What You Are Looking for is in the Library

An inspirational tale of the love, comfort and growth you can find in the pages of a good book.

What are you looking for?

So asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi.

But she is no ordinary librarian.

Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it.

We meet five visitors to the library, each at a different crossroads:

- The restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills
- The mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave
- The conscientious accountant who yearns to open an antique store
- The gifted young manga artist in search of motivation
- The recently retired salaryman on a quest for newfound purpose

Can she help them find what they are looking for?

Which book will you recommend?

Review

I ADORED this uplifting, hopeful novel ... A joy from start to finish, this book makes you feel anything is possible -- Wendy Holden ― Daily Mail

There's a wistful, warm-hearted appeal to Aoyama's paean to the power of books ... [it's] a quirky slice of feel-good fiction that you could recommend to anyone ― Mail on Sunday

An endearing novel and a tribute to the transformative power of books and libraries ― Irish Times

Captivating! ― Sunday Post

The novel is an undeniable page-turner, its mechanism energized by a simple question, posed again and again by the uncanny librarian, Mrs. Komachi. The question brings Michiko Aoyama’s characters often to the brink of tears; and not only her characters, but this reader, too. It is the great question of the library, and of the bookstore, and maybe of life: What are you looking for? ― New York Times

If what you are searching for is a believable take on contemporary life in Tokyo, seasoned with a dash of whimsy, you’ll find your perfect match in this heartwarming novel ― Japan Times

It's been a rotten year, so spark joy with this! ― DAILY MAIL

There’s a special kind of magic in recommending books to other people and Michiko Aoyama captures that perfectly here. Full of charm; a genuine comfort read ― CULTURE FLY

About the Author

Michiko Aoyama (Author)
Michiko Aoyama was born in 1970 in Aichi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan. After university, she became a reporter for a Japanese newspaper based in Sydney before moving back to Tokyo to work as a magazine editor. What You are Looking for is in the Library was shortlisted for the Japan Booksellers' Award, was a Time Book of the Year and a New York Times Book of the Month. It has sold two million copies and is being published in over thirty territories. Her new healing fiction title Recovery Hippo will be published internationally. Aoyama lives in Yokohama, Japan.