By participating in the Kindle App Challenge this first Qtr, I completed 3 books for the month of January.

Of course, this is the pandemic- we meet people who are struggling with COVID, with isolation, with abuse.The idea about the book pharmacy and using books to fill the void whether we’re in a pandemic or just feeling a little lost in the world. Stephanie has a great knack of weaving all the complexities of 2020-22 together - the loneliness, deaths, long covid, relationship breakdowns, work precariousness, and even including the BLM and Trans rights issues. Wasn’t sure how I’d go delving into the pandemic… yet it was a joy to read, as are all of Stephanie Butland’s magical books. 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. 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.

Fell in love with the characters and their stories that happened in a time that I turned to books as well. All in all, I enjoyed the book and look forward to exploring the reading suggestions at the back of the book. While fiction, it is packed with the realities of what real people encountered, suffered through, triumphed over. I adored this novel but I cautiously recommend it, as I am aware that the Covid-19 pandemic is ongoing and a novel about it may be triggering for some people. Though at times this was a bit real and hard to read about Covid pandemic times again, this was such a gorgeous read.

Aside from writing, she works as a speaker and trainer, and she works with charities to help raise awareness and money in the hope that cancer will soon be about as scary as a wart.

Along the journey there is kindness and thoughtfulness, there are situations that arise that overcome preconceptions and finding commonality along with plenty of honesty. 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.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. I had a little smile when Flowers for Mrs Harris by Paul Gallico was mentioned, as I’m currently listening to that on audiobook. Stephanie lives near the sea in the north-east of England, with her husband Alan and Harris the greyhound.