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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novel is a love letter to independent book stores and a guide to living lives of value outside the high pressure work culture of South Korea.
Yeongji, a burned-out employee, quits her job and divorces her husband to follow her dream of owning a bookstore. After her divorce, she has enough money from half of the sale of their marital home to renovate and stock her small store. She makes many beginner's mistakes: 1) She initially stocks the store with titles she loves instead of curating a wider selection of books for a broad reader base. 2) She relishes the cozy climate of her new store while catching up on many lost reading years instead of developing a business plan. 3) To cut corners, she does all the labor herself, working herself to the bone.
As Yeongji slowly learns how to run her store, she hires engaging people to work for her, she adds author-talks and book-groups to encourage new customers, and she starts publishing book reviews on the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop website. She also welcomes and allows stragglers and lost souls to enjoy her cafe as they knit, crochet or people watch.
Because of her kindness and welcoming spirit, Yeongji offers guidance and friendship to customers in need. Midway through the novel she invites a young coder turned writer, Hyun Seugwoo, who has recently started writing a bi-montly internet column titled What We Do Not Know About Writing. "His writing was calm, but sharp. Yeongji liked it when authors were sharp -- which was why she enjoyed essays written by authors outside of Korea," (110). She invited Seugwoo to speak to her customers. He is a shy fellow who is torn over Yeongji's invitation and can't decide to commit. He appreciates Yeongji's enthusiasm and her style of book reviews, but his emotional response to her is new and somewhat uncomfortable..
There are many secondary characters in this novel who are stuck in ruts created by society, their families or themselves. Somehow they all find their way to Yeongji's store where they meet a like-minded group of individuals searching for meaning in their work and relationships.
Yeongji, a burned-out employee, quits her job and divorces her husband to follow her dream of owning a bookstore. After her divorce, she has enough money from half of the sale of their marital home to renovate and stock her small store. She makes many beginner's mistakes: 1) She initially stocks the store with titles she loves instead of curating a wider selection of books for a broad reader base. 2) She relishes the cozy climate of her new store while catching up on many lost reading years instead of developing a business plan. 3) To cut corners, she does all the labor herself, working herself to the bone.
As Yeongji slowly learns how to run her store, she hires engaging people to work for her, she adds author-talks and book-groups to encourage new customers, and she starts publishing book reviews on the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop website. She also welcomes and allows stragglers and lost souls to enjoy her cafe as they knit, crochet or people watch.
Because of her kindness and welcoming spirit, Yeongji offers guidance and friendship to customers in need. Midway through the novel she invites a young coder turned writer, Hyun Seugwoo, who has recently started writing a bi-montly internet column titled What We Do Not Know About Writing. "His writing was calm, but sharp. Yeongji liked it when authors were sharp -- which was why she enjoyed essays written by authors outside of Korea," (110). She invited Seugwoo to speak to her customers. He is a shy fellow who is torn over Yeongji's invitation and can't decide to commit. He appreciates Yeongji's enthusiasm and her style of book reviews, but his emotional response to her is new and somewhat uncomfortable..
There are many secondary characters in this novel who are stuck in ruts created by society, their families or themselves. Somehow they all find their way to Yeongji's store where they meet a like-minded group of individuals searching for meaning in their work and relationships.
‘I like that you're a logical person. But sometimes logic doesn't make great people, because you'll always place logic above your heart. And you'll claim to not know your feelings when, in fact, you do'
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Second half very slow, but the writing was nice.
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
as a person in my late twenties who feels lost in life, love, and work, this novel hit close to home and was just what i needed. i saw myself in every character, and i finished the book feeling hopeful about life and the tiny steps i take to change mine, similar to how the characters change theirs. a lovely story.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No