I love books about books. I especially love books with quirky book nerd protagonists. Nina Hill is a bookseller who micromanages her time to schedule "Nothing" - code for cuddle up with her cat Phil and a book. She has a hard time being flexible. Any deviation may set off her anxiety. Her life gets turned upside down when she learns the identity of her father upon his death. Nina discovers she has a whole new family with a host of siblings, stepmothers and large personalities. To add to this, another monkey wrench is thrown into the works of Nina's perfectly ordered life when she falls for one of her trivia competition opponents. <b>The Bookish Life of Nina Hill</b> was absolutely hilarious such a wonderful reprieve from my hectic life. It was really a fun read.

<i>Special thanks to NetGalley, Lauren Horvath from Berkley, Penguin Random House and Abbi Waxman for advanced access to this book.</i>

Adorable, loved this book. Completely relatable for all the introverted bookworms with anxiety out there. I felt a kinship to Nina, her love of animals, her scheduled "nothing" time which was actually code for reading, and her difficulties when pushed out into the world and forced to socialize with others she didn't know well.

This is definitely a summer read with a happy, if not slightly predictable, ending. It's all the things I want in a cute book, and highly recommend it for anyone looking to add a light, fun read to their 2019 summer TBR.

This one seems to move very slowly at first and then races to it's finish. It had some very good writing, amusing and entertaining. Woke up this morning thinking about it so perhaps it's more than first impressions that matter.

DNF at 50% and it breaks my heart because I absolutely adored Waxman’s first two books. This one feels very much like she’s trying to break out of her “mom lit” niche.....and it’s not working for me. I can’t wait to read her future works that are back in her sweet spot.

Thoroughly enjoyable read! As a fellow bookseller and book lover, I identified quite a bit with the main character, Nina. However, I also identified with Nina's daily struggles with anxiety, introversion, dating, family, friendship, and life in general. I believe this book will be very relatable and humorous for most female readers. I also enjoyed her interactions with her newly discovered and very large family. I wish I could hang out with these characters in real life, my world would be much more colorful! And I might just be inspired enough to start using a daily planner just like Nina's - those inserts between chapters provided a deeper glimpse into the psyche of the main character and added a unique flair to the writing. I will recommend this one to all of my book-loving customers or anyone looking for a fun summer read that dives a little deeper than the typical beach read.

Nina Hill is a typical millennial, she is sassy and arrogant and not ever really paying attention to other people - unless of course she is the subject. She is very smart and she knows it and she is a book snob who prefers to be alone than with other people. She works in a bookstore and she likes her simple life - exactly as it is, did I mention she has a need for order and organization? Well, she does.

Enter chaos. Nina it turns out is not the only child she always though she was, in fact she has just learned that she has a very large family and the father she never know existed had fathered four other children from three marriages. She now has siblings, and nieces and nephews and stepmothers (if that's what you call the wives of the father you just learned about). Nina is about to freak, she also has a love interest, which she just doesn't have room for?

“The Bookish Life of Nina Hill” is quite a cute book. It follows Nina Hill, who is a bookseller by day and bar trivia competitor by night. Nina enjoys life as is, but she unexpectedly gains a family and her life gets crazier by the day as her life becomes more social. I enjoyed the author’s treatment of anxiety in this novel as well, Nina is a relatable character grappling with being an introvert while figuring out her place in relation to others. I would recommend this book to anyone who has worked in a bookshop as well as fans of the book “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine”.

Buy it! Read it! Buy more copies & give to your bookie friends! A bookstore book that celebrates bookishness in all of our lives & is a joy to read. PERFECT FOR MOTHERS DAY

The plot summaries are available elsewhere, and frankly, I'm not going to tell patrons and customers much either. I will simply say: read this. It is about our people. You will understand every reference - obscure, obvious, droll, sentimental, circuitous - and revel in being as smart as Nina. Which we know is cool. Trust me.
I gave it five stars not because it's a life changing book like the best literature in the world, but because it validates a particular lifestyle, which may turn out to be someone's most important book in the world. I can't wait until it's available and I can talk it up.

I was super stoked about the description of this book. I could totally relate to Nina- a book nerd, enjoys planning and taking care of her cat. In the book Nina works for a bookstore and is quite the book nerd. She also enjoys playing trivia with her friends. Nina is an only child, or so she thought. Turns out when she finds out that her father (that she never knew) passed away she learns of quite a few siblings and relatives she has. These relatives push Nina out of her comfort zones at times and makes her think about things in a new light. Additionally she meets Tom, and finds her romantic life is about to drastically change as well. Overall a cute and fun read. Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks for the opportunity to review this one. And I did buy copies for my fiction collection. I now know what the word "irreverent" means as it relates to this author's writing, as I've seen mentioned in reviews, and it's not my cup of tea. I did love her first novel and recommend it often.

Charming in small doses, but a bit uneven and occasionally cloying. There was so much potential, and so many links to things I adore, but in the end they didn't quite add up to a cohesive whole. An enjoyable read, but would be unlikely to recommend unless I knew the reader were specifically obsessed with trivia, or perhaps the television show Pushing Daisies, with which the book shares a narrator tone.

A thoroughly enjoyable read with likeable characters who make you care about their story. Nina has a pleasant life working in a book store and living alone with her cat. She has an active, but manageable social life that mostly consists of competing on a trivia team and hosting several book clubs at the book store where she works. It's clear, however, that her mother's globe trotting lifestyle and refusal to give her any information about who her father is, has created some attachment (detachment?) issues for Nina. She doesn't trust herself or others. When her father dies and leaves her something in her will, Nina is introduced to a large family of siblings, nieces, nephews, and aunts. It is overwhelming enough, but at the same time, the team captain of another trivia team, Tom, has begun to show interest in dating her. All of this threatens to upset every facet of her life - events that would be stressful for anyone. This is a delightful read, but the ending feels a bit rushed.

This book was delightful... a bibliophile's dream. I loved the snark in the main character and most of the characters in general. I will definitely recommend this to library patrons and friends.

I loved this book. Nina is a relatable, delightful character and the story was a pleasure to read. I will be adding it too my "books for book lovers" list as well as too my fellow female millennials looking for a gently read.

This book has all the makings of an irresistible read for librarians and book sellers. The nods to bookish references were delightful and unexpected. The mystery quotient was the right amount; however, the book spiraled into low hanging fruit of the stereotypical single female variety. For instance, why would a book club in today’s climate be called Book Bitches? I lost interest in this after reading several pages of penis descriptions. DNF

However much I tried to will myself to enjoy "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill," I just couldn't get into it. I should be able to relate to Nina, who has a deep love of books, but I was unable to due to finding her quite annoying. From the first scene where she is in the pub during the trivia contest, where we first see her interact with Tom (who I had trouble remembering half of the time, whether because he was unmemorable or because I didn't care for him), I could tell that this was not going to be the book for me. I'm all for the friends-to-lovers trope, but it has to be done well, and I don't think that Waxman got it right. Still, I see the potential for others to enjoy this title, and will recommend it during Readers Advisory.

Thank you to Netgalley, Abbi Waxman, and Berkley Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nina Hill lives with her cat and works at a local bookstore in Los Angeles. She also participates in the cut throat world of trivia with her team. She's smart, sarcastic, introverted (which suits her just fine) and socially awkward. Nina was raised by a nanny while her single mother traveled the world as a photographer. She never mentioned Nina's father and Nina never thought to ask.
One day a lawyer shows up with news of her father. He recently died and Nina has been named in his will. Suddenly she has relatives she never knew about and some of them want to get to know her. Her job is in jeopardy when her boss can't afford the rent on the bookstore and her new relationship with a member of an opposing quiz bowl team is falling apart due to Nina's anxiety and her embarrassment about it.
This book was fun and filled with great pop culture references. I identified with Nina quite a bit.

Ms. Waxman must live inside my head. Odd as this may sound in a review, I so clearly identified with Nina, even hearing her speak in my head....in my own voice. I’ve never read a book that portrayed a character I identified with so closely. Each character is drawn so well. These are believable and fairly fully-fleshed. Ms. Waxman’s description of the main character’s anxiety and her coping mechanisms was don wiith a deft and compassionate hand, Nina and her cohorts could have been caricatures in another author’s treatment but Ms. Waxman has given us real people with real issues and foibles.

The trivia Nina and friends spout, their knowledge of books and authors,mother-in-law ability to make connections in life with what they have read is marvelous. As I said, I felt I was reading about myself in many ways. I admire the many snappy turns of phrase used by the author. Her level of snark matches my own and I detect some P. G. Wodehouse in her past reading life. So, humorous, filled with great trivia readers (like you and I, dear readers) store up like squirrels store acorns, a believable bunch of fully fleshed supporting characters, a well-paced story arc. Et voila! The best read I’ve had in ages.

I look forward to all Ms. Waxman’s books. Particularly if she brings her humor, snarky or otherwise, and her compassion and empathy for the human condition. All wrapped up in a great story that never descends to silly romance.

Loved these characters, loved this book! You will, too.

I didn't enjoy Nina asides as she told her story. It was a little too droll, and felt forced. Honestly I couldn't finish the story, so this isn't a very good review.