Love
the title of this book! I had to read it just to find out who would attend a
book haters’ book club if the person hates books. That had to be an interesting
group of people. Perplexing at the least.
Elliott,
co-owner of Minneapolis’ Over the Rainbow Bridge, has recently passed away,
leaving the other co-owner, Irma, in a pickle. Business is not good, and bills
are piling up. Irma is also grieving the death of her longtime boyfriend,
Nestor, from cancer.
Irma
calls a meeting with her two daughters, Bree and Laney, and Elliott’s life
partner, Thom, at the lawyer’s office. She has decided to sell to a developer
who plans to raze it and replace it with high-rise condominiums.
As
shocking as this decision is to the three, Bree has the most to lose. She works
in the store and has assumed that she would take it over when Irma retired. Laney
just wants to get back to her home in Oakland, California, and running a
tire-repair shop with her husband. Thom is angry at Irma, but no one seems to
know why, including Irma. The most infuriating part is that Irma won’t say why
she so desperately wants to sell. This part of the plot dominates the first
book’s first half.
The
second half is about Irma coming clean with her secrets and what the three can
do to save their relationships…and the bookstore.
The
book’s title comes not from a fictional book club, but that is the name of the
newsletter that Elliott sent out with reading recommendation to his customers.
That title comes from Elliott’s belief that “all it takes is the right book to
turn a book hater into a book lover.” He wasn’t actively trying to turn
non-readers into readers, and, truthfully, I don’t get it. Readers are treated
to a few of the newsletters. Cute and interesting, but they do not push the
plot forward. And neither does periodic visits from Elliott in the form of the
Forward, Commercial Breaks, Intermission, Curtain Call and One Last
Thing…They’re creepy.
“The Book Haters’ Book Club”
receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.
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