The Bookseller / Cynthia Swanson / 352 pgs

It wasn't helpful that I just finished an amazing book that dealt with nearly the same theme, the big "What If?" in life. What if I had gone to college at the age of 18 instead of waiting until I was 27? What if I didn't waste my time mooning over this one guy for years and instead been open to another guy who had a thing for me? What if? What if? What if? After the thrill ride that was Dark Matter, reading The Bookseller so soon made the whole thing a bit boring.

The Bookseller, which tells you just about nothing in terms of the overall plot of the book, is about a woman named Kitty Miller who runs a book store in 1962 Denver with her best friend. She is 38 years old, single, and content with her life. However, she wakes up to find herself living in the outskirts of Denver, a 38 year old wife and mother who is estranged from her best friend and has no bookstore. Which reality is real? Which reality does Kitty prefer?

The science fiction lover in me was expecting the story to be resolved in one way, but it was resolved in a completely different way, so I am partially pleased to be surprised, but I felt the ending was still a little ho-hum. Kitty's personality seemed non-existent. Her friend, Frieda, was completely self-absorbed and ridiculous. The husband in the alternate reality was way too perfect. I didn't get through this book nearly as quickly as I had planned, and in fact, ended up reading two books in between. I was going to give the book 2 Stars for being so boring, but since the ending was a bit more interesting, I brought it up to 3 Stars.