Found in a Bookshop: The perfect Autumn read - heart-warming and unforgettable

Product Information

Kelly also comes up with the idea of a ‘book pharmacy’, prescribing books to help people as they deal with problems, whether or not related to the pandemic.

Along the journey there is kindness and thoughtfulness, there are situations that arise that overcome preconceptions and finding commonality along with plenty of honesty. I was surprised at the number of books I’d already read, but even more delighted with the number of books I haven’t even heard of. It’s the state of mind and heart of the person reading it that will make the book grow into something greater than the words printed in it. Everything Stephanie Butland wrote about about that period was so relatable, even though the story was set in York - thank you.

This beautifully written novel is a tribute to all independent booksellers who have always been creatively bringing readers and books together to comfort, educate, transform, escape, remember, hope, and dream. However this just left many underdeveloped characters, when she had written compelling main protagonists to begin with. Others flit in and out of the book and we get to know their situations and the unique pressures facing each of them at that time. Great books recommended and the list at the end is great which means more to add to my tbr pile and some I already have.

This lady Rosemary and her husband George are retired, reclusive now due to the circumstances of the world and reading to each other in their garden is a joy. There are a real range of reasons that people turn to books when they are compulsorily stuck at home from domestic abuse through loneliness, insecurity, love stories and the inevitable deaths from COVID.I loved this book, I really enjoyed the interwoven stories ranging from books and pandemics to escaping previous lives and relationships. There’s a woman who’s just escaped from an abusive husband…and there’s a moody teenager who takes what seems to be an irrational dislike to Kelly. Yet again Stephanie Butland has hit upon a wonderful idea and has created some lovely characters in these vignettes, all of whom have a different issue.

There is a great deal of talking about, loss in all its forms and I was very upset at times during the book. I work in the library and read over 100 books a year in various genres but still would not be so presumptuous as to think I could recommend books to people I don’t know. I was a bit surprised at what appear to be authorial asides about books and reading, but it works - as do the short chapters and the book recommendations. The idea is a success and they soon receive many letters from people requesting books to help them with the challenges they are facing during the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic. There are lots of excellent book recommendations scattered around in there too - frankly, loads and my to be read list has increased greatly, which is always a bonus.

A cosy story about the joy of stories, not only the books that are recommended for people who ask but the lives of the different people who receive them.