"Discover the life-changing magic of books. Books, stories, literature connect us to others. They help us connect the dots in our own stories and ultimately hold mirrors up so that we can truly see ourselves and be understood."
Hi! I'm Bijal, a book curator and bibliotherapist. I'm also a freelance journalist, a writer, a poet, a counsellor, a publisher and a voracious reader. I've spent half my life in libraries and bookstores. My book recommendations have featured in the Guardian, Marie Claire, NBC News, Asian Voice and various other publications. My personalised reading service is unique and intended to save you time and money so that you can focus on what you love most: reading.
Time's precious - on average we may only read 2000 books in our lifetime and for some people it might be a fraction of that. Should we then focus on reading books that will help us, entertain us or benefit us in some way? Should we be more mindful and strategic about what we read?
My service focuses on creating a truly personalised book prescription (detailed, tailored book recommendations) for my clients based on questions that explore your interests, needs and circumstances and your reading habits. The book prescriptions and book boxes can be gifted too and make a great gift for any book lover.
Each book box comes with 3 hand-picked books and a gift card, whilst the book prescription includes a minimum of 7 - 10 book recommendations with details of the book and how they might help you. The latter is a prescription-only service with books not included.
From a young age, books were my saviour, soothing my soul during difficult transitions, family conflicts, moving countries, childhood anxieties, teenage angst, complicated relationships and navigating the competitive world of work. They have given me so much and I want to give back and find the right book apt for a specific moment in your life when you need it the most.
Trawling the internet, bookstores or libraries to discover books that you may or may not enjoy can be time-consuming and fails to consider all the possible books within a given genre or category. A considered and customised book prescription or book box is likely to be more effective and beneficial.
I also offer bibliotherapy sessions for individuals and couples, which includes unlimited email or text support for two weeks following our session. Prefer to self-prescribe or interested in bibliotherapy and mental health? Check out our online course that serves as a comprehensive guide on the practice of bibliotherapy using case studies of readers’ self-transformation through life-changing experiences of literature.
You can find out a little bit more about me here including my qualifications. I also give out my best content and writing free which you can check out here on the blog or the free A-Z Book Prescriptions for Adults and Children. Feel free to also check out my paid, published work: 15-minute non-fiction reads, literary guides and literary travel guides. Also the FAQs are worth a read too.
I love a challenge, so please send me your most perplexing book dilemmas — I can’t wait to dive in and find the perfect book(s) for you.
Bijal
PS Audible is one of our sponsors. Being a mother, I mostly listen to audiobooks - it's the easiest way to keep up-to-date on all my reading. Audible have an amazing 30-day free trial where you get two free audiobooks. You can cancel anytime if it's not for you. If it is it's £7.99 (UK) or $14.95 (US) monthly which includes one free audiobook every month.
Strategic and prioritised reading that's relevant and beneficial.
Prioritised reading saves you time and money so that you can focus on reading books that are helpful and beneficial.
Personalised to suit your needs.
Answer a few simple questions about your current situation, needs, objectives, interests as well as reading habits. This is used to prepare a highly tailored and personalised set of book recommendations that can include fiction, non-fiction, poetry and philosophy depending on your requirements. These can be classics or modern literature, best-sellers or little-known but powerful books, authored by a diverse set of writers.
Forever free!
Don't forget to check out Book Therapy's free book recommendations titled the A - Z of Book Prescriptions (both fiction and non-fiction) which suggest books based on your existing life situation (e.g. anxiety, job change, relationship heartache) as well as interests (e.g memoir, historical fiction, non-fiction etc). There's also a children's reading list: Children's A - Z of Book Prescriptions. Also feel free to check out the blog for more literary gems.
And if you're after some book inspiration you'll love our Book Quotes!
Therapeutic Fiction on Prescription — A Haitian Bibliotherapy Collection on Love, Loss and Grief
5 Wonderful Books to Help Your Children Through the Pandemic
40 Books from 2020 You Need to Read in 2021
Book Therapy - the Modern Day Version of Bibliotherapy
Book therapy or bibliotherapy leverages the power of reading to support better mental health and wellbeing. From the ancient Greeks to modern day millennials, reading literature has often been recognised as a therapeutic medium with curative effects that harness the power of creative storytelling, poetry, novellas, personal development and self-help books.
Here at Book Therapy we offer free book prescriptions for adults and children. Ordered in A - Z format, these recommended reading lists, 'what-to-read' digests, literary remedies and literary travel guides (what I fondly term "book prescriptions") have been hand-picked and collated for everything under the sun - whether you're looking for something therapeutic or for personal interest, these book recommendations are here to inspire, uplift and engage.
And if that's not enough, we also curate personalised reading lists (which can be for therapy or personal interest), offer bibliotherapy sessions for both individuals and couples, literary afternoon tea sessions and mini-bibliotherapy sessions at private parties, weddings and other events.
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