THE NEW TOWN LIBRARIAN

In Anderson’s novel, a queer Philadelphia librarian in a dead-end job spontaneously takes a promotion in New Jersey, where she falls for a younger, charismatic deli owner and revitalizes the local library.

It’s the 2010s, and the Pinetree, New Jersey, public library is searching for a town librarian to “drop-kick” the library “into the twenty-first century.” The job sounds perfect to 50-year-old Nan Nethercott, who’s had the same entry-level librarian job in the Philadelphia public library system since she graduated from library school 25 years ago with a master’s degree in library and information sciences. She gets the job and moves to Pinetree, where she meets a collection of “odd characters,” including old men in the library who squabble over the New York Times; elderly landlady Immaculata Fortunato, who refuses to let Nan go hungry; and “cute butchy flirty” deli owner Thomasina, nicknamed T. Nan needs to make her job in Pinetree work—which would be much simpler without ski-masked intruders screaming obscenities and a practitioner of “urinary vandalism” terrorizing the library. With ornery board president Phillip “Pip” Conti breathing down her neck, Nan must figure out how to stop the disruptions. Overall, this is a cozy romantic comedy that’s perfect for a beach read. The descriptions are, by turns, luxurious and hilarious, as in this early passage: “Nan was as unknown as the inside of a brand-new book, still smelling of fresh ink, its pages immaculate before readers dripped red wine on them or used a banana peel for a bookmark.” This quirky, funny novel will particularly charm queer female readers as well as anyone who enjoys older women’s stories of personal and career growth. The stakes are low and the tone is light, and Nan’s voice reveals her as a relatable character who’s desperate to change something—anything—about her life. The author might have spent more time fleshing out Nan’s reasons for leaving Pennsylvania, beyond a generic midlife crisis, but the sparse exposition doesn’t detract from this otherwise enjoyable story.

A breezy romantic comedy celebrating life’s second chances.