The Reading List

A Novel

By: Sara Nisha Adams

Narrated by: Tara Divina, Sagar Arya, Paul Panting

NOW A LILLY'S LIBRARY PICK!

""The most heartfelt read...a surprising delight of a novel.""--Shondaland

An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb.

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in Wembley, in West London after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list…hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again.

A story with heart

I found it an easy story to get caught up in. A story that pulls your emotional strings from the prospective of a variety of people.

Perfect feel good book

If you like stories like Love Actually where there are multiple story lines that are all in some way connected, you will LOVE The Reading List. you learn about Alecia, a young 17 year old girl who is spending her summer working at the library. Alecia has a difficult home life and is forced to grow up way too soon. She meets the next character, Mookish Patel, when he comes in the library to return a book. Their story doesn't start off on the best foot, but the two become friends after Alecia did overs a reading list tucked in the pages of a book. This is a beautiful story about loss, love and friendship and how books can transform our lives.

Heart-warming and hopeful

I loved this story and fell in love with Mukesh. It's important to look out for one another and be kind.

All the feels!

I loved The Reading List. I was able to connect with all the characters and hear how reading brought them together! Now I’m going to read all the books on the list!

Sweet story

This simple and sweet story held my interest mainly because of the characters. Such a rewarding environment in this fictional library. One could not mistake the love that
existed there.