Grace Bennett has moved to London to look for work, but it's 1939 and the city is preparing for war. She finds a job in a small bookstore off the beaten path, as the saying goes, and that will make all the difference. What starts as 'the bore war' ... air raids are false alarms, rationing hasn't really started yet ... in other words, nothing is happening except that life isn't quite what it was. And then comes the Blitz and everything changes. One afternoon, in a shelter, someone who recognizes Grace from the book store asks her to read her book out loud. Soon there is a crowd of listeners each time, who, when there is no air raid, seek her out at the book store for the next chapter! I cannot really do benefit here without saying too much, but The Last Bookshop in London, by Madeline Martin, is what I call a quiet gem of a book.

A word of caution here ... three of us have read this in one day. You've been warned!

Reading Hermit With Dog