After many, many months of researching, living, and writing about bibliotherapy (which was an incredibly, pleasurable experience!) my new book, Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading is almost ready! In the early proofreading stages, I can't wait to get it out to you all. Just sharing the cover here, but it's also available for pre-order at any of the bookstores you shop at: Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/.../bijal-shah/9780349436036 Bookshop.org: https://uk.bookshop.org/.../bibliotherapy-bijal-shah/7271857 Amazon: https://amzn.to/3r2apSx It will be published on 15th ..read more

There are many definitions of bibliotherapy used in the past: “Bibliotherapy is the use of books to help people solve problems” (Prater, Johnstun, Dyches & Johnstun, 2006; Jackson, 2006).  “[The] use of selected reading material as therapeutic adjuvant in medicine and psychiatry; and, guidance in the solution of personal problems through directed reading” (Jackson, 2006).  “therapeutic reading in which children find duplications of their own problems and observe how children similar to themselves face their difficulties” (Jack & Ronan, 2008). "Bibliotherapy is thought ..read more

As we pray for peace in Palestine and Israel, and the wider Middle East, at the request of a couple of people today, if there were only 3 books I would recommend you read on this conflict these would be it: 1. A Peace to End All Peace by David Fromkin - the book that helped me truly understand how this conflict began and the development of the Balfour Declaration in 1917 when the British were dividing up the Middle East. An insight read, I'd say it was the godfather of all books on how the Middle East came to be following the unravelling of the Ottoman Empire.  2. Black Wave by Kim Gha ..read more

    Best Literary Fiction Books of 2023 so far… The Covenant of Water (Literary Fiction) by Abraham Verghese The Covenant of Water is a sweeping novel by talented novelist Abraham Verghese that spans three generations of a family in Kerala, India. The family is cursed with a strange affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning. The matriarch of the family, Big Ammachi, witnesses the effects of this curse firsthand as she watches her loved ones die. She also witnesses the changes that come to Kerala as the country modernizes. The novel is a moving story of l ..read more

This Black History Month (US), we celebrate the work of 20th century pioneering bibliotherapist, Sadie Peterson Delaney. Her work and dedication to bibliotherapy remain an invaluable contribution in this space. Here are some historical facts about her❤ Delaney started her library career at the New York Public Library in the 1920s. Delaney's extensive use of bibliotherapy in her work involved selecting reading material to treat patients and readers. She believed in giving readers individual attention, understanding their interests, pairing them with books that would engage them. To choose app ..read more

We're almost at the end of 2022, here are the books we've loved this year across a variety of genres from literary fiction, true crime, memoir and romance, mystery and thrillers, LGBTQIA+, political and business books and travel and cookbooks. Here are our final 40 books we loved this year. Any others that should be here? Do share what you loved this year! Best Literature and Fiction Books of 2022  The Candy House (Literary Fiction) by Jennifer Egan Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan manages to dazzle us again with this deeply thoughtful n ..read more

  Ann Dix is a freelance dramatherapist, supervisor, writer and trainer. She has worked with children, schools and families for over 30 years. Ann has developed a programme for children who have experienced domestic abuse, based around her book, Little Mouse Finds a Safe Place (2012) published by Worth Publishing. Ann has published several papers and is currently Deputy Editor of the Dramatherapy Journal. She is co-editor of Dramatherapy with Children, Young People and Schools: Enabling Creativity, Sociability, Communication and Learning (2012) published by Routledge. Ann, welcome to our ..read more

         .                          Julia Lee Barclay-Morton, PhD is an award-winning writer/director, whose writing has been produced and published internationally; her first book, a hybrid collection, THE MORTALITY SHOT is out now with Liquid Cat Books and is the reason for this blog post, for each literary piece within the collection is a meditation on grief and loss, which I found incredibly cathartic and as a result had to pin down Julia's thoughts, reflections and wisdom when it came to these t ..read more

Neha Swaminathan is an author, certified breath coach and the co-founder ofFlip and Flow', an emotional well-being brand that creates and delivers easy-to-implement mindfulness tools for its clients.  When I first met Neha and she introduced me to Flip and Flow's mindful meditation and mantra book for kids aptly titled ""Once Upon A Breath....In A Magical Forest", I was stunned by it's creativity, design and ability to engage children into a delightful series of short breathing exercises, meditations and affirmations. I had to get the low-down on how her and her c ..read more

Halfway through 2022, here are the bestselling books of the year so far across a variety of genres from Literary Fiction, True Crime, Business Books to Memoir and Romance. We'll be adding to this list for the final 40 books we loved this year so watch this space. Any others that should be here? Feel free to comment below. Best Literature and Fiction Books of 2022 so far… The Candy House (Literary Fiction) by Jennifer Egan Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan manages to dazzle us again with this deeply thoughtful novel about the meaning of memory and the search for privacy and aut ..read more