
Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop
A Memoir
Scribner · Print & ebook · May 30, 2023
National Bestseller Under the Tuscan Sun meets Diary of a Bookseller in this charming memoir by an Italian poet recounting her experience opening a bookshop in a village in Tuscany.
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- Who it’s for
- A diary-shaped memoir about village bookshop life and the pleasure of matching readers with books.
- Themes
- Love of literature, Community built around a bookshop, Returning to one's birthplace
- Genres
- Personal Memoirs, Diaries & Journals Collection, Writers' Lives
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Start with this bookAbout this book
National Bestseller Under the Tuscan Sun meets Diary of a Bookseller in this charming memoir by an Italian poet recounting her experience opening a bookshop in a village in Tuscany. Alba Donati was used to her hectic life working as a book publicist in Italy—a life that made her happy and allowed her to meet prominent international authors—but she was ready to make a change. One day she decided to return to Lucignana, the small village in the Tuscan hills where she was born.
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There she opened a tiny but enchanting bookshop in a lovely little cottage on a hill, surrounded by gardens filled with roses and peonies. With fewer than 200 year-round residents, Alba’s shop seemed unlikely to succeed, but it soon sparked the enthusiasm of book lovers both nearby and across Italy. After surviving a fire and pandemic restrictions, the “Bookshop on the Hill” soon became a refuge and destination for an ever-growing community. The locals took pride in the bookshop—from Alba’s centenarian mother to her childhood friends and the many volunteers who help in the day-to-day running of the shop. And in short time it has become a literary destination, with many devoted readers coming from afar to browse, enjoy a cup of tea, and find comfort in the knowledge that Alba will find the perfect read for them. Alba’s lifelong love of literature shines on every page of this unique and uplifting book. Formatted as diary entries with delightful lists of the books sold at the shop each day, this inspirational story celebrates reading as well as book lovers and booksellers, the unsung heroes of the literary world.
A Bookish Refuge
A diary-shaped memoir about village bookshop life and the pleasure of matching readers with books.
Come here for
- Diary entries and daily lists of books sold
- The pleasures of bookshops, readers, and literary community
Expect
- A warm account of bookselling in a Tuscan village
- A celebration of books and the people who bring readers to them
Where it sits
| Personal Memoirs | 91% |
|---|---|
| Diaries & Journals Collection | 36% |
| Writers' Lives | 31% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Business Lives
- Personal Memoirs
- Italy Travel
- Authors
- Alba Donati
- Publisher
- Scribner
- Published
- May 30, 2023
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Love of literature · Community built around a bookshop · Returning to one's birthplace
- Reading lane
- Business Lives