Genre: Contemporary, realistic fiction

Trigger Warning: Suicide

When books turn up from my hold list in Libby, I’m not usually 100% sure why I put them there in the first place.(Any suggestions for easily tracking that?) But Sara Nisha Adams’ The Reading List was just a perfect fit for this reader, no matter from whence it came. Mukesh and Aleisha, both searching for different things, meet at the library and bond over reading. Aleisha is providing books for Mukesh from a mysterious list she has found; the books include: To Kill a Mockingbird, Rebecca, Life of Pi, The Kite Runner, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, A Suitable Boy and Beloved.

Others in the community have found the same list - Chris, Indira, Izzy, Joseph,Leonora, and Gigi. Mukesh is trying to recover from the loss of his beloved wife Naina and believes reading one of her last checked out library books The Time Traveler's Wife had allowed him to become closer to her. Aleisha struggles with her older brother Aiden in caring for their mentally ill mother. She finds reading the books from this list brings her comfort. What follows is a beautiful look at love, loss, community, and the power of books and reading told through all of these characters, expertly rendered by Adams. To try and summarize the narrative plot would be a bit silly, but the beautiful complexity and richness of it will alternately sadden and delight the reader’s soul.

I love how the book has multiple perspectives. We are able to get to know a rich cast of people well. I read the audiobook and the variety of performers excellently brought these characters to life. Thank you to Tara Divina, Sagar Arya, Paul Panting. While reading these books is not at all necessary to appreciating the novel, I have read all but one.I have in the course of my teaching career taught some of them. What I love here is how different characters derive different lessons from the books - all perfectly right in context. Near the end of my teaching career especially, I delighted in a variety of interpretations of a text. Of course evidence - of course explain, but what a joy to see how student experiences and needs led to individual meaning. To me this collision of experience and need and meaning is what makes reading of all kinds so powerful. Adams illustrates this throughout this small community of diverse readers. Can I just say it? Books matter. Reading matters. Libraries matter.

I can’t spoil the ending, but through The Reading List, Adams teaches us that no influence is too small. I needed this reminder as a newly retired teacher. I had the privilege of working with hundreds of students over years. And some of them did benefit from their time with me. I have missed that opportunity to make a difference, no matter how small. I have been actively seeking new areas of service but am truly grateful for this reminder. You never know what a simple gesture might bring. Be creative with your influence. I will endeavor to be more so in working to make the world a better place for those of us in it.