Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (Satoshi Yagisawa)

This was a surprisingly good read. It wasn't hard to finish because the author kept teasing some mystery of each character, and the author's voice is so refreshingly clear when describing things that I wish I could reflect on my own real life events in a similar way.

My favorite character was definitely Uncle Satoru. He's a cheerful older man who the main character (Takako) first gets annoyed with because of his seemingly immature personality. But as she continues to live with him in the bookshop, it's apparent that he's super experienced with struggles. The main thing: he truly loves his niece, and always looks out for her in the story when she's going through heartbreak. I aspire to be a person like him.

It's a story of a woman who heals from a cheating partner. It's a collection of interactions between people in a small town, all who have passions and quirks that make them unique. It's a story about love in multiple different forms, and why each type of love is important.

I recommend this book.

"But I think what matters far more with a book is how it affects you."

"I was overly self-conscious, I had too many ideals and ambitions for one person, and because of that, I ended up without a single one I could hold on to. I was an empty person. That's what I was. It seemed like there was absolutely nowhere I belonged in this world...It was time to get moving, to look around, and learn what I could from it all. Time to go in search of a place where I belonged, a place where I could say with confidence that I felt right."

"Sensing the warmth of his body next to mine, I felt a wave of relief well up from deep within me. I was protected. There was someone who worried about me, who got angry because what happened to me mattered as much as if it had happened to him."