No. 12 – A book about travel
Beach Rivals / Georgie Tilney
If you’re looking at this cover, and are thinking: “that seems fluffy”, you’re absolutely right. Comfort reading, easy reading, beach reading, airport reading, whatever you want to call it, that’s what this book is. If you want to read something low on angst, with a bit of romance, that takes place on a sunny island, and makes you crave cocktails, look no further.
Clare is a twenty-something who abandoned university after the death of her father, used her inheritance to travel for two years, and when she came home, couldn’t settle into a serious or even half-decent job. Living at home and fired from yet another job that didn’t suit her, she’s tired of not getting ahead, not having found her “thing”. So, when she spots an ad for a dream job on Bali, she half-jokingly applies and to her own surprise, gets accepted. This dream job consists of running a bookshop at the beach, while living above it: dream job, indeed! The position is for three months and her mom warns her that she better uses the time to come up with a plan for life after those three months because she won’t allow Clare to live at home anymore, figuring that she’s made things too cushy for her. Clare’s backpack suddenly carries more weight, but she agrees with her mom and realizes that she’s been taking the easy way out.
Upon arrival in Bali she learns that the bookshop owner has left out a few things in the interview: she will actually be co-running the bookshop, and her co-worker will also be her roommate. The apartment is as small as the bookshop so sharing it with straight-laced Jack is asking for trouble: he is focused on statistics and budget, while she’s all about creating a vibe. He’s careful and responsible, she’s flaky and creative. But, as the saying goes: opposites attract, and it isn’t long before Clare and Jack have sparks flying.
I do like fish-out-of-water tropes, and reading about people who throw themselves into an adventure. (Especially when that adventure contains a bookshop!)
Being away from your known, safe, environment, will make you look at things differently. A distance that is required every now and then, to evaluate and look beyond the obvious. You don’t have to go half-way around the world for this, but there’s something about being in a place with a different language and culture: it creates perspective, and it forces you to be open. This story plays on those feelings and therefore fits the reading challenge perfectly.
The story has no big surprises (even the so-called rivalry isn’t much of that), but it’s always fun to read about books, bookshops, book nerds and authors. I was I no mood for big surprises: after reading a couple of murder mysteries back-to-back, followed by books about spies and war, this book came at the right time for me and I eagerly embraced its fluffiness.
Bookworm in the City 