Name: The Reading List
Rating: 4.295454545454546 (66 reviews)
ISBN: 9780008391348

Sara Nisha Adams

A new chapter is just beginning... ‘The story is an absolute joy . . . A captivating and exquisitely crafted debut’ Sunday Times bestseller, Heidi Swain ‘Absolutely captures the magic of reading and libraries’ Louise Hare

The Reading List

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life after losing his beloved wife. Working at the local library for the summer, Aleisha discovers a list of novels that she's never heard of before. Intrigued, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list. 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. Print run 75,000.

Shidehdeishidi

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting too much as I picked it at random while looking for audiobooks, but oh my god I fell in love with this book. The characters are so wholesome and their experiences are so real. I was constantly thinking about my own family and friends because of the similarities I saw in them. I also loved how it brought together people who would likely never have met or had anything remotely in common and forged new friendships. The idea of this mystery reading list that is shared around to help countless people to better understand and appreciate their lives is such a wonderful concept. Of course, I now want to (re)read all of the books from the list for myself. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a sweet but honest read.

Erin Goss

My fricken heart 🥺🥺 this book reminded me of all of the reasons I love reading and why going to the library always feels like coming home, no matter which library I'm walking into. A beautiful book for story lovers. 

Kate B-L

Melissa Palmer

Aleisha is a young girl working at a library. She meets Mr. P., an elderly Indian man who is still mourning the death of his wife. Aleisha is asked to recommend a book to him, and she does so--from a reading list she recently found in the library. This reading list is discovered around the community, and it all ties together wonderfully in the end. Interesting characters, a wonderful homage to books and reading, this will leave readers with a feel good sense. I loved it.

Love this book, it’s a love story but between people and books. The power of reading is immense and I love that it’s portrayed in this book. 

Jodie Reads

A heartfelt story about the power of reading. Anyone who enjoys novels will definitely relate. 

Julia

Nadine 

A fun light read about how a book list and a library near closure bring a disparate group of people together.

The issue of children looking after parents with mental-health issues is sensitively dealt with. 
Nice choice of books for the list and woven in nicely with the stories of the protagonists and what their emotional needs are.

Anika | @chaptersofmay

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams is an utterly delightful contemporary fiction reaffirming the power of books and libraries and the undeniable contentment of genuine friendship. This book had me laughing, crying, and desperate to make a list of my own. 

There’s something about books about books that are always so easy to connect with, and I found myself easily drawn to The Reading List. Adams’ writing is warm and inviting, which certainly contributes to the reading experience. But it’s the characters that I’ll remember the most. The author builds a memorable community of personalities that provide the same escape the books provide for them.  

Mukesh is a practising Hindu, and his everyday life provides a little insight into the Indian community in London. He’s a widow and has many expressions and revelations that I’m sure will resonate with those in a similar situation. Likewise, Aleisha is an isolated teen working a summer job to help her older brother care for her mother. Aleisha faces challenges in her family, at work, and socially, and I think many moments will be relatable to younger readers. The Reading List also features representation of an undiagnosed mental illness, and I found the author approaches this with compassion and humanity.

The Reading List does an amazing job at drumming up excitement for reading. Some of the books the characters are experiencing are stories I have already enjoyed, and reading about their journey to falling in love with words is just as heart-warming as a book club full of friends. As for the books I haven’t read, now I’m desperate to read them just to feel the same joy the characters did. Their enthusiasm is infectious! 

Overall, I’m so glad I picked up this debut. It carries a lot of emotion and features weighty subjects like death, loneliness, and grief, but is ultimately a tribute to the magic of books and importance of libraries. 



Sharon Steinman

This story revolves around a few characters who become friends after their initial uncomfortable meeting at the library. It's a friendship you would not imagine taking place. Mukesh is a widow who is grieving the loss of his wife and has been living at home in isolation without a desire to live. He has existed since his wife passed away. Aleshia is in high school and working part time at the library for the summer. She has her exciting future ahead of her and a complicated home life. The two bond over books. 

​I really enjoyed this book, I loved the conversations they had over the books. Some of the books I have read and a few I haven't but now want to read.

I've you are a bookworm you will definitely love this book.

Hannah W

When Mukesh Patel pops to the local library, forgoing his routine of grocery shopping and David Attenborough documentaries, he has no idea his life's about to change.

He meets Aleisha, a reluctant librarian and the keeper of a curious reading list just a scrappy piece of paper with the names of nine books. It doesn't seem anything special. Yet something tells her to keep it close...

Story by story, Mukesh and Aleisha work their way through the list their worries slipping away with every encounter, with every world discovered in their unlikely book club of two.

A FRESH CHANCE AT LIFE, AT FRIENDSHIP, WASN'T ON THE CARDS FOR THESE LONELY SOULS BUT EVERY STORY STARTS SOMEWHERE.

The Reading List

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