Nina Hill is a 20 something book nerd who leads a structured life working in a book store, playing trivia games, and enjoying movies by herself. Her life takes a turn when she discovers she has a large extended family after the death of her unknown father. As Nina navigates this new family dynamic and a potential romance, she finds herself reevaluating her well-organized life. The book is described as cute, endearing, and bookish, centering around a woman who loves to read and is relatable to introverted book lovers.
Abbi Waxman's "The Bookish Life of Nina Hill" is a light and bubbly piece of biblio chick lit, following the story of Nina Hill, a bookish 29-year-old singleton who works in a bookstore and lives with her cat in Los Angeles. When Nina's life is disrupted by unexpected events, including the death of her father and the appearance of a potential romantic interest, she is forced to step out of her comfort zone and explore new relationships and experiences, ultimately finding that expanding her world may be worth it after all.
Genres:
Tropes/Plot Devices:
Topics:
Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book addresses themes of anxiety, family estrangement, and loss, which may be triggering for some readers.
Has Romance?
The book features a prominent romantic subplot involving Nina and her rival.
From The Publisher:
Instant USA Today bestseller!
"Abbi Waxman is both irreverent and thoughtful."-#1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin
"Meet our bookish millennial heroine-a modern-day Elizabeth Bennet, if you will… Waxman's wit and wry humor stand out. She is funny and imaginative, and "Bookish" lands a step above run-of-the-mill romantic comedy fare."-The Washington Post
"Abbi Waxman offers up a quirky, eccentric romance that will charm any bookworm…. For anyone who's ever wondered if their greatest romance might come between the pages of books they read, Waxman offers a heartwarming tribute to that possibility."-Entertainment Weekly
The author of Other People's Houses and The Garden of Small Beginnings delivers a quirky and charming novel chronicling the life of confirmed introvert Nina Hill as she does her best to fly under everyone's radar.
Meet Nina Hill: A young woman supremely confident in her own…shell.
The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.
When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all-or mostly all-excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster! And as if that wasn't enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn't he realize what a terrible idea that is?
Nina considers her options.
1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)
It's time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn't convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It's going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.
Ratings (20)
Incredible (3) | |
Loved It (5) | |
Liked It (5) | |
It Was OK (5) | |
Did Not Like (1) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (54):
Read It (23) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (26) | |
Not Interested (4) |
2 comment(s)
A treat!
I received this book as a Christmas gift back in 2019 and have only gotten around to reading it now (summer 2021.) That is very unlike me, considering that I read most of my books through Libby or Kindle Unlimited, and so any physical books I consume within days. Most likely, what kept me from reading this book is that I generally don't read contemporary fiction. It also didn't help that I hate the cover art, so there's that.
My favorite part of this book was that the writing style this author uses is genuinely charming. From beginning to end, this book felt like a fun peek into the quiet yet admittedly eccentric life of a fellow book lover. The characters, while unconvincing as real humans, were engaging and enjoyable to read. I even enjoyed the somewhat strange and very selective omniscient POV the author wrote this book using. Perfect for readers trying to get out of a reading slump.
Now, onto what I didn't like so much.
Nina was a fun enough character to follow, but she, unfortunately, suffers from not-like-other-girls syndrome and is an undeniable snob. To be fair, every character in this book was rather unbelievable to me. Being the main character, however, she receives most of my disappointment. Now, in her defense, I lived in LA for a few years, and it is far too easy to make fun of the, er, more eccentric people that live there. I do feel, however, that the author made too much of a caricature out of LA residents. To avoid writing an entire essay on this, I'm moving on to my other complaint.
Tom completely overreacted to Nina's panic attack. I get that he was trying to be there for her in his way, but when someone says that they need to be alone to sort through their thoughts and feelings (from a situation that has NOTHING to do with you, I might add), it's the mature move to respect those choices. Especially considering it is your first time dealing with this specific person's behavior after a panic attack. It is NOT the mature move to put words in that person's mouth by saying that maybe she doesn't have space for you in her life right now (uh, no douche, she doesn't have room in her apartment for your drama right now) and then ghosting her after she reaches out to make amends to soothe your wounded pride. Grow a pair, and realize that not everything is about you, Tom.
I've finished ranting and praising, which means it's time to wrap this thing up. Let me leave by saying this: despite my gripes with some aspects of this book, it was genuinely enjoyable, and I had a wonderful time reading it. Considering my complaints, I could give this book a three-star rating, but I've decided on four-star. I've got to respect how much enjoyment I got out of it, flaws and all.
Additional note: the pop culture references and slang used in this book will NOT age well. Yikes. Oh well, fun while it lasted XD
What can you read after
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill?
About the Author:
Abbi Waxman, the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, Other People's Houses, and The Garden of Small Beginnings, is a chocolate-loving, dog-loving woman who lives in Los Angeles and lies down as much as possible. She worked in advertising for…
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.
