Found in a Bookshop

by Stephanie Butland

They both have the same quote from Mansfield Park tattooed around their left wrists: ‘Every moment has its pleasures and its hope.’

We love nature, and things that make us laugh, and old-fashioned romances. We believe

in good food and fresh air and the smell of the sea. We spent our careers as teachers and we don’t have any family of our own. We do crosswords in the evening and our garden is our pride and joy.

puts four books into Kelly’s hands. Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers, Dear Life by Alice Munro, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume, and The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers.

The List of my Desires by Grégoire Delacourt. A dressmaker in a small French town wins the lottery, but she’s not sure if she wants her life to change.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark. A teacher exerts a lot of influence at a girls’ school between the wars. This is funny and chilling and I envy anyone who hasn’t read it yet. Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore. Hard to describe this one – it’s a sort of

historical murder mystery/psychological thriller, and I loved it. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Wilkie Collins pretty much invented detective fiction. This is twisty and absorbing without being terrifying!

into the YA corridor of shelves and pulls out Solitaire by Alice Oseman. ‘Here’s one for you.’

And if you liked The Handmaid’s Tale I think you’ll like Never Let Me Go. That’s Kazuo Ishiguro.’

It’s the latest one for Rosemary and George: it contains I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, Atonement by Ian McEwan and The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. She’s not sure why she chose them, except that no one could ever dislike the first, the second is compelling, and the third makes her feel warm just thinking about it.

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth,

Transcription by Kate Atkinson. The

story of a woman who starts her career as a transcriptionist (is that the word?!) at MI5, and gets entangled with spies and Nazis. It’s both funny and absorbing. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh. This is set in the early 1800s, in the run-up to the First Opium War, and – please, just read it. It’s so good! Obviously, it falls outside your father’s areas of interest, but it’s all about the strange ways events and people connect and influence each other.

loco parentis,

?

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. I think you might like this for its complexity and drama. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë. A woman moves to a remote manor-house and seems happy to become a recluse. Some argue that this is the first feminist novel. It’s my favourite of all the Brontë novels – it deals with hard things (alcoholism, violence, reputation) so well. Though I also wish everyone would just leave the heroine alone.

Nella Last’s War: The Second World War Diaries of ‘Housewife, 49’ by Nella Last.

You may have seen the TV film dramatisation of this – I remember Archie raved about it, and he said he knew Clifford Last, the sculptor, Nella’s son. Nella Last wrote a diary for the Mass Observation project, starting in 1939 and going on until she died in the 1960s. I think it was around 12 million words in total. Nathan’s mum gave this to me as it’s her favourite book. I read it to be polite, to be honest, and I was going to do about fifty pages to get the gist and leave it. But I’ve never read anything quite like it. It’s very everyday and at the same time completely absorbing, and it made me think about how much I take for granted.

The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby. This is another books-within-books one, and I think you’ll appreciate the way it takes art seriously. It’s a novel about Murasaki Shikibu (a real person), a really good read, and I think you will want to talk about it, too. (I always get the conversation on to books if I’m not sure what to say.)

And finally, Flowers for Mrs Harris by Paul Gallico. It’s about a London cleaning-lady who saves up to buy a Dior dress. I think you’ll love it. (I really can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t.)

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, and Euphoria by Lily King. ‘Here you go,’ she says. ‘One’s about loving someone for your whole life, one’s the wisest book I know, one’s about being ambushed, and one’s about falling in love in bizarre circumstances.’

And I think it’s possible we’ve all overdone the things that used to make us feel special, too. You know how three days after Christmas, all you want to eat is an orange and a bowl of porridge? I think we’re all a bit like that right now.

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. I read this when it first came out and it gave me a strange feeling of contentment. I know that sounds odd. It did make me laugh, but more than that it made me think. And we all have a lot of thinking time to fill, right?! Mr Fox by Helen Oyeyemi. Impossible to explain, and guaranteed to make

you think. It’s like reading a puzzle, and a novel about the nature of inspiration might be something you’ll enjoy.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

What’s your favourite book to read

when you are sad? What’s your favourite book for comfort? What’s the book that’s guaranteed to make you laugh? Which book has stayed with you the longest? Which book kept you awake at night? Which book do you wish more people knew about? Which book changed the way you think about the world?

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo. I really, truly couldn’t put

this down. I can’t comment on whether it’s the right thing for you right now, of course, but it’s been described as a choral love song to modern Black womanhood in Britain, and I thought that might appeal. Days Without End by Sebastian Barry. This follows two young men, one an Irish immigrant, who become soldiers in the Native American and Civil Wars in America. It’s one of the most moving things I’ve ever read. It has themes of identity and belonging but most of all it’s just – human.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. I loved this. It’s an

American novel about a young woman who uses the language and meaning of flowers to create meaningful arrangements and bouquets. There’s a companion non-fiction volume about the Victorian language of flowers, by the same author. The Bees by Laline Paull. Set in a beehive, and about bees. Actual bees. It’s very hard to explain why it’s compelling, but it is.

Homer’s Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson. Not only is this a joyful and vivid translation, but it’s, literally, quite the journey . . . Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, translated by Geoffrey Trousselot, is set in a coffee shop in Tokyo, where it’s possible to go back in time. I read it before the pandemic began and I can’t stop thinking about it.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. The

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. This has themes of sex, gender and androgyny, but more importantly, it’s an absolutely involving

The ‘Graceling Realm’ novels by Kristin Cashore. This series is set in a world where some people are born with Graces – unique talents. The characters are vivid and kickass, and the relationships feel so authentic. I wish I’d read it as a teenager.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. A sort of soap opera in space. Everyone I’ve recommended this to loves it.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Twisty and gripping. You’ll have to swear not to give away the ending until you’ve all read it!

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (This is one of the ones we chose for Rosemary and George) How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness And these for your mum. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Room by Emma Donoghue Yes Please by Amy Poelher Take care, and I’ll see you soon. K x

Dracula by Bram Stoker. I’m a fan of this, though I only read it to begin

with because I grew up in Whitby. You might think you know the story, but the original novel is really something. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Creepy rather than terrifying, but it will definitely distract you from the world as it is at the moment. The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker. Not horror either, but definitely creepy and twisty. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Morena-Garcia. Clever, spooky and moody with a couple of really weird and scary bits . . .

Kelly’s picks: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Apparently the best ghost story ever. ‘The Call Of Cthulhu’ and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft. Horror writers aspire to be ‘Lovecraftian’, so that tells you a lot. Pet Sematary by Stephen King. According to Kelly, a B-movie horror in book form. Apparently this is a good thing. Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Don’t be put off by the fact that this is ostensibly a children’s book. It’s really scary.

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes. Not horror, but crime, with a mind-bending quality that will definitely distract you from the here and

I’m going to put a ‘Not feeling up to much? Neither did these characters’ section on the website. There’s a list below. Let me know which books you’d like, and whether you’d like them delivered or to collect them, and we’ll go from there. Stay well, Kelly The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. Follows one woman through her, objectively, not very interesting life. But the sort of read you don’t forget. It’s ten years since I read this and I still

Stoner by John Williams is entirely different, but has the same vibe. It’s the telling of a whole, unremarkable life, but it’s compelling too. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Three generations of a Korean family living everyday, and often difficult, lives. It gripped me, and I really related to it, even though I have nothing at all in common with the lives of the characters.

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym. An older novel but such a beautiful read, about the kind of women who get utterly overlooked by the world. If you haven’t read Barbara Pym before, beware – this novel was my gateway drug to everything she ever wrote. Which would give you a Lockdown Achievement . . .! Midnight Chicken by Ella Risbridger. Not a novel, but a cookery book – the recipes are great (I’ve made the Paris cookies and the fish finger sandwiches, and they are both delicious) but more than that, it’s a beautiful story of love, loss and healing, told through food.

I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell. This is non-fiction, and it’s excellent. The sub-title is Seventeen Brushes With Death and, counter-intuitively, I think it’s perfect pandemic reading. (It doesn’t feature any pandemics.)

The Professor and Lorraine: Books for a Neighbourly Support Bubble Michael Bond, Paddington Bear June Brown, From the Year Dot Claudia Roden, A Book of Middle Eastern Food Mo: Books for a Person Who Misses Small, Inconsequential

Conversations Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove Christina Baker Kline, A Piece of the World Grégoire Delacourt, The List of my Desires George Eliot, Middlemarch Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Bryony: Books for a Sleepless Crime Fan Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White Helen Dunmore, Birdcage Walk Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl C. J. Sansom, Dissolution

Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time Madison’s Mum: Tall Hats, Big Dresses and Horses (And Some for When You’re Furious) Maeve Binchy, Circle of Friends Jilly Cooper, Riders Emma Donoghue, Room Georgette Heyer, The Grand Sophy Celeste Ng, Everything I Never Told You Amy Poelher, Yes Please

Madison: Not Too Many Wizards Maya Angelou, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea Caitlin Moran, How to Build a Girl Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go Alice Oseman, Solitaire J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle Sarah Waters, Fingersmith