All Booked | Cozy Books About Books

Grab a Blanket for These Comfy Reads

This edition of All Booked was originally emailed to subscribers on September 27, 2022. To receive our literary newsletter in your inbox, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

Hello, book lovelies!

I hope you enjoyed my last newsletter on strange books. For those of you who don’t like strange books, I see you too. My love for strange books is definitely a more recent addition to my reading taste. And because I know strange books aren’t for everyone, I want to take this space to recommend some books that give readers the opposite feeling. These picks are the coziest and comfiest reads that I have read. They are also all books about books. So grab a blanket and a cup of tea, and tuck in with one of these cozy reads. They’re the perfect additions for the cooler days and nights that I have to believe are ahead of us.

I am a big believer in going into a book knowing as little as possible. I try not to read too much of the synopses or reviews, since most of them over-share. My pitches below are short and sweet just for that reason.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin is quite possibly the sweetest book I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. It’s the epitome of a feel-good cozy read. We follow A.J. Fikry, who owns a bookshop on a very remote island in New England. Life is not going his way until one day, someone comes into his life and everything changes. This book is a love letter to reading. I teared up multiple times while reading this story. And coming in at 260 pages, it’s the perfect companion to an autumnal afternoon.

If you’re looking for something with a bit more romance, then The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan is for you. This book gives off major Hallmark movie vibes — a twentysomething woman moves out of the big city to the Scottish countryside and opens a mobile bookshop. She’s on a mission to bring the love of reading and books to her new community. I read this book a couple of years ago, and I still think about it often. If you love romance with a grumpy love interest, then this is the book for you.

Of course this wouldn’t be an All Booked newsletter without a sprinkle of literary murder. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz is the perfect combination of books, murder mystery, and the English countryside. There is a novel inside this novel that is so well done that for a bit you forget that it’s not the main story. This read is reminiscent of classic crime mysteries — think Agatha Christie. I highly recommend this one; it’s one of my favorite books I’ve read.

I still very much love reading cozy books and books about books — especially around this time of year. If you have any recommendations for me, please email me at emily@independent.com and let me know! I’m always looking for more books and would love to hear from you.

Your smitten bookworm, Emily

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