through it.  Never a good thing for a reader.  I kept thinking this is going to all come together so gorgeously, I just know it!  The end was awful and then nice and then it was over.  Ugh.  Disappointed.