Sara Nisha Adams

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.

The Reading List

Jodie Reads

No one’s trying to be someone they’re not in a library. 

Hannah Alexander 

why do lonely old characters break my heart everytime. 

Liv Harman 

Shidehdeishidi

I stopped on the second to last chapter for so long just because i didn’t want it to end. actually obsessed. 

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

mesh

Cute book about books. Very comforting and mostly chill read 🫶

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.

Denaiir

this is such a powerful book, I loved every second of it, I cried A LOT and I'm going to buy a physical copy and put it in the hands of as many people as possible.

I listened to the audio version and it was amazing, the narrators did an outstanding job

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. 

Joy Bush

Aleisha is 17 and working for the summer at the small quiet public library. Shes not a reader at all. When an old widower man comes in asking for a book recommendation (because his dead wife loved to read books and he never did) 
Aleisha finds a scrap of paper with a reading list on it. She reads the books and recommends them to Mukesh P. And the 2 become friends. 

Ive never read the books on the list but theyre famous. The Time Travelers Wife, To Kill A Mockingbird, Rebecca, Little Women, Pride & Prejudice, The Kite Runner, The Life of Pi , A Suitable Gentleman (altho this one was briefly mentioned and not talked about)

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

Julia

Fleur van Ravesteijn 

3.5 — Beautiful concept, magical in the most mundane way ever, this unlikely friendship and the importance of stories and books and how both can help people heal. You can’t not love and feel for Mukesh. But Aleisha. So much room for depth and yet?? And yet.

stephanie

I feel like this was written for book-lovers 🥺 it made me smile so many times. I liked how it celebrated how reading can do so much for us as individuals and as communities. I'd recommend it if you want to read something warm and meaningful with really loveable characters.
Some content warnings: mental illness, suicide, death

Lillian

Struggling between 4 or 5, but as a preliminary rating I’ll give it 5. Maybe after a while it’ll drop

I definitely went into this book thinking it would be much more happy than it ended up being, which is not to say that the book wasn’t super uplifting. Personally, I think that the book could have worked just as well if it was on,y a feel good story, but I understand that’s not how real life works. Def will stick with me for a while

Mira McMahon

Sweet book but everything was a little too pat. I felt like all of the themes and revelations were spelled out for me in a way that I didn't need- it was a bit too YA for me in that regard. (Is this YA?) Also, I might be misunderstanding the context, but I don't get why Mukesh is so bumbling for so much of the book. Like, he hasn't used an automatic door before? And my understanding is that the librarian field is pretty competitive and takes a lot of training and dedication- seems like a plot hole they would just throw a teenager who isn't that interested into the job... I liked the bookishness and the library scenes and the relationships in the story were sweet.

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.

Jessica Ray

what a beautiful book! absolutely loved that the author didn't spoil the books on the reading list, but gave you just enough insight to make you want to read them!

Roos Havinga

This book is so wonderful and delightful: it is heart warming leaving you with little nuggets of wisdom through all the beautiful and horrible things that happen in the lives of Mr. P and Aleisha. Really loved this.

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

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 Wright

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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