The Bookshop on the Corner

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The Bookshop on the Corner is often described as a warm or cozy read. Does that description match your experience with the novel? Where did you find moments of comfort, and were there parts that felt more challenging or tense than you expected?

2. Colgan often writes about characters reinventing themselves in charming new settings. For those who have read her other novels, like Little Beach Street Bakery, how does Nina’s journey compare to her other protagonists’ stories of starting over?

3. How did the book balance the cozy elements with the real-world challenges Nina faced, such as financial uncertainty and bureaucratic hurdles? Did the idea of a mobile bookshop in the Scottish Highlands feel charming and realistic, or more like a fantasy?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. What role do books play in your own life? Have you ever felt a story was the “perfect prescription” for a particular moment, the way Nina finds the right books for her customers?

2. Nina makes a huge, impulsive life change after losing her job. Have you ever had to make a radical change in your career or location? What was your experience of that transition?

3. The novel draws a sharp contrast between the anonymity of Birmingham and the close-knit community in the Scottish Highlands. Do you feel more at home in an urban or rural environment? How do you think your own surroundings shape your daily life and sense of self?

4. At the start of the story, Nina often uses books as a “security blanket” to retreat from the world. Do you have a comfort object or activity you turn to in times of stress? Has it ever held you back from engaging more directly with life’s challenges?

5. What makes a community feel like home to you? Have you ever been the newcomer in a tight-knit group like Kirrinfief, and what was that experience like?

6. Nina has to redefine what happily ever after means for herself, focusing on her career and self-reliance before finding a romantic partner. How does this redefinition of success and happiness resonate with your own perspective on life goals?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The novel is set against the backdrop of UK austerity and widespread library closures. How did this real-world context shape the story and your feelings about Nina’s mission? Does the book make a compelling case for the value of physical books and community spaces in an increasingly digital world?

2. The urban-rural divide is a major part of the book’s context. In what ways does the novel explore the challenges and benefits of life in a remote community like Kirrinfief? Does it present a realistic or an overly romanticized view of rural life?

3. The story touches on the issue of “child caregivers” through Ainslee’s character, who sacrifices her education to care for her family. How does her situation highlight the social problems that can exist even in seemingly idyllic small towns? What does Nina’s intervention say about an individual’s responsibility to their community?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How do Nina’s two very different romantic interests, Marek and Lennox, help define her emotional journey? How do the symbols associated with them, the transient train and the rooted farm, reinforce their roles in the story?

2. Let’s talk about the theme of redefining happily ever after. How does the narrative structure prioritize Nina’s professional development over her romantic life? Did the final scene, with Nina reading to Lennox, feel like a fitting conclusion to this theme?

3. The motif of the city versus the countryside is central to the plot. How does the author use sensory details and character interactions to contrast the oppressive environment of Birmingham with the restorative landscape of the Scottish Highlands?

4. Nina’s character arc moves from passivity to active agency. What were the key moments or turning points in her transformation? Was her growth from a shy librarian to a confident business owner believable?

5. How do books themselves function as more than just objects in the novel? Can you think of specific instances where a book directly caused a change in a character or a relationship, illustrating the theme of Books as Conduits for Healing and Human Connection?

6. The story of a character finding themselves by leaving the city for a small town is a popular one. How does The Bookshop on the Corner either follow or subvert the conventions of this genre compared to other books you’ve read with a similar premise, such as It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey or Weyward by Emilia Hart?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. The bookshop is named The Little Shop of Happy-Ever-After. What name would you give your own dream bookshop, mobile or otherwise? What kind of books would it specialize in? Sketch your own shop and sign with your chosen name.

2. You’re a resident of Kirrinfief who has just discovered the “lovers’ tree” by the railway. What kind of book or note would you leave there, and for whom?

3. Design a “book prescription” for one of the secondary characters like Griffin, Surinder, or Kate. What book would you recommend for them, and what personal challenge or emotional need would you hope it addresses?