A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over--and see everything anew.

A belated birthday RABCK for maggiesma as part of Oppem's 2016 Birthday Group! Hope you enjoy!

Thank you for this wishlist book for my birthday. Looks like it will be a fun read.

Enjoyable read that stayed light , yet tackled some serious topics. Next stop Spoiledrotten.

Mailed to spoiledrotten

Safely arrived in NJ. Thanks for the wishlist book, will add to MT TBR. Have heard many good things about this book.

I am having my Bookclub read this book this month. I hope they all enjoy it as much as I did. After the meetup I will either pass on to my daughter or make it available.
A.J. Fikry is in his late thirties, a widower and owner of a bookstore. After the death of his beloved wife, Nic, his heart has become hardened. He is on the verge of becoming an alcoholic. His prize possession is an original book written by E.A. Poe. It is with the sale of this book he is planning to retire. One night he takes the book out of its locked case, becomes drunk and when he wakes, the book is gone. He is devastated.
The tables turn when something is left in his bookstore that will alter and change his life forever.
This book had me from the very beginning. The writing is well done and the story itself has it all, love, loss, suspense, forgiveness, heartbreak and humor. I did not want it to end.
10/24/16 most of the Bookclub enjoyed this. Will pass on to a few friends, then make it available.
12/30/16 book has been returned and is now available.
02/17/17 sending to another bookcrosser for the wishlist tag game.

Sending off to another bookcrosser as part of the wishlist tag game. Enjoy!

This arrived today. Thank you!

After about 75 pages, I'm giving up on this book. The main character says, "...the real difficulty of living alone is that no one cares if you are upset. No one cares why a thirty-nine-year-old man has thrown a plastic tub of vindaloo across a room like a toddler." It's true; I don't care. He's petulant, irritating, and performatively "guilty" in a far-too-realistic way. I suspect that most people who have had to deal with real-life Fikry's don't want to spent their reading time with the same. Worse, I feel like I have seen variations of this character all the time, so it isn't even compelling in a train-wreck way. I find Maya an interesting character, and am enjoying her effects on the people around them, and some of the other side characters, like the police chief and Ismay, are very fun, but they simply don't balance out the fact that I have a low tolerance for this particular trope of a grumpy man-child learning how to act like a responsible human.

Hopefully the next reader will be more tolerant than me and enjoy it as much as most of the other reviewers I've seen have!

Added to the Little Free Library