The Bookshop on the Corner- Annotation

Author: Jenny Colgan

Title: The Bookshop on the Corner

Genre: Gentle Reads

Publication Date: February 11, 2016

Number of Pages: 384

Geographical Setting: Kirrinfief, Scotland / Birmingham, England

Time Period: Contemporary

Series: The first in the Kirrinfief trilogy

Plot Summary: Nina is a shy librarian living in the bustling city of Birmingham. She would rather curl up with a book or three than do anything else, unless that is, to help someone find the perfect book to read. Yet when the library branch she works at closes, she suddenly finds herself transforming an old van into a mobile bookshop in the sleepy village of Kirrinfief in the Highlands of Scotland. There she connects with a charming midnight train conductor, a grumpy farmer turned landlord, and a dozen other peculiar locals who might just be able to pull Nina out of her shell. 

Subject Headings:

Highlands (Scotland)
Bookstores-- Fiction
Romance-- Fiction
Readers’ Advisory Services

Appeal:

Strong characterization of the compelling introvert: For many bookworms, Nina will be a very relatable character; it’s a miracle if her roommate ever gets her to leave the house without a book. “Sometimes she felt the world wasn’t built for people like her. Confident, big-personality people… simply didn’t understand. If you weren’t an extrovert, if you weren’t shoving yourself out into the open all the time… people just gazed right past you. You got overlooked. And normally she didn’t mind. But now Nina could see she was in danger of overlooking herself” (Colgan, p.28).

Sweet, slow build romance: Nina finds herself with two love interests throughout the course of the book, though there is no overlap, so I would not say it is a true love triangle. There is the charming midnight train conductor from Latvia, Marek, who shares poetry and late night chats with Nina. Then there is her grumpy farmer landlord, Lennox, who doesn’t seem to like Nina a bit, yet with whom Nina spends a charming yet bloody night delivering two lambs. All of Nina’s romance with these two men is slow burn and (mostly) very clean, fitting into the gentle reads genre well.

Small town antics and authenticity: Also very common in gentle reads is the trope of the big city girl moving to a small town and being taken with its culture and people. Nina has never really fit in in Birmingham and spends a fair bit of time criticizing technology, busyness, and even the changing role of libraries. Moving to Kirrinfief allows Nina to breathe, get to know herself better, and invest in a town where everybody knows each other’s name and many eccentricities.

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors:

The Diary of a Bookseller- Shaun Bythell

This is a memoir of the owner of Scotland’s largest second-hand bookstore. Both books provide funny accounts of the peculiar small-town antics and people of Scotland and what it’s like to run a bookstore.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Books: The History and Future of Reading
- Leah Price

For those interested by Colgan’s commentary on books in the digital age, this nonfiction collection of essays disproves the belief that books are dying. Price writes about librarians, booksellers, and activists who are bringing new life to reading in today’s world.

Into the Fairy Hill: Classic Folktales of the Scottish Highlands- Michael Steven Newton

For those enchanted by Colgan’s descriptions of the Highlands, this collection of classic folktales from the area, following loch monsters, hill fairies, clan feuds, and headstrong heroines, will paint a new beautiful picture of the history, culture, and landscape of the Scottish Highlands. 

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors:

The Bookshop of Second Chances- Jackie Fraser

Both novels are about women who decide to start over and move to a small Scottish village. Both have books and bookshops at the forefront followed by some slow romance.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine- Gail Honeyman

Both of these books follow shy women around the age of 30 and are both set in Scotland. Through different outlets, both of these women learn to open up and make new friends. 

The Printed Letter Bookshop- Katherine Reay

These two books beautifully show the power of books and the connections they form between people. Both novels follow young women trying to start over, with a lot of books and a little romance.