Portobello Book Blog

Lost for Words is one of my favourite books ever and Loveday is one of my favourite characters so I was really excited to find out that Stephanie Butland was writing another book set in the Lost For Words bookshop. I have been totally engrossed in Found in a Bookshop for the past few days and I loved it. “Sometimes a book will sing to you. Sing to your soul… your being.” This is one such book for me.

About the book

Loveday Cardew’s beloved Lost for Words bookshop, along with the rest of York, has fallen quiet. At the very time when people most need books to widen their horizons, or escape from their fears, or enhance their lives, the doors are closed. Then the first letter comes.

Rosemary and George have been married for fifty years. Now their time is running out. They have decided to set out on their last journey together, without ever leaving the bench at the bottom of their garden in Whitby. All they need is someone who shares their love of books.

Suddenly it’s clear to Loveday that she and her team can do something useful in a crisis. They can recommend books to help with the situations their customers find themselves in: fear, boredom, loneliness, the desire for laughter and escape.

And so it begins.

My Thoughts

“To a book lover, a bookshop is not a place in the world, it is the world. You know… You know that books are safety and escape and wisdom and peace and things that can get you through”

The Lost for Words bookshop is indeed a place of safety, escape and wisdom for its owner Loveday and her staff Kelly and Madison. It’s their story as much as the story of the books they recommend to their customers. At the beginning of book they are a bit lost as the shop is closed due to Covid restrictions and Loveday is worried that not only might the business fail but that if it does, she will be failing its previous owner, her great friend Archie.

Found in a Bookshop will bring back memories of the darkest hours of lockdown. This is a time when, pre-vaccine, people who caught Covid were extremely ill, when NHS staff were exhausted, when other key workers such as supermarket workers and public transport staff daily put themselves at risk and when in general, most people were genuinely terrified. Some people might find this difficult to read about particularly if they were separated from loved ones for a period of time or if they lost someone, whether to Covid or another illness, at this time.

I loved the idea of the book pharmacy, about writing prescriptions or recommendations of books to help the people who contact the shop. I have read many of them while others have piqued my interest. I had a little smile when Flowers for Mrs Harris by Paul Gallico was mentioned, as I’m currently listening to that on audiobook.

There are so many characters you get to know and care about in this book. Some are fleeting characters who you only meet once as they email about their situation and look for a book prescription. Others flit in and out of the book and we get to know their situations and the unique pressures facing each of them at that time. The stand out characters are retired teachers George and Rosemary whose email to the Lost for Words bookshops starts off the book pharmacy idea. We follow their life-long love story from when they first meet and theirs is a really poignant part of the book.

I’ve never noted so many quotations from a book in a long time. There was a lot in the story which spoke to me. I liked the idea that when you read the first sentence of any book, you are completing the author’s work.

Found in a Bookshop is a book that will break your heart and put it back together in the way only a book can. Stephanie Butland knows how to put her readers’ emotions through the wringer. Found in a Bookshop is a gorgeous read about courage, loss and love, a true love letter to the healing power of books and reading.

My grateful thanks to Isabelle at Headline for inviting me to take part in the
blogtour and for providing a copy of the book for review.
Found in a Bookshop is available now from, well, all good bookshops really!

About the Author

Stephanie Butland is the author of many novels, including beloved bookshop tale ‘Lost For Words’.

Stephanie lives in Northumberland, close to the place where she grew up. She writes in a studio at the bottom of her garden, and loves being close to the sea. She’s thriving after cancer.

Twitter: @under_blue_sky

Instagram: @stephaniebutlandauthor

http://www.stephaniebutlandauthor.com