B&N Reads, Fiction, We Recommend

Make a Bad Day Better With a Good Book: Cats, Coffee and Captivating Japanese Fiction

A purring cat curled in your lap, a good cup of coffee, sitting in a café with a good book — these are just a few of our favorite things. With whimsy, tenderness and adventure, these novels, translated from the Japanese, have our whole hearts, and we know they’ll capture yours too. 

Who would you visit if you could travel through time? At this magical café in a back alley in Tokyo, customers hope for an opportunity to make the journey themselves: to face regrets, to relive nostalgic moments, seek reconciliation and reconnect with loved ones. In a life of too-lates and missed opportunities, Toshikazu Kawaguchi invites us back to the coffee shop of regrets and second-chances with brand-new patrons. Grab your copy of Before We Forget Kindness today, and check out our exclusive editions of the other books in the series. Pull up a seat to time travel at this café — just don’t let your coffee get cold.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop: A Novel

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop: A Novel

By Satoshi Yagisawa
Translator Eric Ozawa

Paperback $16.99

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop: A Novel

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop: A Novel

By Satoshi Yagisawa
Translator Eric Ozawa

Paperback $15.99 $17.99

We’re going back to our favorite Tokyo bookstore — and we couldn’t be happier. After Takako finds her footing again and settles into life in Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, we find her deepening her relationship with family, friends and store regulars in More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop. A touching tale of the power of community and literature, new love and old friends, this will have you scribbling in the margins. These stories of new beginnings, love and family is told with the kind of tenderness and whimsy that will lift your mood.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles

The Travelling Cat Chronicles

By Hiro Arikawa
Translator Philip Gabriel

Hardcover $24.00

The Goodbye Cat

The Goodbye Cat

By Hiro Arikawa
Translator Philip Gabriel

Hardcover $24.00

Hiro Arikawa first captured our cat-loving hearts with The Traveling Cat Chronicles, a charming story about Nana the cat and his owner and their journey across Japan. Now its highly anticipated sequel, The Goodbye Cat, gives us seven more stories of well-loved cats and their devotion to their humans. Full of wonder and warmth, both of these books will make you want a feline friend of your own. 

We'll Prescribe You a Cat

Hardcover $22.00 $25.00

We'll Prescribe You a Cat

We'll Prescribe You a Cat

By Syou Ishida
Translator E. Madison Shimoda

In Stock Online

Hardcover $22.00 $25.00

You know what they say: a cat a day keeps the doctor away. There’s nothing like a cat to bring you comfort — we’ve been enamored with them for thousands of years for a reason!From a disgruntled businessman to a elementary school girl to a grief-ridden geisha, the patients of the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul are all prescribed a cat to rid them of their worries. Settle into these pages and watch your problems fade away, one pet at a time.

You know what they say: a cat a day keeps the doctor away. There’s nothing like a cat to bring you comfort — we’ve been enamored with them for thousands of years for a reason!From a disgruntled businessman to a elementary school girl to a grief-ridden geisha, the patients of the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul are all prescribed a cat to rid them of their worries. Settle into these pages and watch your problems fade away, one pet at a time.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop: A Novel

Hardcover $23.00

The Full Moon Coffee Shop: A Novel

The Full Moon Coffee Shop: A Novel

By Mai Mochizuki
Translator Jesse Kirkwood

In Stock Online

Hardcover $23.00

We recommend being kind to every cat you come across — because they might be the one to change your entire life. The only thing we love more than coffee shops are magical cats, and The Full Moon Coffee Shop gives us a healthy dose of both. Get swept away in this enchanting tale that will delight readers of Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

We recommend being kind to every cat you come across — because they might be the one to change your entire life. The only thing we love more than coffee shops are magical cats, and The Full Moon Coffee Shop gives us a healthy dose of both. Get swept away in this enchanting tale that will delight readers of Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library: A Novel

Hardcover $21.99

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library: A Novel

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library: A Novel

By Michiko Aoyama

In Stock Online

Hardcover $21.99

We wholeheartedly believe that the right book at the right time can change a life, so it’s no wonder we’ve fallen hopelessly in love with What You Are Looking For Is in the Library. Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian knows just which book to recommend for her patrons to find what they need, and Michiko Aoyama’s English language debut is a comforting, thoughtful story of connection — and the transformative power of books.  

We wholeheartedly believe that the right book at the right time can change a life, so it’s no wonder we’ve fallen hopelessly in love with What You Are Looking For Is in the Library. Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian knows just which book to recommend for her patrons to find what they need, and Michiko Aoyama’s English language debut is a comforting, thoughtful story of connection — and the transformative power of books.  

The Cat Who Saved Books: A Novel

Paperback $18.99

The Cat Who Saved Books: A Novel

The Cat Who Saved Books: A Novel

By Sosuke Natsukawa
Translator Louise Heal Kawai

In Stock Online

Paperback $18.99

An adventurous story of a teenager and a talking cat traveling the world to save lonely, unread books, The Cat Who Saved Books is a fantastical fable of first love and friendship. This quirky and wise tale is for any bibliophile with a too-long TBR Pile and the desire to spend time lost within the pages of delightful books. 

An adventurous story of a teenager and a talking cat traveling the world to save lonely, unread books, The Cat Who Saved Books is a fantastical fable of first love and friendship. This quirky and wise tale is for any bibliophile with a too-long TBR Pile and the desire to spend time lost within the pages of delightful books.