The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abby Waxman

Ever since I read The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman, she’s been an author on my must-read list. And her latest couldn’t have been more fun!

Nina Hill is comfortable with her routine. She goes to work, she goes to book club, she goes to trivia. Once a week she goes to the movies, usually by herself. She doesn’t own a car, her world is basically walking distance from her cozy house where she lives with her books and her cat.

But when Nina finds out the father she never knew has passed away, all of that changes. Apparently, her dad had quite the family. Which Nina has now inherited. The introduction of a slew of strangers in her life means Nina’s carefully managed day to day existence is in complete upheaval. And she’s not sure she likes it one bit!

This latest from Waxman is just as sweet and funny as her previous outings. Plus, I feel a special kinship with Nina considering she’s book people :)

So Nina grew up without a dad. And mostly without a mom, too. Her mom is a photographer who travels the world and never really told Nina much about her father. Instead, Nina was raised by a nanny who was more of a parental figure than either of her biological parents.

And as it turns out, her father was asked to stay away and never contact her. Of course once he’s passed away he figured that deal was over and done with. Which is why Nina is contacted by a lawyer and told she’s a beneficiary in the dead man’s will.

Nina was the product of an affair. The man in question also married three times and had children in each marriage. And some of those children have children now as well. Which means Nina has quite a large family of complete strangers to get to know. And some of them are pretty intent on that happening - Nina getting to know them, that is.

But Nina is so stringent in her routine that she even has Thursday evenings blocked off to do literally nothing. And she won’t even budge for a date!

Turns out Nina’s strict scheduling is her way of dealing with anxiety, something I can sympathize with.

Like I said, her story is sweet and fun. It’s a pretty light and breezy read as well, though it does touch on anxiety issues in a way that I think even those who don’t suffer from it can understand.

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill is the perfect read for the end of summer. Something happy with lots of heart, perfect for these final long, sunny evenings!