Thanks to the synopsis on the back of the book, I picked up The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman at an independent bookstore (the only place I’m willing to spend my book money these days). Basically, Nina is an introvert who works in a bookstore, but when she discovers that her birth father, whom she never met, is now dead and left her something in his will, she has to face a barrage of new family members. Since her father married and made children throughout his life, she has siblings old enough to be her parent, nieces and nephews her own age, and even great-nieces and nephews. It reminds me of Joe Fox’s family in the movie You’ve Got Mail.
Not only is Nina coerced into meeting her new family, but she’s got a very full planner: different book clubs ever week, films with friends, trivia nights, “do nothing” nights (which she will not cancel even though it’s “nothing”), and work. So when the captain of a rival trivia team seems kinda-sorta-maybe interested, Nina isn’t sure she has the emotional capacity to fit him into her introverted self who is only able to do what is scheduled to keep her from getting anxious or failing to leave her apartment.
There are a few things I loved about The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Immediately was the writing. The wonderful omniscient narrator, who is witty, wonderful, surely female, and definitely a separate character watching over all the others, drew me in with the first two sentences: “Imagine you’re a bird. You can be any kind of bird, but those of you who’ve chosen ostrich or chicken are going to struggle to keep up.”
I loved this “talky” narrator guiding the story, dipping into Nina’s and trivia Tom’s heads when it suits, though she is not limited to the love birds. Much like the narrator of William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, the narrator talks to the reader. Waxman’s narrator notes that Nina is the “heroine of both her own life and the book you’re holding in your lovely hand.”
The narrator even riffs on the wild names white parents give their children in 2019, using Aubergine, Elephantine, and Salamander as examples. Basically, this narrator creates a wonderful world for readers to travel in, and I enjoyed every second under her guidance.
Secondly, I felt connected to Waxman’s depictions of anxiety as a mental health issue that dramatically affects people. We’ve all seen people chalk up their shortcomings to whatever mental health issue is relevant: ADD, ADHD, Autism (as Lou pointed out in the comments: “autism is a congenital neurological condition, not a mental health problem (though autistic people are more likely to develop mental health problems). People are born with it.” Thank you, Lou!), depression, OCD, etc. Doing so diminishes the struggles people truly diagnosed with a mental health issue go through. Nina feels people are “exhausting,” not in an impatient way, but in the way “leaving her apartment every morning was the turning over of a giant hourglass, the mental energy she’s stored up overnight eroding grain by grain.” If you’re not familiar with spoonies, Waxman gives a great analogy of how it feels to be an introvert with anxiety. When those bits of sand are gone, you are so done. I related hardcore to Nina, but I believe that my extrovert chums (hi, Jackie!) may learn what it’s like for those of us who turtle in and come off as rude — but really don’t want to.
Lastly, I was so thankful that this work of chick lit is more honest than fluffy. Nina hasn’t been celibate since that one time she lost her virginity in college. She and Tom are not “meet cute” people. Unlike Joe Fox in You’ve Got Mail, Tom isn’t manipulative, a stalker, nor does he take advantage of Nina. He’s still very much a dude-dude, nailing the sports questions at trivia and missing all of Nina’s book references in conversations. I didn’t finish the novel with a wad of floofiness in my heart, nor did the book feel chaste, ladylike, or saccharine to me.
Not ladylike example:
Nina tried to pull herself together. She’d been irritable all week. Either her period was coming or she had a brain tumor, and at that moment the tumor felt more appealing, which probably meant it was her period.
I read it quite fast, and I would be happy to read The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman again in the near future.
Grab the Lapels 
I respect someone who refuses to cancel carefully scheduled “do nothing” time – I haven’t any nothing evenings lately, and I’m now shattered and remembering why they’re so important. While I don’t normally enjoy chick-lit type books, I am currently trying to start a book club with a friend who reads nothing but, so maybe this would be a good starting place for us.
Tiny nitpick – autism is a congenital neurological condition, not a mental health problem (though autistic people are more likely to develop mental health problems). People are born with it. I only point it out because there are so many weird conspiracy theories about how people acquire autism, which will hopefully eventually die out as people realise it’s something you’re born with 🙂
LikeLike
Lou, I completely appreciate your note about autism. I’ll fix the wording above. What I was trying to say is that a lot of people struggle with some aspect of life just the littlest bit and then decide that it’s appropriate to self-diagnose.
I would definitely recommend you use this book in your new book club. I found it highly likable, and I didn’t feel like the romance was the Number One Focus. I know that romance isn’t a genre you prefer. I hope you read and enjoy it and let me know about your new club!
LikeLike
I don’t normally read in this genre but will likely read this one. It sounds cute. I am intrigued by the exhaustion by people part. As the only introvert in a family of extroverts, none of them get this. I could be a hermit in a cave with me kittens where me only guest is the first mate and people on the internet. Arrr!
x The Captain
LikeLike
It has some cutesy aspects to it, but I never found that overwhelming, or as if it hijacked the story. If anything, the book is more sarcastic and humorous than cute.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sold! Requested from the library. Arrr!
x The Captain
LikeLiked by 1 person
Early authors ie. C17th often chatted directly to readers. It’s a fashion that went away for a while – replaced sometimes by stories framed as being told to some friends (e.g. Heart of Darkness). Maybe it’s making a comeback – it’s amusing when it’s done well.
LikeLike
This was definitely an amusing narrator. I’m not a fan of the distant narrator, such as in Frankenstein. It is a framing device that makes it hard to get into the novel.
LikeLike
Yes!!! I’m so glad to see how much you liked this! I’m planning to read this fairly soon and am really looking forward to it.
LikeLike
I’m so glad! I think the cover likely will turn off folks who don’t like chick lit, but I didn’t feel like I was sitting there reading some new version of Bridget Jones or something.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I started this on my Kindle but put it down. I’m glad yoh enjoyed it and I hope to get back to it soon. I think I was afraid it was going to turn to chick-lit and that’s why I put it down. I had in that category over the last few months and I rolled my eyes. Sounds like Nina is one to circle back to
LikeLike
I wrote a post a while back about why I’m not using then term literary fiction anymore, and I think Waxman’s book supports my claim that adding literary on to a genre means you’re trying to say “acceptable for me to read” genre fiction. Waxman’s book is fun and smart and not completely focused on romance or clothes or eating.
LikeLike
Great review! I’ll look out for this book.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you ☺️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad you enjoyed this more than I did. You wrote a very convincing post! It just wasn’t for me.
LikeLike
Did you review it? I don’t remember seeing your thoughts!
LikeLike
No, I abandoned it and mentioned it on Goodreads a couple months ago. You had just bought it and said “Oh no!” I’m glad it worked out for you!
LikeLike
Oh! I think I remember that. I hope you’re reading a good book now. I’m looking for someone to buddy read Crime & Punishment with me (one section per week) if you’re interested.
LikeLike
I’m reading two good books now – Quicksand by Larsen and The Feather Thief. I don’t think I’m your person for the Crime and Punishment readalong but I’ll be interested in following what you write about it!
LikeLike
Quicksand is a great novella. I used to teach it in my freshman literature course. Their assignment was to rewrite a scene from a different character’s point of view, and I loved reading the results.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice! I would think that many characters would be frustrated with Helga! I know that I was at times.
LikeLike
Do nothing nights-what an idea! I think I’d really enjoy this book too, I love the sound of the narrator. I didn’t realize people lumped in autism with mental health problems, I thought it was obvious you were born with autism or you weren’t? Oh well, the more people we can educate, the better 🙂
LikeLike
I guess I thought break health issues were something you could be born with too. This was my mistake, and I’m glad Lou explained why I was incorrect. I need to find some resources to learn more about mental health vs. ….see, I’m not even sure what other terms to use!
LikeLiked by 1 person
well willing to learn the difference (when there is one) is a huge step ahead so many other people. The majority of our population don’t even bother, so good on ya!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great review! I apparently judged this one too quickly- I saw “bookish” in the title (bookish books are not my taste, I’m discovering) and thought it looked a bit TOO cute, but am very pleased to see that I might have been wrong about the fluffiness and perhaps should give this one a try after all! An honest story about an introvert that’s not a meet cute actually sounds right up my alley. Thanks for correcting my assumptions!
LikeLike
The cover screams girly chick lit. The book surprising doesn’t have this character with her “nose shoved in a book,” but she does make fun literary references. I also enjoyed watching her get to know her new family.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This sounds like a textbook case of “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover” (though I do think you can learn SOME things about a book based on its cover). I should check my library and give this one a chance!
LikeLiked by 1 person
As a general rule, I tend to avoid “bookish” books and so, based on the cover, I would have avoided this. But your review has made it sound very appealing.
LikeLike
While Nina Hill does read a lot and work in a bookstore, the focus isn’t really on her reading, which I found surprising. I get tired of the “nerd girl” trope (and isn’t there always a hint of a “she’s so clumsy she’s cute” thing going on? ew.), and Waxman avoids it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s excellent to hear!
LikeLike
This sounds like a great read! I love the image of the hourglass – as a fellow introvert, I totally understand!
Also, while I like the sound of the name Aubergine, Salamander??!!! Really?? Oh dear. I’m not sure which is worse – Salamander or Elephantine. Yikes.
LikeLike
She’s definitely making fun of the names, and I hear lots of people do it. The strange thing to me is that people don’t call out the fact that these “weird” names come from white parents, who have historically given people in the black community crap for have names that are too whatever. There’s this great section in The Hate U Give in which three black characters and one white character ask each other questions that they honestly want to know that answer to, and the white teen asks why they all have such wild names. One teen boy named says he knows three guys with the same name as his, but the white teen had never heard it.
LikeLike