Sometimes a book comes along that makes you laugh until your stomach hurts. I don’t often pick up books with that in mind and it is always a pleasure when I have a great time reading a book! The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, recommended to me by my Instagram friend, Charlie, is one of those fantastic memorable reads for me. Take a look at the synopsis first and then I’ll share my thoughts.
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.
Content Notes: Growing up with a single mother, estranged dad.
Themes for Thought
Nina Hill is in her late twenties. She has a cat, bookish friends and trivia nights to win at. She works at a bookstore and is a collector, or should I say connoisseur, of books? She has majestic bookshelves and dedicated reading times. Her life is fantastic and I am jealous at so many levels. I feel like one of the worst things about being highly educated is that I can’t go work at a bookstore for fun! I could start a store, but I will likely never get a job at a bookstore. Anyway, through Nina, I have lived and loved that life.
Let’s come back to the story – Nina grew up with a single mom and it turns out, she had a dad, who was also very rich, and lived in the same city as her throughout her life. But they never met and now he has passed away and she is meeting her father’s side of the family. For us introverts, meeting a couple people can be stressful, meeting like 15 new people of varying ages and the oddest connections can be even more stressful. So, Nina turns to the one thing that is most solid in her life – her bullet journal.
This book was me at so many levels and I have to say, I loved every bit of it. It actually rekindled my love for bullet journaling, which I had already started doing more of before I picked up this book.
On Nina and Kriti
This is where you get a glimpse of my childhood.
Growing up, my life was similar to Nina’s. I was a single child. My mom worked and I spent most of my time with my grandparents, when I was not at school. My dad lived abroad and eventually, I got into the routine of talking to him once a week, but we can say he wasn’t a part of everyday life. Thankfully, my parents made better choices than Nina’s parents so I am not complaining.
In the book, Nina recounts how she had a librarian at school who would lend her extra books. I did too! Sadly, I don’t remember her name anymore but I remember borrowing miny encyclopedias from the library after the school had ended and making tons of notes about prehistoric sea animals. That’s just what I was into in Grade 4. I can still picture the library door. It was right across from the staircase!
On Journals
Anyway, childhood aside, I found so much in common with Nina. Bullet journalling will always be a reason I adore this book. Every day in the book starts off with a page from Nina’s journal! She keeps track of any notes, exercise, breakfast/lunch/dinner and any appointments. I don’t do daily spreads anymore but it was fun to read someone else’s journal for a change. I think Nina uses her journal more as an agenda and it isn’t truly a bullet journal (pre-made templates vs more artsy creative pages), I liked how she considered changing her system and how paralyzed she felt. As an avid planner, I have been there and done that.
I love seeing organizational strategies seemingly integrated into stories and The Bookish life of Nina Hill does it so well! I loved being in her mind and seeing her things through her eyes.
On the Story itself
Coming back to the story, there are two main things that are happening in the book – there is a guy that Nina likes and is unsure about asking out, and of course, her new family. The writing was upbeat and funny. The characters were fun to read about. The story has a good pace and I felt like it moved along without any repetition.
Though Nina was not expecting her family to be anything like her, it was nice to see that they shared genes as well as hobbies. I did not grow up with my dad’s side of the family and yet I inherited their love for books and stationary. It was neat to see that experience reiterated in a novel.
Nina runs a couple of book clubs in the evenings at the bookstore. Girls from all ages are able to join in. The kids are so funny in this book, and I wanted to hang out with them longer!
Overall, I absolutely loved this book. It was my childhood and my adulthood in some ways, and in others, it was a dream come true. If you are looking for a romantic comedy with some family drama comedy, this is the book for you!
** The Bookish Life of Nina Hill is available in stores. I got my copy from the library and I’m sure yours will have one too. If you end up reading it, let me know what you think!
Amazon links are for your convenience (at the time of adding them, the Kindle edition was $1.99.) **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Cover image from Unsplash.
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