The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel
"Funny, tender, and moving, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry reminds us all exactly why we read and why we love."*
A. J. Fikry's life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over--and see everything anew.
"This novel has humor, romance, a touch of suspense, but most of all love--love of books and bookish people and, really, all of humanity in its imperfect glory." --Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child
"Marvelously optimistic about the future of books and bookstores and the people who love both." --The Washington Post
"You won't want it to end." --Family Circle
"A natural for book groups." --Richmond Times-Dispatch
"A reader's paradise of the first order." --The Buffalo News
"A fun, page-turning delight." --Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Captures the joy of connecting people and books . . . Irresistible." --Booklist
"A wonderful, moving, endearing story of redemption and transformation that will sing in your heart for a very, very long time." --Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain
"Readers who delighted in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and Letters from Skye will be equally captivated by this novel." --*Library Journal, starred review
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Readers say this novel is a cozy, charming tribute to books and bookstores, celebrating love in many forms beyond romance. They agree it’s a warm, hea...
Each year, the librarians in my school district have a Christmas book swap/luncheon meeting. We each bring a book we've read and loved or want to read (just in case nobody picks our book). I was going to read it over Christmas break, but I just wasn't in the mood for what I thought this book was about: a contemporary love story. It's so much more. I could paper the walls of my library with quotes from this book - introspective, deep-thinking quotes.
“The words you can't find, you borrow.
We read to know we're not alone. We read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone.”
I picked it up, read for 5 minutes, put it down by page 18, and started a list - a reading list. This book is not only a wonderfully moving story of a grumpy old bookstore owner who finds love, but a recommended reading list (see below).
You don't have to be a fan of literature or love stories to enjoy this book. Try it. You just might find a new favorite.
A.J. Fikry Reading List
Chapter Titles:
“Lamb to the Slaughter,” Roald Dahl (1953)
“The Diamond as Big as the Ritz,” F. Scott Fitzgerald (1922)
“The Luck of Roaring Camp,” Bret Harte (1917)
“What Feels Like the World,“ Richard Bausch (1985)
“A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor (1953)
“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” Mark Twain (1865)
“The Girls in their Summer Dresses,” Irwin Shaw (1939)
“A Conversation with my Father,” Grace Paley (1972)
“A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” J.D. Salinger (1948)
“The Tell-Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe (1843)
“Ironhead,” Aimee Bender (2005)
“Bullet in the Brain,” Tobias Wolfe (1995)
“What We Talk about When We Talk about Love,” Raymond Carver (1980)
“The Bookseller,” Roald Dahl (1986)
Novels Mentioned:
Alice Munroe Collection
The Late Bloomer, Leon Friedman (fictitious)
Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
Tamerlane, Edgar Allan Poe
Old School, Tobias Wolfe
The Red Pony, John Steinbeck
The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak
The Crucible, Arthur Miller
The Monster at the End of This Book, Jon Stone
Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery
A Little Princess, Francis Hodgson Burnett
The Paris Wife, Paula McLain
A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick
American Wife, Curtis Sittenfeld
The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
Little Pea, Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Case Histories, Kate Akinson
Caps for Sale, Esphyr Slobodkina
Moby Dick, Herman Melville
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
The Children in the Apple Tree, Daniel Parish (fictitious)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
The Awakening, Kate Chopin
The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis (“Puddleglum")
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien
Our Town, Thornton Wilder
Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
Silas Marner, George Eliot
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith
The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
In Search of Lost Time, Marcel Proust
The House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubus III
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
“A town isn’t a town without a bookstore.” American Gods by Neil Gaiman
His suggestions to Maya, who is having trouble writing a story:
“The Beauties,” Anton Chekhov
“The Doll’s House,” Katherine Mansfield
“A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” J D Salinger
“Brownies” or “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,” ZZ Packer
“In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried,” Amy Hempel
“Fat,” Raymond Carver
“Indian Camp,” Ernest Hemingway
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