What is Bibliotherapy?

As Book Riot describes it: "The Guardian reported recently that some doctors in England are set to begin prescribing books instead of drugs for their patients with mild-to-moderate mental health concerns, so why not have someone whose job it is to prescribe books for whatever ails you, be it physical or existential? I suppose you might already have access to this kind of service if you are particularly close to a bookseller or librarian (or if you have poor boundaries and tell anyone who will listen about your issues–speaking of, there’s a book for that). How great would it be if you could make an appointment or have a regular date with your bibliotherapist where you could dish about your mood, your travel plans, the annoying thing your husband is doing lately, your recent bout of insomnia, and the song that won’t get out of your head, and they would prescribe the perfect book to make you happy again?"

This is what I propose to do for you, my dear readers. Contact me (see the form in the sidebar) with your stories, problems, your woes and worries. Where it asks for a name, write any tagline you wish that sums up your message. I will post your message and my reply here on this blog within 24 hours. Please include a preferred format: fiction/non-fiction, poetry, essays, short story. You may also make a note of any type of writing that you absolutely cannot stand to read. PLEASE NOTE: If you accidentally put your real name or any identifying info, I will keep it out of the post and change your name to match your message's content. I will keep everything private to protect your identity. I only want to help you, so here's my promise to never use the knowledge you give me for anything other than bibliotherapy.

I have always sought and found solace in books my whole life. I wish to share that peace and joy with you, my darling fellow readers.

With great love and compassion, best is a book twice read,
Your Bibliotherapist

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Book Review: "I Murdered My Library"

I Murdered My Library (A Kindle Single) by Linda Grant

28 pages, time read: less than an hour

Alright, dearest readers. Time for a book review since no one wants to make use of my singular and lovely services(she passive-aggressively intoned). 

I picked this title up possibly through the wonderful Book Riot people, or maybe through Amazon seeing I was voraciously devouring books about books. It's definitely a book about books, or a little snippet of a book about a woman's life-long love affair and subsequent murder of her own personal collection of books, as the title delightfully suggests. 

Linda Grant quickly entangles us into her own serious problem(that I and many of you probably so well know). She has too many books. Blasphemy, I cry. No such thing! I also have moved back in at my parents' house and my hobby-loving father blesses me with a new bookshelf at least once a year. Toting all those boxes of books to and from my two small and horrid apartments in the span of one torturous year was not fun. So I have slightly felt her pain. Grant speaks of moving from her Tel Aviv quirky multi-story home(had to look up and see what the hell a maisonette actually was.
Its one of those strange modernistic homes that look like it was designed by a strange Wonderland escapee) to a two bedroom flat. This book takes place mostly in England, by the way, for you Brit-ophiles(I think that's a word in pop culture). So there's a multitude of names and words that are more popular over that great pond of the Atlantic than here, so be prepared to be using your Kindle's word-look up tool a lot. What is that thing called? X-Ray? Whatever. I know I'm not the only one who finds it handy, regardless of what it's called.

Ahem. Sorry for the tangent. Grant draws us quickly into reminiscences of her life as an only child(at least until she was 8 and her sister was born, "but by then the habits of solitude were set in the bone."Loc 83) and her preference for quiet days inside with books rather than loud, messy days outside with children she couldn't and didn't want to relate to. I as an only child can definitely relate to her choice. She goes on to bring us through the years of her book affair and the different stages of literature she waded through. Any born reader who has grown up feeling as if "bookshops were temples, places of worship"(Loc. 122) probably has similar memories. She eventually tells us of the heartbreaking self-inflicted pain of downsizing one's library, a pain I pray I never have to endure.

I Murdered My Library is an enjoyable day trip through the 60's to present day of literature, with an author full of quirks and memorable word structure. I'm definitely looking to pick up another, hopefully longer read by her. This one is free through Kindle Unlimited(whoever thought this program up is a very rich god of a human being), or just $2.99 at the moment on Amazon. It is a Kindle Single so it's only available digitally, but its worth it. 

I'll end with her thoughts on a personal library:
I return in memory and imagination, but I return by taking a book down from the shelf, and reading a few pages. That is a library. A full larder for the soul. - Linda Grant

Happy Reading!

Best is a Book Twice Read,
Your Bibliotherapist 
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