Bookstores are more than mere shops — they are in fact miniature worlds, cozy havens, and steadfast companions. The instant you step into your treasured bookstore, the familiar aroma of both aged and fresh books envelops you, while shelves adorned with paperbacks and hardcovers eagerly await your presence.
August 9 marks the celebration of Book Lovers Day, a gentle reminder of the incredible gift that literature offers humanity. While we ardently advocate for promptly wrapping up the day’s tasks and embarking on a visit to your favourite bookstore, we also present a collection of film suggestions and booklists that revolve around the enchanting realm of books and bookshops. These recommendations are precisely what you should consider adding to your watchlist and reading roster.
Binge watch recommendations:
Notting Hill
A scene from the film
Discussing books, bookstores and cinema are incomplete without Notting Hill. Long before meet-cutes found its place in dating lingo, this film portrayed it in the sweetest and most relatable possible way. A romance between two people who are unequals according to societal parameters, meeting in a bookshop and finding their individual stories revolving around it — if that’s not a love story of a lifetime, what is?
Director: Roger Michell
Lead cast: Julia Roberts as Anna Scott and Hugh Grant as William Thacker
Date of release: 1999
The Bookshop
A scene from ‘The Bookshop’ starring Emily Mortimer
A bookstore is not just a room with four walls in this film, if you look closely, you can feel it alive and breathing. Set in the 1950s in a cosy coastal town in Suffolk, The Bookshop tells the tale of a widow whose life takes a 360 degree turn after she opens a bookshop. The bookshop is not a prop, but a symbolism of sustenance. It is not just a source of bread and butter, but is a motif of hope of an individual who has loved, lost and is trying to stitch a necklace with broken pearls.
Director: Isabel Coixet
Lead cast: Emily Mortimer
Date of release: 2017
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
A scene from ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ Netflix
An absolutely adorable love story! The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is one of those period pieces that is relevant till date. A group of four from a small island of Guernsey open a chance-occurrence book club because they were out and about past curfew during German occupation. The book club that has now become a thing turns into a cupid that brings a female author and one of the founder members of the club together. Set in 1941, the film gives an unabashed view of the socio-politico scenario of the time. A female author, a book club, a woman calling off an engagement and proposing to a man — it breaks a few significant stereotypes, and all of this courtesy The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Director: Mike Newell
Lead cast: Lily James and Michiel Huisman
Date of release: 2018
Jane Austen Book Club
A scene from Jane Austen Book Club featuring Emily Blunt
Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility or Emma? Or is it Persuasion, Mansfield Park or Northanger Abbey? Which one is your favourite Jane Austen novel? While you decide, set off on a trip with a book club dedicated to Jane Austen, and who, in their own ways become characters of Austen’s novels during the journey.
Director: Robin Swicord
Lead cast: Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Maggie Grace, Hugh Dancy
Release date: 2007
84 Charing Cross Road
A scene from ‘84 Charing Cross Road’
This film will tug at your heartstrings, evoking smiles, tears, and a desire to revisit your own cherished book nook. A friendship of 20-years between an author and a bookshop is not an everyday occurrence. An old bookshop that deals with vintage, out-of-print books is a world in itself. The closing of that bookshop is a bereavement that cannot be put into words. Standing in front of a vacant bookshop that was once an integral part of life is one of the hardest things to do, it is like bidding one the final adieu.
Director: David Jones
Lead cast: Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins
Release date: 1987
Books that you need to add to your reading list:
‘The Bookshop’ by Penelope Fitzgerald
If you are watching the film, we think you will enjoy reading the book too. Did you know this book was selected for the Booker Prize, written in 1978 and set in 1959?
Buy the book here.
‘The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry’ by Gabrielle Zevin
At the close of each day, what emotions grip a man whose existence feels perpetually trapped in an unending nightmare? Just inquire of A. J. Fikry. Plagued by the loss of his wife, the decline of his bookstore, and the theft of his prized Poe possession, how does he find the will to face each new dawn? But then, what unfolds when life offers a chance at renewal? Prepare to be captivated by the twists and turns of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, where surprises await at every page turn.
Buy the book here.
‘With Love from London’ by Sarah Jio
@sarahjio/Instagram
The feeling of abandonment is not unfamiliar. We've all experienced it in some way or the other. Longing, love, loss — Valeria has known these emotions intimately. From being estranged from her mother to ultimately battling to safeguard her mother's legacy, Valeria not only discovers her life’s purpose but also finds a long-desired home. These words alone provide ample incentive to embark on the reading journey...
Buy the book here.
‘Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore’ by Robin Sloane
What are your thoughts on eternal life? Have you been to Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore? If you are curious and ready for an adventure, Robin Sloane has one for you, and guess what, it’s set in a bookstore where intriguing people show up and immerse themselves in obscure books.
Buy the book here.
‘The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II’ by Madeline Martin
Goodreads
The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II is inspired from a true story. It talks about the era of the Blitz and about bookstores that survived. In an unrelated way, this book reminds of Sartre’s War Diaries, wartime memories bringing two genres in proximity.
Buy the book here.
