The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

This is such a little treasure.  I read this book in one sitting...one...it was that good.  It is about a very sad and quirky man who is given a gift at a second chance at life.  It is also about the love of books and how they have the power to affect our lives...to change them. 


"My life is in these books, he wants to tell her.  Read these and know my heart."  Pg. 249 


This is so, so, so true...it is why book recommendations can be so personal.  When I tell someone, especially a friend, that I LOVED a book...I want them to love it to...I want them to have the same shared experience.  Now this doesn't happen with every book - the latest "new adult" book that I pass along with a casual "this was soooo good", is not the same as handing someone Sarah's Key or The Sparrow or The Kite Runner.  Even some of the Young Adult and Juvenile books I have read - Between Shades of Gray, The Fault in Our Stars, Harry Potter...these books have stayed with me....they have become part of me...those books are different. 


Another favorite quote:


"...the necessity of encountering stories at precisely the right time in our lives.  Remember Maya: the things we respond to at twenty are not necessarily the same things we will respond to at forty and vice versa.  This is true in books and also in life." Pg. 41


Truth.

Book Description via Amazon

“This novel has humor, romance, a touch of suspense, but most of all love--love of books and bookish people and, really, all of humanity in its imperfect glory.” —Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child
A.J. Fikry, the irascible owner of Island Books, has recently endured some tough years: his wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and his prized possession--a rare edition of Poe poems--has been stolen. Over time, he has given up on people, and even the books in his store, instead of offering solace, are yet another reminder of a world that is changing too rapidly. Until a most unexpected occurrence gives him the chance to make his life over and see things anew. 

Gabrielle Zevin’s enchanting novel is a love letter to the world of books--an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.