HT reviewer Arunima Mazumdar picks her favourite read of 2024

What You’re Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama brings together the stories of five individuals, none of whom are readers. There’s Tomoka, a twenty-one-year-old sales assistant, who knows she wants to pick up a new skill but doesn’t know which one, Hiroya, a young manga artist, who is uninspired to pursue his gifted talent Natsumi, former magazine editor who, after her maternity leave, hopes to get back to her job, Masao, a 65-year-old dealing with the monotony of retired life, and Ryo, a middle-aged accountant who dreams of opening an antique store someday.

Their somewhat directionless outlook towards life is nonchalantly guided by an enigmatic librarian, a Ms Sayuri Komachi, who intuitively recommends a book to them from the community library, which proves to be instrumental in changing their lives for the better.

When it comes to books, it’s simple – either you’re a reader or you’re not. And in What You’re Looking For Is In The Library, it’s heartening to witness non-readers finding purpose after reading a book. The preference of language or genre might differ, but once you’ve picked up a book, finished it and moved on to reading another one, you’ve earned the coveted tag of being a reader. The glow that comes from walking into a bookstore bursting with paperbacks and hardcovers, packed tightly on well-organized bookshelves, or simply strewn about on table tops, is one that book lovers cherish.

In words people find solace, and in stories, healing, because reading is a lot like meditation. It is an escape, a good one, from the lived experiences that tie individuals down; having a book to turn to is a great reassurance.

Michiko Aoyama’s fiction heals and nourishes with every turn of the page.

Arunima Mazumdar is an independent writer. She is @sermoninstone on Twitter and @sermonsinstone on Instagram.