The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

Amy  
Lynnie

 

fiction

Told from several characters’ points of view, each person either randomly finds the The Reading List or is involved with those who have discovered it. The book list, handwritten on a Harrow Street Library slip, is titled “In case you need it”:

To Kill a Mockingbird
Rebecca
The Kite Runner
Life of Pi
Pride and Prejudice
Little Women
Beloved
A Suitable Boy

Amy's Review

In fact, all of the people who find the list do need it. The main characters in this debut novel by Sara Nisha Adams are grieving and/or caring for others who need assistance. They are having trouble inhabiting their own lives. The books on the list become a safe haven in which to escape, an avenue for interacting with other people, and an opportunity to evaluate their own and others’ lives. The minor characters who are touched by the list, too, are all improved by it in some way. 

In this book about books, I really appreciated the library love and the way the joy of reading was imparted. Reading these listed books allowed the characters to remember forgotten memories, apply aspects of storylines to their own lives for reconsideration, consider the book characters as their own friends, and imagine what those characters would be doing in certain situations.  People started to think differently about their own struggles which allowed them to forge connections with other people.

While some of the individual sections were slow at times, I really liked the messages the author delivered in this novel. I’ve read all but three of the listed novels. Two of them have been on my list forever but I know they’re sad/depressing and I haven’t mustered the strength to read them yet. The third was new to me and likely a personal favorite of Adams' that is not as widely popular as the others. I’m sure I’m not the only reader planning to read books from this list.

Three narrators read the audiobook. Tara Divina read all the women’s points of view sections and she was the best narrator of the three.  She had a pretty good vocal repertoire and her voice acting was effective. I’ll give her an A-.  Sagar Arya read Mukesh’s sections and was a wonderful voice actor. However, he had no vocal repertoire to speak of.  I’ll give him a B+.  Paul Panting read the other men’s sections of which there were not many.  Honestly, I can’t remember anything specific about his reading so it must not have been offensive in any way but there wasn’t enough of it to really form an impression.  I’ll give him a B+ but it might’ve gotten higher if I could remember anything about it.

As a side note, Divina and Arya pronounced a few of the characters’ names differently and that was frustrating and shows poor audiobook production/direction.

Lynnie's Review

A mysterious person leaves a reading list in the library and other patrons find and share the list with others. Everyone who finds the list needs it, which is handy as it is titled, "In case you need it." It's a list that crosses genres and generations but all of the books have messages that the readers in the books (and readers in general) can take with them - strength, perseverance, compassion, connection and other messages that related to their lives.

The library connects the members of the community, as local libraries so often do. There, the characters find support, acceptance, and a found family. There were times that the book dragged on a little too long, but generally I found the characters charming and I enjoyed getting to know them as they found themselves and each other.