A Kindred Spirit by Richard Sherman

I CAN'T believe I didn't post about this book on here. But thankfully, I did post a review about it on

Goodreads--well, actually, I had to make an entry for the book itself because apparently this book isn't even listed on Goodreads! What a crying shame! I'm so glad I came across this book!!!! I finished reading it in early November this past year, and all in one sitting, mind you! Here is my Goodreads summary and review!

Successful author Naomi Lynch created a beloved fictional character who has sustained her against her own social and physical shortcomings and won her a moderate but loyal fan base. From a young age, she decided she wasn't the marrying type and decided to become a writer. After a lifetime of traveling and writing, she decides to settle down in New York, now aged 45. She is hard at work at the next installment of her detective series, but finds that without traveling to give her a break from the rigorous concentration of writing, she must find some other diversion to fill the time she now suddenly finds she has far too much of. Thus, she ends up at the Book Nook, a tiny bookshop/rental library with just the sort of books she likes to read. After several weeks of borrowing books she finds that another patron of the shop, a W. Brown, seems always to read the same books she does. After this realization what ensues is Lynch's escalating preoccupation with the man she imagines is behind the name. Soon, she finds herself doing more than just thinking about him, and her search to find this man who echoes her own peculiarities of thought leads her to a place she never imagined.

I'm not sure what I think of this book yet. I just read it today, all in one go. I was so engaged with it until about the last third and then the ending shattered all the enchantment I felt at the start of the story. Not that I hate the book. But that ending just infuriates me.

I love love love the main premise of the book. A woman who reads a lot notices that there is a W. Brown who has checked out almost every book she has. At first it is a random observation but when she checks out more books and finds that same name in each of the books she has chosen, her curiosity and wonder grow. She soon has herself convinced that W. Brown is definitely a man and her perfect match, as displayed by his excellent taste in books.

It was so exciting waiting for the big reveal. I was anticipating the moment where they would meet and exclaim with joy at the meeting of their souls before a word had ever been exchanged between them. I thought that this was the ultimate meet-cute.

However, as I read the book and realized I was more than halfway through with still no appearance from Brown, I wondered how they were ever to meet and exchange ideas and any kind of relationship develop. I resented the suspense over her meeting and when I saw that was what the author was accentuating, the potential I saw in the book was not fulfilled for me. Also, by his emphasizing her frantic search for the mystery man, he seemed to be making Lynch's 'self-sufficiency' a negative thing. The events of this book portrayed Lynch as a desparately lonely woman--she even gives up writing because of her obsession with this name. My dismay grew with each page I turned.

And finally the ending. It was shattering to me and made me close the book feeling confused and angry at the author.

But because this book made me read the whole thing in one sitting, it has my admiration. I liked the writing. It was very simple, light, and flowed well.