I Believe Everyone Should Read This Book

What You Are Looking For Is In The Library, Michiko Aoyama, 2020

Sometimes we find books, and sometimes books find us. 

This little jewel of a novel was translated, and it feels that way. And yet, somehow the slight flatness that comes with second-hand wording works well here. The numbness of life and simplicity of the descriptions feel enhanced by the straightforwardness. The life stories remind me of my time working in retail — and why I am glad I left it behind long ago.

The novel centers on a beautiful, common idea — what if someone else knows what you need to hear at a moment in life, better than you do? And in an innovative, careful, precious way, Aoyama explores it. It's touching.

It's fascinating how often this book comes to mind when talking to people. Issues in their lives frequently seem to match what the book is exploring. As do the solutions. While we may all need a nudge in the right direction, ultimately our roads are up to us. This book gently reveals how we don't need someone to hold our hands once we know the right direction. Our strength, and often our joy, then comes in striding ahead with growing confidence. It's advice I wish I could give myself earlier in life.

This is a book that keeps resonating with me in the same way seeing a powerful movie leaves an afterglow that can be hard to shake. I don't want to shake it. It's compelling in its tender support. This is a book I think everyone should read.

The other, wonderfully meta thing is... having seen this in a bookstore, I did then indeed go looking for, and found it, in my local library.

May it find you too.