Reading Gregory: A novella

by Kay Keppler

Annie Klizinski is crushed. Her bookstore has been losing money for more than two years, and finally she must face the bitter she has to close the store. But then her best friend gives her $100 to send a box of books to a sick child, who loves all the selections. The gift box inspires hospital visitor Gregory Lovington to order a $100 book box for himself. He wants, he says, books on happiness. Charmed and amused by her selections, he recommends her “personalized book box service” to his friends and colleagues. Annie fends off potential—and potentially disastrous—occupants for her store while she tries to get her new book box customers just to tell her specifically what titles they want. To her surprise, she’s selling more books than ever. And somewhat to her shock, she’s sharing increasingly personal emails with Greg Lovington. Until one day he walks into the store, and suddenly the future looks like it might be fun again.

33 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 16, 2017

About the author

Kay Keppler likes happy endings, whether they’re in the fiction she writes, the fiction she edits, or the fiction she reads. After all, an unhappy outcome is what the newspaper is for! Her characters are resourceful to a fault, hard-working to the extreme, and loyal to the end—qualities she absorbed growing up in a small town in Wisconsin. Resisting the character-building aspects of deep snow and cold, she now lives in California and spends her time creating happy endings.

You can reach her at
kaykeppler.com, kaykeppler@yahoo.com, @KayKeppler, or facebook.com/kaykeppler.

Reviews

[Beth Barany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short story, full of hope. While not a romance in the traditional sense, it does end with a sense of a happily-for-now that had this reader wanting more. Please! I also loved how this story is a sort of love letter to reading and bookstores. Thanks Ms. Keppler for this wonderful and inspiring story about the power of reading and books. And love.