The Reading List
A faded list.
Nine favourite stories.
For two strangers, friendship is only a page away . . .
When Mukesh Patel pops to the local library, forgoing his routine of grocery shopping and David Attenborough documentaries, he has no idea his life’s about to change.
He meets Aleisha, a reluctant librarian and the keeper of a curious reading list – just a scrappy piece of paper with the names of 9 stories. It doesn’t seem anything special. Yet something tells her to keep it close . . .
Story by story, Mukesh and Aleisha work their way through the list – their worries slipping away with every encounter, with every world discovered in their unlikely book club of two.
A fresh chance at life, at friendship, wasn’t on the cards for these lonely souls – but every story starts somewhere . . .
‘The story is an absolute joy . . . A captivating and exquisitely crafted debut' — Sunday Times bestseller, Heidi Swain
‘Absolutely captures the magic of reading and libraries' — Louise Hare
‘A gorgeous debut novel about the power reading has to bring people together, no matter the barriers of age, culture and class' — Red
ISBN: 9780008391331 | Published: 28 July 2021 | Trade paperback | 432 pages
ISBN: 9780008391362 | Published: 6 March 2023 | Paperback | 432 pages
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Publishing has a diversity problem. There are less 'diverse' books being published which limits the discoverability and reach of those authors.
Representation is important. Read more about why we exist here.
An anti-racist social enterprise bookstore specialising in BIPOC books.
Only about 11% of books published are by BIPOC authors — so unless you specifically seek out books by BIPOC authors, you aren't likely to find very many of them organically. At Amplify, BIPOC authors are highlighted and celebrated. Here, they don't have to fight to be seen, and you don't have to fight to find them.
We hope that in our shop, you can discover a new favourite read, find stories that speak uniquely to you, learn about a culture outside your own (or more about your own histories), and gain a better understanding of the systems that connect us all.
Looking for something super specific?
Have a scroll through our tag directory to help direct your search and bring you to curated collections, as grouped by subgenres, identity markers, and more!