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What if your dream bookshop was hiding inside the pages of a book? This week's guest is making that fantasy feel very real.

London-based bookworm and Substack newsletter writer Alicia joins us to share her love of a very specific and very delightful trope: woman quits job to open a bookshop. If you've ever fantasized about leaving it all behind for a life surrounded by shelves and the smell of old paper, Alicia has three gorgeous, lesser-known reads that will feed that daydream beautifully. From translated Japanese fiction to a moving Korean novel, these books explore healing, community, and the quiet courage it takes to build a life you actually want — even when you're not sure you're ready.

📚 Books Mentioned

The Bookshop Woman by Nanako Hanada — Buy on Amazon | Nonfiction / Memoir | A quiet, insightful look at the world of bookselling and how small changes create big impact.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa — Buy on Amazon | Japanese Translated Fiction / Contemporary | A healing, character-driven story about a woman who finds herself — slowly — through books.

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum — Buy on Amazon | Korean Translated Fiction / Contemporary | A raw, courageous story about a woman who opens a bookshop from a place of grief and finds herself living her values anyway.

⏱️ Timestamps

[00:00] Welcome & introduction — meet Alicia from London

[01:00] What Alicia reads: contemporary, literary, historical fiction & nonfiction

[02:00] Alicia's nonfiction picks: memoirs, economics, music

[03:30] What led Alicia to start Reads with Alicia on Substack

[05:00] Building a bookish community online — Substack, BookTok & beyond

[07:00] Alicia's Seasonal Reads with Friends collaboration series

[08:30] The episode's trope: "Woman quits job to open a bookshop"

[10:00] Book #1 — The Bookshop Woman by Nanako Hanada

[13:00] Why book recommendations are an act of care

[14:00] Book #2 — Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

[16:00] Book #3 — Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum

[19:30] Living your values even in hard times

[20:00] Where to find Alicia online & wrap-up

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