Michiko Aoyama

For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this charming Japanese novel shows how the perfect book recommendation can change a reader's life. What are you looking for? This is the famous question routinely asked by Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. Like most librarians, Komachi has read every book lining her shelves--but she also has the unique ability to read the souls of her library guests. For anyone who walks through her door, Komachi can sense exactly what they're looking for in life and provide just the book recommendation they never knew they needed to help them find it. Each visitor comes to her library from a different juncture in their careers and dreams, from the restless sales attendant who feels stuck at her job to the struggling working mother who longs to be a magazine editor. The conversation that they have with Sayuri Komachi--and the surprise book she lends each of them--will have life-altering consequences. With heartwarming charm and wisdom, What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is a paean to the magic of libraries, friendship and community, perfect for anyone who has ever found themselves at an impasse in their life and in need of a little inspiration.

What You Are Looking for Is in the Library

What You are Looking for is in the Library

Der Bestseller aus Japan: eine Bibliothekarin, die verborgene Wünsche erkennt. Lektüre, die Leben verändert. Ein Buch, das großes Leseglück beschert. «Wonach suchen Sie?» Diese Frage stellt Sayuri Komachi allen Besuchern in ihrer kleinen Gemeindebibliothek in Tokio. Und sie meint die Frage durchaus im übertragenen Sinne. Denn die weise Bibliothekarin spürt genau, wonach die Menschen im Leben suchen: von der rastlosen Verkäuferin, die mit ihrem Job hadert, dem schüchternen Buchhalter, der davon träumt, ein Antiquitätengeschäft zu eröffnen, oder der frischgebackenen Mutter, die sich zwischen Beruf und Familie aufreibt ... Sie alle befinden sich in einer Sackgasse. Und alle führt es früher oder später zu Frau Komachi in die Bibliothek. Ihre überraschenden Buchempfehlungen haben ungeahnte Folgen. Die Lektüre entpuppt sich als Katalysator für eine andere Denkweise und eröffnet neue Wege. Und letztlich hilft sie den Besuchern, ihre aktuelle Lebenskrise zu meistern. Denn Frau Komachi weiß: Bücher haben magische Kräfte und sind eine verlässliche Quelle der Inspiration. Fünf Geschichten, fünf Schicksale – von persönlichen Umwegen, mutigen Entscheidungen und der heilenden Kraft der Bücher.

Der weltweite Bestseller aus Japan

Frau Komachi empfiehlt ein Buch

Across a bridge, in view of cherry blossom lies the Marble Cafe where a woman writes in a notebook and a young waiter prepares her favourite hot drink. Both wonder about each other and about the other lives of the clientele who frequent this charming little cafe behind the trees ....

Without even realizing it, we may touch and change someone else's life.

Taking a walk along the river, cooking the best tamagoyaki, ordering hot chocolate, forgetting to remove our nail polish... The small, everyday acts that we do can offer unexpected encounters and ultimately change a life. HOT CHOCOLATE ON THURSDAY connects twelve slice-of-life moments that open and close with a woman ordering her regular hot chocolate at the mysterious Marble Cafe.

What happens in between will touch and swell your heart, as we connect with a community of untold unfolding lives.

Marble Cafe #1

Hot Chocolate on Thursday

Sucesso de vendas no Japão. Uma história sobre a magia dos livros e seu poder de conectar pessoas. O que você procura? Essa é a pergunta que a enigmática Sayuri Komachi faz a quem visita a biblioteca do Centro Comunitário de Tóquio em busca de ajuda. A lista de livros que ela recomenda sempre contém um título inusitado que se torna o agente de uma mudança. Em cinco histórias independentes que se entrelaçam de maneira sutil, você conhecerá pessoas que estão em momentos diferentes da vida, lidando com situações como a frustração no trabalho, a falta de oportunidades, o medo do fracasso e a vontade de começar de novo. A Sra. Komachi tem o dom de saber exatamente de qual livro cada visitante precisa para mudar de perspectiva e voltar a alimentar seus sonhos. Às vezes, as mudanças mais transformadoras não são as mais grandiosas: são aquelas que nos fazem ver a vida – e suas infinitas possibilidades – de uma maneira inteiramente nova. E você? O que está procurando?

Uma história sobre a magia dos livros e seu poder de conectar pessoas

A biblioteca dos sonhos secretos

The Healing Hippo of The Hinode Park

Donnerstags im Café unter den Kirschblüten

Вы найдете это в библиотеке

La novela japonesa sobre el poder de los libros que está cautivando al mundo. Más de 300.000 ejemplares vendidos. Un libro puede cambiarte la vida. En el corazón de Tokio hay una pequeña biblioteca donde trabaja la señora Komachi. Teclea en su computadora como un rayo y en sus momentos de ocio crea pequeñas figuras de fieltro que luego regala a los visitantes más especiales, a los que les pregunta: «¿Qué buscas?». La respuesta parece sencilla, pero la señora Komachi no es como otros bibliotecarios. Ella puede adivinar cuáles son los sueños, los deseos y los pesares de la persona a la que escucha. Y es así como una recomendación suya les puede cambiar la vida. Solo hace falta que se entreguen a la lectura de un libro inesperado. La biblioteca de los nuevos comienzos es una oda al poder de los libros que nos enseña que, si se escucha con el corazón y se tiende una mano amiga, todos podemos alcanzar nuestros sueños.

La biblioteca de los nuevos comienzos (Edición mexicana)

Much-loved early novel by the bestselling author of WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY for fans of BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD Readers love HOT CHOCOLATE ON THURSDAY: 'Slipped into my heart and warmed me, just like a cup of cocoa' ***** 'I definitely recommend this book!' ***** 'Thursday is the beginning of the second half of the week. I felt restored reading this' ***** 'Reminds you that everyone is living their own daily joy and pain. Heartwarming' ***** 'This made me realise how we magically influence each other's lives without realising it' ***** ___________ Across a bridge, in view of cherry blossom lies the Marble Cafe where a woman writes in a notebook and a young waiter prepares her favourite hot drink. Both wonder about each other and about the other lives of the clientele who frequent this magical little cafe behind the trees .... Without even realizing it, we may touch and change someone else's life. Taking a walk along the river, cooking the best tamagoyaki, ordering hot chocolate, forgetting to remove our nail polish... The small, everyday acts that we do can offer unexpected encounters and ultimately change a life. HOT CHOCOLATE ON THURSDAY connects twelve slice-of-life moments that open and close with a woman ordering her regular hot chocolate at the mysterious Marble Cafe. What happens in between will touch and swell your heart, as we connect with a community of untold unfolding lives.

The enchanting new novel by the multimillion-copy bestselling author of What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, about five strangers who each seek comfort from a healing hippo ride. Nestled at the bottom of a five-story apartment block in the community of Advance Hill is the children's playground in Hinode Park. If you look to the side, standing on stubby legs, is a hippo. Its upturned eyes give it a teary look, yet for decades, its quiet power has sustained the hearts of one community. According to urban legend, if you touch the exact part of the hippo where you have an ailment or wound, you will see swift signs of recovery. Meet the apartment residents who each find their way to Kabahiko: Kanato, who hopes in vain to recover the stellar marks he once scored; Sawa, a new mother with no friends, wishes to be able to communicate as she once did when she was an award-winning retail assistant; Chiharu, off work as a wedding-planner, longs to listen better for the happiness of others; Yuya avoids sports day with a fake injury, only to find he really is in pain; Kazuhiko, despite his fading eyes, seeks to see life's everyday wonder. A quietly powerful story of hope, friendship and connection, Michiko Aoyama's beloved bestseller is a celebration of everyday encounters. Its subtle portrayal of the magic of community will lodge itself in every reader's heart as the eclectic cast of characters find healing in their lives—though they may not always find it in the ways they expect.

A Novel

The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park

Coming soon! Matcha on Monday by Michiko Aoyama will be available Jul 07, 2026.

Matcha on Monday

Chocolate quente às quintas-feiras

From the three-times nominated author for the Japan Booksellers award: Volume Two of the Marble Cafe series, in which customers, staff, artists and manager connect over 12 powerful episodes to create vivid experiences of unexpected happy encounters and anonymous kindness.

Marble Cafe #2

La forêt au clair de lune

Un jeudi saveur chocolat

Dissimulé à l’ombre des cerisiers qui bordent la petite rivière du quartier, le Café Marble à Tokyo ne compte que trois petites tables en bois brut. Et pourtant, les clients se succèdent dans ce havre de paix où les habitués peuvent contempler le passage des saisons à travers la baie vitrée. Une mystérieuse femme qui vient chaque jeudi y rédiger une longue lettre en anglais devant une tasse de chocolat chaud ; une brillante publicitaire complètement dépassée dans son rôle de mère ; une jeune institutrice qui cherche un sens à son travail… Chacun arrive au Café Marble avec son histoire, perdu dans les nœuds de son existence et trouvera dans ce lieu apaisant l’élan pour avancer sur le chemin tortueux de la vie. De Tokyo à Sydney, un roman choral poétique entremêlant douze tranches de vie qui nous invite à trouver le bonheur dans les petites choses du quotidien. Michiko Aoyama est une journaliste et autrice japonaise traduite dans le monde entier. Finaliste du Prix des libraires au Japon, son précédent roman, La Bibliothèque des rêves secrets, a connu un succès immédiat en France comme à l’étranger.

โกโก้อุ่นๆ กับคุณในวันพฤหัสฯ

わたしたちは、知らないうちに誰かを救っている――。川沿いを散歩する、卵焼きを作る、ココアを頼む、ネイルを落とし忘れる……。わたしたちが起こしたなにげない出来事が繋がっていき、最後はひとりの命を救う。小さな喫茶店「マーブル・カフェ」の一杯のココアから始まる12編の連作短編集。読み終わった後、あなたの心も救われるやさしい物語です。※文中に登場するシドニーの情報は、2017年7月時点のものです。

Michiko Aoyama

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