Last week we had a lovely event in the library to celebrate books that make you feel good. Over the last year, staff and volunteers in the library have been gathering their ‘recommended reads’ to share with other women, and this event gave us the chance to show off these wonderful novels and books of poetry, and encourage women to borrow them.
The concept of bibliotherapy – that books have the power to heal – goes back to ancient times. In Greek times, library doors were carved with the saying ‘place of healing for the soul’. What a great way to think about your reading! Whilst we enjoyed a cuppa and some cake, we had a great discussion about why fiction and poetry in particular are so helpful to our wellbeing. Here are some of the things that came up in our discussion when we thought about the power of imaginative literature:
‘It’s escapism – people have different lives and you get caught up in the intrigue’
‘It’s comforting to read about others going through the same situation as you. You can identify with the characters’
‘It’s inspiring to read about people overcoming difficulties. It makes you realise you can overcome things in your life too’
‘Writers can capture a moment or a feeling with beautiful language. They can make even mundane events beautiful’
‘It can help you reminisce about your experiences’
‘It can be a great way to release emotions’
We ended the session with a few clips of Jackie Kay reading some of her particularly funny poems – Old Tongue and Maw Broon goes for colonic irrigation. It was great to hear lots of laughter in the library!
Our Reading for Wellbeing collection is very diverse – we have poetry by Liz Lochhead, short stories by American writer Lorrie Moore and Marina Lewycka’s comic novel, ‘A short history of tractors in Ukranian’.
So if you’d like to be inspired, empowered, comforted or simply need a good laugh, why not pop into the library and check out our collection? And if you’d like to suggest your ‘feel good’ read, Wendy, our Librarian would love to hear from you. Get in touch with her at wendy.kirk@womenslibrary.org.uk
