What You Are Looking for is in the Library: THE FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR ALL BOOK-LOVERS by Michiko Aoyama

A Time Magazine Top 100 Best Book of the year

Already loved by thousands of readers, an inspirational tale of the love, comfort and growth you can find in the pages of a good book.

What are you looking for?

So asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi.

But she is no ordinary librarian.

Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it.

We meet five visitors to the library, each at a different crossroads:

- The restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills
- The mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave
- The conscientious accountant who yearns to open an antique store
- The gifted young manga artist in search of motivation
- The recently retired salaryman on a quest for newfound purpose

Can she help them find what they are looking for?

Which book will you recommend?
_________________

THE TIMES BESTSELLER
A Time Magazine Top 100 Must-read 2023
'An undeniable page-turner' New York Times

For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this feel-good Japanese book shows how the perfect book recommendation can change a life.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAPAN BOOKSELLERS' AWARD

Review

I ADORED this uplifting, hopeful novel ... A joy from start to finish, this book makes you feel anything is possible -- Wendy Holden ― Daily Mail

There's a wistful, warm-hearted appeal to Aoyama's paean to the power of books ... [it's] a quirky slice of feel-good fiction that you could recommend to anyone ― Mail on Sunday

An endearing novel and a tribute to the transformative power of books and libraries ― Irish Times

Captivating! ― Sunday Post

The novel is an undeniable page-turner, its mechanism energized by a simple question, posed again and again by the uncanny librarian, Mrs. Komachi. The question brings Michiko Aoyama’s characters often to the brink of tears; and not only her characters, but this reader, too. It is the great question of the library, and of the bookstore, and maybe of life: What are you looking for? ― New York Times

If what you are searching for is a believable take on contemporary life in Tokyo, seasoned with a dash of whimsy, you’ll find your perfect match in this heartwarming novel ― Japan Times

It's been a rotten year, so spark joy with this! ― DAILY MAIL

There’s a special kind of magic in recommending books to other people and Michiko Aoyama captures that perfectly here. Full of charm; a genuine comfort read ― CULTURE FLY

Product details

    Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday; 1st edition (10 Aug. 2023)
    Language ‏ : ‎ English
    Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
    ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0857529129
    ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0857529121
    Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.6 x 2.6 x 20.4 cm
    Customer reviews: 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 626 ratings

About the Author

Michiko Aoyama was born in 1970 in Aichi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan. After university, she became a reporter for a Japanese newspaper based in Sydney before moving back to Tokyo to work as a magazine editor. What You are Looking for is in the Library was shortlisted for the Japan Booksellers' Award and became a Japanese bestseller. It is being translated into more than twenty languages. Aoyama lives in Yokohama, Japan.