As seen on my blog: 
 I am 100% biased when it comes to the extent in which I loved this book, but everything that I'm one second away from enthusing about, is something that ALL book readers, and sellers, alike, could appreciate. 
 The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry 
 was a book about books, for people who love books. End review. 
 No, but in all seriousness, how does it get ANY better than that? As a bookseller, to say that the synopsis of this book 
 wooed 
 me, is the understatement of the month. I was downright transfixed. I couldn't WAIT to open the pages of my copy. It was to my extra delight, that I found not only a narrative about the love, and life, of books, but an enchanting, fairy tale-like story about a man who tended to them. A.J. Fikry, newly widowed, and cursing the very ground he walks upon daily, has only his book store as a distraction, and what a poor one it has become. Island Books exists on a tiny island in New England, and carries within it, not only bounded gems, but an undeniable heart of it's very own. A.J. could not be bothered with the store's poor sales, and cares even less for the seemingly smug new Knightley Press rep, Amelia, who travels to the small island, bearing that season's book catalogue to peruse. On particularly depressing night of drunken stupor, A.J. discovers that he's been robbed: his very old, very rare copy of Poe's 
 Tamarlane 
 has been stolen. But, there seems to be a higher power at work, because with one thing lost, A.J. seems to have found another something to fill it with. Albeit, a completely unexpected something, but one that will forever change who he is. 
 I was completely smitten with just about every aspect of 
 The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry 
 , but naturally, I was consistently delighted when any mention of book selling arose: the titles A.J. stocked in his store, the advanced reader copies he received every month to review, the publishers, the employees, the JOYS of working at, and owning a bookstore! I was floating, and beside myself with familiarity and feelings of kinship. In one scene, when an elderly lady returns to the store what ends up being 
 The Book Thief 
 , my heart literally BURST. But personal connection aside, Gabrielle Zevin didn't cut ANY corners when laying down her words. The strength of the book's plot line brought me to tears. It was, essentially, a story about moving on, in the most unexpected ways. Of finding out that you could mean so much more to the world, if only you'd take the time to open your heart. The characters in 
 The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry 
 became friends to me, in the short time they were on the pages, they became more real to me than the person standing beside me. 
 It was raw, human emotion, wrapped in a parcel made to resemble a dream. 
 The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry 
 didn't literally start with "Once upon a time...", but in my mind, it was there, and the book had all of the makings of a fantastically written fairy tale. My only wish was that I could have read the same book, set in a different tone-one where each character was given the chance to fully develop: I wanted to know so much more. However, my selfish wishes did nothing to dampen the intense attachment I had for this book, and will continue to have, for a very long time. 
 Recommended for Fans of: Fairy tales, Contemporary, Books about books, Rachel Joyce.