Peter and Archie both reach out to Nina to reassure her after the debacle with Lydia. Nina goes to lunch with Archie, and they discuss their parents. Archie admits that meeting Nina has “kind of messed up a lot of what I took for granted” (168). He also admits to experiencing anxiety just as Nina does. When he suggests that Nina will meet someone with whom to develop a romance, she says, “I’ll stick with my fictional love life, thanks” (172). As she prepares for the next book club meeting, Nina jokes to herself that she is living the dream.

On Thursday, May 16, Nina follows her usual routine of scheduling absolutely nothing for the evening; in fact, she writes “nothing” in her planner and is “fiercely defensive of her nothing” (175). When Tom enters the store and invites her on a date, Nina insists that she is busy for weeks. Polly warns Nina that life is unpredictable and observes that Nina is being inflexible.

Nina contemplates her bookshelves and her collection, and reflects on how important public libraries are to her. Being surrounded by books makes her feel as though she has companions, so her Thursday reading night is a ritual for her.