(Steeplechase + BWF) What You Are Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama - 4 stars

[Ellen]

The Community Center Library is staffed by only 2 people: a young woman working her way through a 3-year apprenticeship and Mrs. Komachi, a librarian who always seems to know exactly what each patron needs. The book is a set of 5 short stories featuring people at different stages in their lives where they have become unsatisfied with their current status. An older man who has just retired feels left out of society; a young man fondly remembers an antique shop he frequently and wishes to open his own business; a new mother recently returned to work finds that she has been replaced in her editing job and relegated to a lower position; a young woman feels trapped in a thankless job as a salesclerk in a large department store; an unemployed 30-year old who still lives with his mother despairing over his once-held dream to become a graphic designer but lacked the self-confidence to pursue his dream. All will make their way to the Library and be directed by Mrs. Komachi to books that don't seem to have any relevance to their lives but ultimately help them move on with a greater measure of happiness and acceptance.