I first read about the concept of Bibliotherapy a few years ago from an excellent New Yorker article, Can Reading Make You Happier? Short answer: yes. Long answer: heck yes – and even more efficiently with targeted readings.

Enter Bibliotherapy, which uses literature, poetry, and philosophy as mental health therapy.

A witty DIY approach can be had in paperback by avid readers Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin: The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure What Ails You.

If a more intensive therapy is indicated, or if you’re in need of the perfect gift for your favorite reader, you can book a private session with Berthoud and Eldurkin via The School of Life in exchange for 100 British Pounds. Because, as they note, “With a new book published every 30 seconds, it can be hard to know where to start, but life’s too short for bad books.”

– Kelley, McIntyre’s Bookseller