3.52 AVERAGE

v_de_quimper's profile picture

v_de_quimper's review

3.75
inspiring reflective medium-paced
hopeful reflective slow-paced

My mother found this book in a bookshop in Lucca while travelling to Tuscany. I thought it was going to some some kitschy summer read like “under the Tuscan sun” but it turned out to be the diary of a poetess who opened a bookshop in a tiny village in Tuscany during the pandemic. There was something so wonderful and refreshing about it. I read it while we were leaving Tuscany, finding it very hard to leave but dreaming of changing my hectic life and living a simpler life: one I remember living during the pandemic. It’s an ode to books, book-lovers and literature and Alba is also very good at making the mundane sound rather magical. It’s a book that doesn’t really go anywhere. It ends abruptly with no conclusions and this I found rather sad. I suppose I wanted Alba to end with some reflections on her little venture in the mountains. It’s a crazy idea and one I hope that will continue to work for her. I, for one, have already marked La Libreria Sopra la Penna for next time I’m in Tuscany.

susansanders's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 20%

Too slow and plotless for me
emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced
inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

DNF
Just wasn’t engaging or interesting.

A story of a woman and her community, how much readings means to her, and a long list of book recommendations