Uh, hello gorgeous cover.....

The book was good but a little flat for me

Sophie, is a bookstore owner who just lost her husband, her manager has left to go to law school, and she's really just done.. She wants to go into hiding.

There is an event planned at the bookstore with a renowned poet, which Sophie no longer wants to host for a multitude of reasons. Raymond, the poet will not allow this to be cancelled and he's going to set the record straight..

The vacuum cleaner eating her keys and how it keeps popping up in the story is absolutely hilarious. As a mom, I often suck things up that shouldn't be!

I just reviewed Bookish People by Susan Coll. #BookishPeople #NetGalley

I decided to DNF this book as the first 10 pages alone did not capture my interest. I thought this would be right up my alley because it's a book about books and reading but I'm really disappointed that I did not feel the slight bit compelled to continue it.

.Fifty-four year old Sophie Bernstein (Mrs. Bernstein to us) owns an independent bookstore in Northern Virginia. She is struggling with her grief from her lawyer husband's sudden death. She finds herself being less and less involved with the day to day life of the bookstore that she usually micromanages. It doesn't feel fun anymore.. In the course of this, some of her employees are becoming overwhelmed, others are less engaged than they once were and Sophie starts thinking about ways to be part of the store while physically escaping its hubbub in a most unconventional way. Meanwhile, the developer who bought the parking lot out back seems to want to buy the store and tows people's cars if they stay in the lot more than two hours.. Should she sell? Bookish people is certainly centered on Mrs. Bernstein, but it includes an ensemble cast of store employees and her just graduated from college son.

Clemi is in charge of organizing and putting on all of the store's events, such as author readings. Her mailbox is always full. And why she has booked a poet who has gone viral in a bad way is beyond everyone but Clemi. Noah is a slightly irresponsible but highly attractive store employee who gets away with everything. Except for her letting that happen, Autumn T. is a decent store manager, taking over from long time manager Jamal who is moving away with his husband and child to start law school. Mrs. Bernstein is devastated to have him leave. She's not sure how her employees see her, but Jamal has felt like a son to her in many ways. Then, there's Florence, who was fired for something you'll have to find out for yourself and banned from the store, but she is very much in Clemi's life. They were roommates, but they've had to rent out Florence's room and she's now sharing Clemi's room. Not good. There eventually is a tortoise as well, but staff may not bring pets to the store so how did that happen?

Despite some competitiveness, the staff is close and they socialize outside of work. Mrs. Bernstein is invited to their parties (the lunar eclipse watching party from one person's roof and the "come as your favorite superhero" party scheduled for the following night). She assumes they don't really want her to come and she is pretty clearly into isolating, not socializing. Bookish people truly brings us into the day to day experience of owning, staffing, experiencing the day to day life of an independent bookstore. It is also full of laugh out loud humor, I won't spoil it by describing this, but the humor, flawlessly woven in, earns this already engaging book five stars from me for pure, consistent entertainment and time well spent. Highly recommend.

I love books about books. Unfortunately I have to DNF this book at 50 percent. I think I was expecting something far different from the blurb than what I’m getting. It is very difficult to connect to any of the characters. It is probably someone else’s cup of tea, but unfortunately it is not mine

This book was a delightful train wreck. I didn't want to keep reading (like, when did the author move into my brain?) but at the same time, I couldn't put it down. It was warm and funny and neurotic in all the best ways. I'd LOVE to visit this bookshop and just watch the action!

it had potential but it didn't deliver
but overall, its alright i guess
i was really excited at that 'bookish people' but all i got was disappointment
could've been better

This was a very interesting story and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters. It wasn't quite what I had in mind when I picked up the book, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I thought the way the main plot lines were introduced to the reader was very well thought, as well, which made this book a very positive surprise for me.

This one was a DNF for me. I will not be posting a review of it but thank you for sending I think people would like this one it just wasn't for me. Thank you again for the copy.

This was a sweet idea to follow the life of a widowed 44 year old woman who runs a small independent bookstores. The snapshots into different aspects of her life and the antics in the bookstore were fun! .

I love books about books, libraries, bookish people, librarians and bookstores. Its a world I like to be in. An automatic pick-up. I dove in heart first with this book. Sadly, it could not sustain my enthusiasm and eventually my interest. I could not relate to any character . My stars are for getting a behind the scenes on how to run a bookstore. That I enjoyed. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. I am drawn to books about books/bookish people so this was a no brainer for me to read. Set in an independent bookshop run by Sophie who seems to be losing her passion for her bookshop. There's a hidden room in the bookstore and she wants to move into it and hide away from the bookshop and her life. Clemi is the store's events coordinator and she books a controversial poet to come and speak at the bookshop. There have been protests and riots at other bookstores and all the US bookstores have cancelled his appearances. Clemi thinks the man might be her father, and she doesn't want to cancel even when Sophie tells her to do so. Jamal is the bookstore manager, but he is leaving for law school shortly so they will be shorthanded and need to replace him. Florence, an ex-employee who was fired, is causing problems. And there's an interested party who wants to buy the bookstore. There are quite a few characters but their personalities are all so different, I found it easy to follow who was who. I enjoyed the End-of-Day report at the end of each chapter that's full of strange things that happened at the bookstore. There's a pet tortoise, Kurt Vonnegut, who is owned jointly by Noah and Clemi who keeps smelling up the store. I loved the quirky book loving characters, it was a fun read. #susancoll #bookishpeople #goodreads #litsy #thestorygraph #amazonaustralia #tea_sipping_bookworm #chicklit #bookqueen #bookstagram

Bookish People by Susan Coll is described as a quirky laugh out loud book set in a DC bookstore ,and that as well as its cheerfully striking cover immediately caught my eye. As is the case for many readers, I love books about books, books set in bookstores etc and I was looking forward to a light entertaining read. Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. I didn't find it remotely funny, definitely not laugh out loud. The characters were flat and one dimensional and I didn't really care for any of them, The plot seemed to have many threads that were never really fleshed out, the only one with the potential for some drama was Clemi's first meeting with her father, but that just sputtered out without any fanfare. One thing that I did like was the fact that the author included a multigenerational cast and I liked how some of the interactions between the generations played out.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Like many avid readers, I feel drawn to characters who like books, and that's what made me try Bookish People. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for be me. I didn't enjoy the story and disliked the writing.

Unfortunately this was a bit of a miss for me. I wasn't interested in any of the characters and the plot felt a little "meh" at times. Great premise but it could use a little more polishing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I love a good book with bookish storylines but this book just wasn’t for me. I didn’t enjoy the writing and the story just wasn’t memorable for me. The way the story was going between different characters made it little hard for me stay focused on the story and harder for me to stay involved in the storyline.

This book was good, not great. I love a bookish story-line that indulges in a characters LOVE for books because, well who doesn't. But this just wasn't my cup of tea. The writing was not my favourite style, and the story felt mild. Nothing to excite me, or make me fall in love.

Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for a review. This novel released on Aug. 2,.2022.

I adore books about books as they're so relatable. But unfortunately Bookish people did not fit my expectations. I adore the cover and the premise seemed up my alley however the writing was not quite what I typically enjoy and the plot was mediocre.

Going between characters and many detailed subplots, at time I felt confused and some plots would've been better dropped and others better to be delved into more

Still, Bookish people is a fun, cute and wholesome novel

A lovely and engaging book; the NPR interview made me laugh so hard that tears ran down my face. That scene, and the struggle with the vacuum cleaner, definitely worth the price of admission.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This was not what I was expecting. Sophia was almost always looking at things from afar-like she wasn't really there. I found this odd. It is one thing to get lost in a book, but she was lost in her life. Hiding in her bookstore in DC-where there are a million things to do. I wanted to like this because I adore books and bookstore, but I don't think I understood what the author was trying to say. I guess not my thing, but I didn't hate it. 3 stars