cozy book recos
A collection of cozy, heart-soothing book recommendations.
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Books
Our Friends at the Convenience Store by the Sea
Sonoko Machida · 2026
Hakuda Photo Studio
Her Tae Yeon · 2025
A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang
Lee Onhwa · 2026
The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop
Takuya Asakura · 2025
Dinner at the Night Library
Hika Harada · 2025
Days at the Torunka Café
Satoshi Yagisawa
Every Day I Read 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books
Hwang Bo-reum · 2025
<b>From the internationally bestselling author of <i>Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop</i> comes a warm and reflective collection of essays about reading, language and life.</b><br><b><br></b>Why do we read? What is it that we hope to take away from the intimate, personal experience of reading for pleasure?<br> <br>Rarely do we ask these profound, expansive questions of ourselves and of our relationship to the joy of reading. But in this gentle, philosophical collection celebrating books, reading and language, Hwang Bo-reum doesn't just tell us, but shows us what living a life immersed in reading means. <br> <br><i>Every Day I Read</i> provides many quiet moments for introspection and reflection, encourages book-lovers to explore what reading means to each of us. While this is a book about books, at its heart is an attitude to life, one outside capitalism and climbing the corporate ladder. Readers and non-readers will take away something from it, including a treasure trove of book recommendations blended seamlessly within.
Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop
Kenji Ueda · 2024
The Goodbye Cat
Hiro Arikawa · 2023
The Travelling Cat Chronicles
Hiro Arikawa · 2018
Marigold Mind Laundry
Jungeun Yun · 2024
The Passengers on the Hankyu Line
Hiro Arikawa · 2025
The Calico Cat at the Chibineko Kitchen
Yuta Takahashi · 2025
The Chibineko Kitchen
Yuta Takahashi · 2024
Honeybees and Distant Thunder
Riku Onda · 2023
Are You Nobody Too?
Tina Cane · 2025
Goodnight Tokyo
Atsuhiro Yoshida · 2024
<p>A symphony of interconnected lives that offers a compelling reflection on life in modern-day metropolises at the intersection of isolation and intimacy in Yoshida's English-language debut</p><br><p>Set over several nights, between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., in and around Tokyo, this mind-blowingly constructed book is an elaborate, energetic fresco of human nocturnal existence in all its mystery, an enigmatic literary mix of Agatha Christie, Teju Cole, and Heironymous Bosch.</p><br><p>On this journey through the labyrinthine streets and hidden corners of one of the world's most fascinating cities, everybody is searching for something, and maybe searching in the wrong places. Elements of the fantastical and the surreal abound, as they tend to do in the early pre-dawn hours of the morning, yet the settings, the human stories, and each character's search are all as real as can be.</p><br><p>Goodnight Tokyo offers readers a unique and intimate take on Tokyo as seen through the eyes of a large cast of colorful characters. Their lives, as disparate and as far apart as they may seem, are in fact intricately interconnected, and their fates converge against the backdrop of the city's neon-lit streets and quiet alleyways. In his English-language debut, Yoshida masterfully portrays in captivating and lyrical prose the complexities of human relationships, the mystery of human connection, and the universal quest for meaning.</p><br>
The Rainfall Market
You Yeong-Gwang · 2025
If you could swap your life for a better one, which would you choose?<br/><br/>On the outskirts of Rainbow Town, there is an old, abandoned house. They say that if you send a letter detailing your misfortunes there, you could receive a ticket. If you bring this ticket to the house on the first day of the rainy season, you'll be granted entrance into the mysterious Rainfall Market—where you can choose to completely change your life.<br/><br/>No one is more surprised than Serin when she receives a ticket. Lonely and with no real prospects for a future, Serin ventures to the market, determined to create a better life for herself.<br/><br/>There, she meets a magical cat companion named Issha and they search through bookstores, perfumeries, and fantastical realms while Serin tries to determine what her perfect life will look like.<br/><br/>The catch? Serin only has one week to find her happiness or be doomed to vanish into the market forever.<br/><br/>And all the while, a shadow follows quietly behind them…
The Full Moon Coffee Shop
Mochizuki Mai · 2025
The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen
Yuta Takahashi · 2025
The Little Paris Bookshop: A Novel
Nina George · 2016
Convenience Store Woman: A Novel
Sayaka Murata · 2019
Shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award<br/>Longlisted for the Believer Book Award<br/>Longlisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation<br/>A Los Angeles Times Bestseller<br/><br/>The English-language debut of an exciting young voice in international fiction, selling 660,000 copies in Japan alone, Convenience Store Woman is a bewitching portrayal of contemporary Japan through the eyes of a single woman who fits into the rigidity of its work culture only too well.<br/><br/>The English-language debut of one of Japan’s most talented contemporary writers, selling over 650,000 copies there, Convenience Store Woman is the heartwarming and surprising story of thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of “Smile Mart,” she finds peace and purpose in her life. In the store, unlike anywhere else, she understands the rules of social interaction—many are laid out line by line in the store’s manual—and she does her best to copy the dress, mannerisms, and speech of her colleagues, playing the part of a “normal” person excellently, more or less. Managers come and go, but Keiko stays at the store for eighteen years. It’s almost hard to tell where the store ends and she begins. Keiko is very happy, but the people close to her, from her family to her coworkers, increasingly pressure her to find a husband, and to start a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action…<br/><br/>A brilliant depiction of an unusual psyche and a world hidden from view, Convenience Store Woman is an ironic and sharp-eyed look at contemporary work culture and the pressures to conform, as well as a charming and completely fresh portrait of an unforgettable heroine.
The Housekeeper and the Professor
Yoko Ogawa · 2009
<p>Yoko Ogawa's <i>The Housekeeper and the Professor</i> is an enchanting story about what it means to live in the present, and about the curious equations that can create a family.<br><br> He is a brilliant math Professor with a peculiar problem—ever since a traumatic head injury, he has lived with only eighty minutes of short-term memory. <br><br>She is an astute young Housekeeper—with a ten-year-old son—who is hired to care for the Professor. <br>And every morning, as the Professor and the Housekeeper are introduced to each other anew, a strange and beautiful relationship blossoms between them. Though he cannot hold memories for long (his brain is like a tape that begins to erase itself every eighty minutes), the Professor's mind is still alive with elegant equations from the past. And the numbers, in all of their articulate order, reveal a sheltering and poetic world to both the Housekeeper and her young son. The Professor is capable of discovering connections between the simplest of quantities—like the Housekeeper's shoe size—and the universe at large, drawing their lives ever closer and more profoundly together, even as his memory slips away.</p>
If Cats Disappeared From The World
Kawamura Genki · 2018
The Restaurant of Lost Recipes
Hisashi Kashiwai · 2024
Lonely Castle in the Mirror
Tsujimura Mizuki · 2022
SHE AND HER CAT
Makoto Shinkai, Naruki Nagakawa · 2022
On the outskirts of Tokyo, in a neighbourhood crossed by a commuter railway, local cats weave their way through the lives and homes of their owners as they navigate difficult times.<br/><br/>A cat named Chobi sends silent messages of courage to a young woman, willing her to end a faltering relationship; a gifted artist fatally misunderstands her boss's enthusiasm for her paintings; a manga fan shuts herself away after the death of her friend, while her cat Cookie hatches a plan to persuade her outside; a woman who has dedicated her life to a distant husband learns a lesson in independence from her cat.<br/><br/>Against the urban backdrop of humming trains and private woes, SHE AND HER CAT explores the gentle magic of the everyday. Populated by both the friendly and the feral, it reveals - with heartstopping clarity and warmth - how even in our darkest moments, community and connection may lead us to a happier place.
The Cat Who Saved Books
Sosuke Natsukawa · 2021
The Miracles of the Namiya General Store
Keigo Higashino · 2021
When three delinquents hole up in an abandoned general store after theirmost recent robbery, to their great surprise, a letter drops through the mailslot in the store's shutter. This seemingly simple request for advicesets the trio on a journey of discovery as, over the course of a singlenight, they step into the role of the kindhearted former shopkeeper whodevoted his waning years to offering thoughtful counsel to hiscorrespondents. Through the lens of time, they share insight withthose seeking guidance, and by morning, none of their lives will ever be thesame. By acclaimed author Keigo Higashino, The Miracles of the Namiya GeneralStore is a work that has touched the hearts of readers around theworld.
The Healing Season of Pottery
Yeon Somin · 2024
Sweet Bean Paste: The International Bestseller
Durian Sukegawa · 2017
'I'm in story heaven with this book.' Cecelia Ahern, author of P.S. I Love You<br/><br/>A charming tale of friendship, love and loneliness in contemporary Japan<br/><br/>Sentaro has failed. He has a criminal record, drinks too much, and his dream of becoming a writer is just a distant memory. With only the blossoming of the cherry trees to mark the passing of time, he spends his days in a tiny confectionery shop selling dorayaki, a type of pancake filled with sweet bean paste.<br/><br/>But everything is about to change.<br/><br/>Into his life comes Tokue, an elderly woman with disfigured hands and a troubled past. Tokue makes the best sweet bean paste Sentaro has ever tasted. She begins to teach him her craft, but as their friendship flourishes, social pressures become impossible to escape and Tokue’s dark secret is revealed,<br/>with devastating consequences.<br/><br/>Sweet Bean Paste is a moving novel about the burden of the past and the redemptive power of friendship. Translated into English for the first time, Durian Sukegawa’s beautiful prose is capturing hearts all over the world.
Diary of a Void: A Novel
Emi Yagi · 2022
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker · NPR · WBEZ’s Nerdette · The New York Public Library · Literary Hub A New York Times Editors’ Choice “One of the most passionate cases I’ve ever read for female interiority, for women’s creative pulse and rich inner life.” ―Katy Waldman, The New Yorker “Always expect the unexpected when you’re not expecting.” ―Sloane Crosley A woman in Tokyo avoids harassment at work by perpetuating, for nine months and beyond, the lie that she’s pregnant in this prizewinning, thrillingly subversive debut novel about the mother of all deceptions, for fans of Convenience Store Woman and Breasts and Eggs When thirty-four-year-old Ms. Shibata gets a new job to escape sexual harassment at her old one, she finds that as the only woman at her new workplace—a manufacturer of cardboard tubes—she is expected to do all the menial tasks. One day she announces that she can’t clear away her coworkers’ dirty cups—because she’s pregnant and the smell nauseates her. The only thing is . . . Ms. Shibata is not pregnant. Pregnant Ms. Shibata doesn’t have to serve coffee to anyone. Pregnant Ms. Shibata isn’t forced to work overtime. Pregnant Ms. Shibata watches TV, takes long baths, and even joins an aerobics class for expectant mothers. She’s living a year of rest and relaxation, and is finally being treated by her colleagues as more than a hollow core. But she has a ruse to keep up. Before long, it becomes all-absorbing, and with the help of towel-stuffed shirts and a diary app that tracks every stage of her “pregnancy,” the boundary between her lie and her life begins to dissolve. Surreal and absurdist, and with a winning matter-of-factness, a light touch, and a refreshing sensitivity to mental health, Diary of a Void will keep you turning the pages to see just how far Ms. Shibata will carry her deception for the sake of women, and especially working mothers, everywhere.
The Guest Cat
Takashi Hiraide · 2014
A wonderful sui generis novel about a visiting cat who brings joy into a couple’s life in Tokyo<br/>A bestseller in France and winner of Japan’s Kiyama Shohei Literary Award, The Guest Cat, by the acclaimed poet Takashi Hiraide, is a subtly moving and exceptionally beautiful novel about the transient nature of life and idiosyncratic but deeply felt ways of living. A couple in their thirties live in a small rented cottage in a quiet part of Tokyo; they work at home, freelance copy-editing; they no longer have very much to say to one another. But one day a cat invites itself into their small kitchen. It leaves, but the next day comes again, and then again and again. Soon they are buying treats for the cat and enjoying talks about the animal and all its little ways. Life suddenly seems to have more promise for the husband and wife ― the days have more light and color. The novel brims with new small joys and many moments of staggering poetic beauty, but then something happens….<br/>As Kenzaburo Oe has remarked, Takashi Hiraide’s work "really shines." His poetry, which is remarkably cross-hatched with beauty, has been acclaimed here for "its seemingly endless string of shape-shifting objects and experiences,whose splintering effect is enacted via a unique combination of speed and minutiae."
The Kamogawa Food Detectives
Kashiwai Hisashi · 2023
The Kamogawa Food Detectives, translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood, is the first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese sleuthing series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold.<br/><br/>What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?<br/><br/>Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner treats its customers to wonderfully extravagant meals. But that's not the main reason to stop by . . .<br/><br/>The father-daughter duo have started advertising their services as 'food detectives'. Through ingenious investigations, they are capable of recreating a dish from their customers' pasts – dishes that may well hold the keys to forgotten memories and future happiness.<br/><br/>From the widower looking for a specific noodle dish that his wife used to cook, to a first love's beef stew, the restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to the past – and a way to a more contented future.<br/><br/>A bestseller in Japan, The Kamogawa Food Detectives is a celebration of good company and the power of a delicious meal.
Dallergut Dream Department Store
Lee Mi-ye · 2023
Yeonnam-Dong's Smiley Laundromat: A Novel
Kim Jiyun · 2025
The Bookshop Woman
Nanako Hanada · 2024
I Went to See My Father
Kyung-sook Shin, J. B. Anton Hur · 2023
The Lantern of Lost Memories
Sanaka Hiiragi · 2024
Before We Forget Kindness
Toshikazu Kawaguchi · 2024
<p><b>The fifth book in the multi-million-copy bestselling series about a cosy Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time.</b><br> <br> Curl up with the fifth book in the sensational Before the Coffee Gets Cold series translated from Japanese, the cosy Tokyo café where customers arrive hoping to travel back in time welcomes four new guests:<br> <br> - The father who could not allow his daughter to get married<br> - A woman who couldn't give Valentine's Day chocolates to her loved one<br> - A boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents<br> - A wife holding a child with no name . . .<br> <br> They must follow the café's strict rules, however, and come back to the present before their coffee goes cold.<br> <br> Another moving and heartwarming tale from Toshikazu Kawaguchi, in <i>Before We Forget Kindness</i> our new visitors wish to go back into their past to find closure and comfort so they can embark on a beautiful future.<br> <br> <b>'I don't want it to ever end. Emotional, heart-warming, hopeful'<br> - @samzreadsbooks on Instagram</b><br> <br> <b>Catch up on the rest of the series with <i>Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Tales from the Cafe, Before Your Memory Fades</i> and <i>Before We Say Goodbye.</i></b></p>
Before We Say Goodbye
Kawaguchi, Toshikazu
The regulars at the magical Cafe Funiculi Funicula are well acquainted with its famous legend and extraordinary, secret menu time travel offering. Many patrons have reunited with old flames, made amends with estranged family, and visited loved ones. But the journey is not without risks and there are rules to follow. Travellers must have visited the cafe previously and most importantly, must return to the present in the time it takes for their coffee to go cold.
Before Your Memory Fades: A Novel (Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series, 3)
Toshikazu Kawaguchi · 2022
Tales from the Cafe: A Novel (Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series Book 2)
Toshikazu Kawaguchi · 2021
Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Novel
Toshikazu Kawaguchi · 2020
The Midnight Library: A Novel
Matt Haig · 2023
The Blanket Cats
Kiyoshi Shigematsu · 2025
The Cat Who Saved the Library
Sōsuke Natsukawa · 2025
We'll Prescribe You a Cat
Syou Ishida · 2024
A cat a day keeps the doctor away…<br/><br/>Discover the award-winning, bestselling Japanese novel that has become an international sensation in this utterly charming, vibrant celebration of the healing power of cats.<br/><br/>Tucked away in an old building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can only be found by people who are struggling in their lives and genuinely need help. The mysterious clinic offers a unique treatment to those who find their way there: it prescribes cats as medication. Patients are often puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they “take” their cat for the recommended duration, they witness profound transformations in their lives, guided by the playful, empathetic, occasionally challenging yet endearing cats.<br/><br/>Throughout the pages, the power of the human-animal bond is revealed as a disheartened businessman finds unexpected joy in physical labor, a young girl navigates the complexities of elementary school cliques, a middle-aged man struggles to stay relevant at work and home, a hardened bag designer seeks emotional balance, and a geisha finds herself unable to move on from the memory of her lost cat. As the clinic’s patients navigate their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them toward healing, self-discovery, and newfound hope.
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library: A Novel
Michiko Aoyama · 2023
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop: The heart-warming Korean sensation
Hwang Bo-reum · 2025
<p><b>INSTANT<i> USA TODAY</i> BESTSELLER * NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER </b><br><b>INDIE NEXT PICK * </b><b><i>Debutiful </i>Most Anticipated Book of 2024 * Powell's Pick of the Month * A <i>Bookshop </i>Best Book of the Year So Far</b><br><br><b>The Korean smash hit available for the first time in English, a slice-of-life novel for readers of Matt Haig's <i>The Midnight Library </i>and Gabrielle Zevin's <i>The Storied Life of AJ Fikry.</i></b><br><br>Yeongju is burned out. She did everything she was supposed to: go to school, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. In a leap of faith, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop. In a quaint neighborhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. From the lonely barista to the unhappily married coffee roaster-and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju-they all have disappointments in their past. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live. <br><br>A heartwarming story about finding acceptance in your life and the healing power of books, <i>Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop</i> is a gentle reminder that it's never too late to scrap the plot and start again.</p>
Convenience Store by the Sea
Sonoko Machida · 2024
<p><i>'</i>The Convenience Store by the Sea <i>makes magic from life's simple moments . . . an unexpected treasure revealing what's truly important in life. I will hold it close for when I need a reminder!'</i> <b>Laurie Gilmore, bestselling author of</b> <b>The Pumpkin Spice Cafe</b><br> <br> <i>'If you loved</i> Before The Coffee Gets Cold <i>you will love this!'<br> <br> 'A perfect, feel-good story about finding joy in unexpected connections, ideal for those who love a cosy, heartwarming escape!'</i><br> <br> <i>'Bubble bath fiction'</i> <b><i>The Herald</i></b><br> <br> <i>'A delightful tale of community and connection'</i> <b>My</b> <b>Weekly</b><br> <br> <b>Welcome to Tenderness!</b><br> <br> A quaint seaside town in Kitakyushu, Mojiko is full of hidden delights. And one unexpected treasure is the 24/7 convenience store, Tenderness.<br> <br> At first glance, it's a store like any other.<br> <br> Sure, it's a bit odd that the handsome manager has his own fan club. And perhaps the customers are somewhat eccentric. But there's a warmth about Tenderness that draws you in.<br> <br> The bright lights are always on. The employees know you by name. And the shelves are stacked with delicious treats, from strong hot coffee to sweet parfaits, egg sandos to ramen, crispy fried chicken to refreshing soba.<br> <br> After a while, you get the feeling that whatever you need might just be waiting for you here...<br> <br> <b><i>The Convenience Store by the Sea</i> is</b> <b>the heartwarming international bestseller from award-winning Japanese author Sonoko Machida. A a series of interconnected vignettes set in a 24/7 Japanese convenience store, the novel tells the delightfully quirky and heartfelt stories of the store's customers and employees, offering us all a unique recipe for a good, fulfilling life<i>.</i> Translated by Bruno Navasky.</b></p>
More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
Satoshi Yagisawa, Eric Ozawa · 2024
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop: A Novel
Satoshi Yagisawa · 2023
The Second Chance Convenience Store A Novel
Ho-yŏn Kim · 2025
Hot Chocolate on Thursday
Michiko Aoyama · 2026
