Wednesday, March 30, 2011

A Novel Bookstore

This book came recommended from Daily Candy, a website I subscribe to that sends e-mails about great books, online products, gift ideas, and, my favorite, upcoming books.  This was listed a few months ago, and the cover drew me to it.  Doesn't this look like a wonderful place to spend an afternoon?
The Novel Bookstore is a French mystery set in the world of literary intrigue.  A bookseller teams up with a woman with a lot of money to open a bookstore, The Good Novel, that sells only "good" literature.  Of course, there are a number of authors whose books are not included in the bookstore, and a public that feels as though they should be able to decide what constitutes a "good" novel.  On the other hand, there is a Paris elite that feels as though they are finally being catered to; they love not having to sift through the garbage literature to find the good stuff.
There is a point to this, though, other than the Utopia of a book with only quality works.  The members of the committee that chooses the books for The Good Novel start being attacked, but by who?  And how did members of the public find out the members of the super-secret committee?  Cosse is a bit slow in answering these questions, but the story is incredibly pleasant, and I couldn't help but be enticed by the idea of The Good Novel.  I want to curl up in the armchairs of this fictitious bookstore and lose myself in the pages of any of the books mentioned in The Novel Bookstore.  If you have a lazy weekend to spend reading a great book, you might find yourself in my position, as well.

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