The Novel Cure by Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin

Looking for a great gift for the book lover in your life? Try The Novel Cure (and please go visit their brilliant website) The premise is quite simple really, for every ailment there is a cure, and quite often that cure can be a book. Of course, it has to be the right book for the ailment. That is what bibliotherapy is all about. What friends Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin have done is catalog a wealth of ailments in the style of a medical dictionary, and then recommended at least one or more book to put the sufferer back on the mend.

In addition to being quite useful, The Novel Cure is also immensely amusing. They have cures for your run of the mill ills like constipation (Shantaram), they also include some more obscure ailments such as Being Very English and Chasing After A Woman Even Though She’s a Nun. As would be expected the authors include tried and true classics such as Great Expectation and Anna Karenina, which appears to be a cure-all of a book. But they have also listed a surprising number of newer works that have come out within the last year.

Who would like this book? This book is for your book loving hypochondriac. There is nothing so pleasing as sitting down and discovering that some of your favorite novels can help you deal with your aging parents (The Corrections and Family Matters). Book lovers love nothing more than reading about their favorite books and giving a knowing smile when they discover that they have indeed already read 7 of the ten books recommended to lower high blood pressure.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss.