The Lost for Words Bookshop: A Novel | 
pickThis is a clever novel that follows the story of Loveday Cardew, a young woman working at a bookshop who prefers books to people. The novel explores themes of love, grief, and the power of literature. It explores her relationships with an array of characters, including her boss, Archie, and a poet, Nathan. The narrative is interspersed with Loveday's tattoos, which feature the first lines of her favorite books, adding a unique layer to the story.
pick“But when you‘re imperfect yourself and you come across someone more obviously broken than you, it‘s both heartening and comforting.”
L for A to Z
Split between 3 timelines in Loveday's life: now (2016), the past (2013) and even further back (1999) with her parents. She seems to be on the ASD spectrum. We realise that she had a good childhood but something went wrong at some point which is slowly revealed in the chapters with her parents. She works in a bookshop - so lots of book references.
(still reading)
pick“God, I don't love much but I love words.”
A book for those of us that sometimes love books & bookstores more than we love anything else. This is the story of the oft-cantankerous young Loveday Cardew. She has been through some crap in her lifetime. And it has made her the most untrusting soul. But she‘ll soon realize how much she still has going for her. This one was a little heavier than Ailsa Rae, ⬇️⬇️
"I sometimes think I want to write a book of my life
So that when I meet you - or anyone new - I can hand it over and you can read it
Instead of trying to read me.
You can take it away and decide whether it's worth giving me your time.
You can think about if, the next time we are walking towards
each other, you'll smile without slowing down"
The quotes in this book speak to my soul. I predict a 5 star read.
Starting this one on audio.
Somedays I like books more than people and can immediately relate to this main character. There is a mystery about Loveday Cardew's past and she seemly has a secret admirer who is questioning her secrets. 📚
pickExcellent read (or listen, in my case). I love Imogen Church's narration in the first 2 Bridget Jones books, and she was equally fantastic here.
Less pathos than 'Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine,' but if you liked that one, this is a good rec.
pickI grabbed this one at the public library last trip, and it was a cover grab for sure. Turns out of was a good impulse. I loved Loveday and her story, and I now have a book-crush on Nathan 🙂. It was a perfect choice for my day off today.
pickI really enjoyed this book! I do love a good broken character (or a few of them) and the plot kept me on my toes.
Reading, cuddling, and drinking tea before work! Happy Wednesday! 😻📚💕 #catsoflitsy #littenkitten #roxas
For 3 years now, I've been sharing all the books that I've read and loved on #Litsy, so everyone else on here could read and love them too. Kind of like a modern-day librarian. But on here, there's no way to categories and catalogue stuff - something that I love doing, personally and professionally.
So I made an insta page, would love if you could check it out! ❣️
https://instagram.com/readcarpetthoughts?utm_medium=copy_link
pickI loved this bittersweet story of Loveday Cardew, set between the historic York and Whitby, both so familiar to me. Loveday works in Lost for Words, a secondhand book shop, one day an enticing stranger enters her life, a series of odd coincidences, recalling a past she‘d rather forget. Thank you AbigailJaneBlog (I can‘t tag) I loved it.
“A book is a match in the smoking second between strike and flame.”
#firstlinefriday #quotes @ShyBookOwl
Thank you so very much @AbigailJaneBlog for my #ElfSwap book and gifts, I‘m so excited to start this one. I‘m enjoying a quiet moment (7am) before the children wake up and the day starts. @Avanders
pickThis was not what I was expecting. Do you ever read a book based solely on the title and knowing a few people who really liked it?
This has the word 'bookshop' in the title. I like books about bookshops. The cover is sweet.
This was more than a cute cozy read. I guess that's what I was assuming it was. I really enjoyed it.
I almost always enjoy books more jumping in blindly. So I recommend going for it! Don't read what its about.
pickI love this photo author Stephanie Butland tweeted when she framed the uncut cover of her beautiful book after a visit to the printer. And I love this book! Our protagonist/bibliophile Loveday is one hot mess of insecurities & past secrets. But we get to unravel the compelling story as she seeks peace through the pages of her favorite reads and her work at this quirky bookshop. Thanks @robinb for this lovely book! 🤗
#DoubleSpin
@TheAromaofBooks
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book is romance, personal growth, and with a bit of a twist. I absolutely loved it and I loved how honest Loveday was with the reader and how she argued her points like a real person “yes bc sometimes I just complicate things”. I highly #recommend
pickSlightly oddly structured I really liked thisnstory of Loveday and her challenges to find peace.
so-soI found it choppy and rambling. I expected to really love it, but it was just okay for me. 😲
Started this one on audio, but have changed to paperback. Kind of not feeling it in either format. 🤷♀️
I look forward to starting this (again) once my Sunday afternoon back to work routine is finished.
pickFinished! I can‘t tell you how long it‘s been since I actually finished a book group book—a couple of months at least. For that alone, it gets a pick but overall, I‘m not sure how I really feel about it. I‘m going to have to sit with it for a bit before I can really decide. #LitsyAtoZ @BookishMarginalia
"A bookshop is not magic, but it can slowly heal your heart."
Bookgroup is coming up in a week or so-I guess I‘d better read the book. 👍👍
I‘m sending a big holiday hug to Rock Star @robinb ! 😘This sweet and generous #LitsyLove friend chooses random pen pals each Christmas and sends them a book. How cool is that! Thank you so much, Robin! You are truly a gift to us. ❤️❤️❤️ And I‘ve been wanting to read this one for ages. 🤗📚
#litsylove
Thank you @squirrelbrain ! I‘m in for a buddy read whenever you are. And thanks for the lovely bookmark!
pickI enjoyed this so much! It‘s sort of similar to The Language of Flowers, just set in the UK. I really liked getting to know the characters, especially since, in the beginning I didn‘t like them very much. The story is told in past and present by the main character, Loveday. It‘s a coming of age story with a lot of heart.
pickI can‘t even express how much I love this book. How much I love Loveday and Archie and Nathan. I am leaving this book crying - tears of sadness, tears of happiness, and tears that this book is over. This was a book that found me. I was looking for something else in the library that wasn‘t available and this was another recommendation. A much much much better book in my opinion!!
One of my latest charity shop finds - not read it yet...
#letstravelaugust
#bookstore
pickThings have been stressful so I really needed a reas that I could sink into like a bubble bath and this book really helped me turn my brain off. Loveday has worked in a bookstore since she was 15 years old. She loves her job, its paternal and eccentric owner, and books. She really does not need anything else in her life. Suddenly pieces of the past she is trying to put behind her start turning up as well as compelling stranger she cannot ignore.
#Letsgetlost #wanderingjune
This was an unexpectedly great read, and I was so on #teamLoveday by the end.
pickI‘m still on the fence about Loveday constantly talking about how broken she was. When a character refuses to talk to the people in the story but shares everything with the audience, I always feel a little off. BUT this was a lovely book. Not the fluffy piece I was hoping for but it was a beautiful exploration of the effect of constant trauma on a person and I‘m glad it ended with Loveday realizing how important accepting help is.
I couldn‘t be happier with my plan for this afternoon.
I‘m feeling iffy at the start of this as I‘m not big on characters that promote themselves as “not like others” and this feels a bit like that, but it seems like it‘ll be cute and endearing so still keeping it up!
pickThis story was told by hopping back and forth between 1999, 2013, and 2016. Intricate characters were developed as the protagonist, Loveday Cardew, told her story. Abusive relationships, mental illness, foster care, grief and despair, forgiveness and love of all sorts are the main themes of this fascinating story. Another winner.
Had to buy this!! We love books about books dont we!!?
pickJust the loveliest bookshop story.
pickWhat a TREASURE ! Be warned- the cover is very deceiving. I got this one because I was in a Book Slump and needed a Light Breezy Read. This book has its hilarious parts, and amazing lovable characters, but Loveday has been through heartache, and much pain has been done to her and been felt by her. HOWEVER, happy tears were shed! Bittersweet ending, but a wonderful story full of surprises !
pickLoveday is a bookseller at the bookshop the novel is named after & she was basically adopted by the owner after she stole a book & eventually found solace in the shop. The chapters flit between 1999, 2013, & 2016 and are catalogued according to the contents, either named as Crime, History, Poetry, Memoir, and Travel. I felt so much comfort in her likes (books+writing poetry), dislikes (people+being social) & insecurities (her family's history).
