Cathy Rentzenbrink

This is a moving, funny and joyous exploration of how books can change the course of your life, packed with recommendations from one reader to another

The Comfort and Joy of Books

Dear Reader

Helen Borham

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Last Act of Love, Dear Reader is the ultimate love letter to reading and to finding the comfort and joy in stories. 'Exquisite' - Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups 'A warm, unpretentious manifesto for why books matter’ - Sunday Express Growing up, Cathy Rentzenbrink was rarely seen without her nose in a book and read in secret long after lights out. When tragedy struck, it was books that kept her afloat. Eventually they lit the way to a new path, first as a bookseller and then as a writer. No matter what the future holds, reading will always help. A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how books can change the course of your life, packed with recommendations from one reader to another.

The moving and joyous story of how books can change your life, packed with recommendations from one reader to another

Victoria Justice

One of the most lovely books I’ve read in a while.

You will have missed out if you don’t read this. 

Seher Mohsin

One of the most lovely books I’ve read in a while.

You will have missed out if you don’t read this. 

I enjoyed this memoir and hearing about the authors life, particularly her career. I loved the way she combined this with books that she had read and loved too. However because I am a different age to the author these choices didn’t resonate with me as much as I would have liked. That said it was still an engaging and interesting journey

Sarah Ryan

I always adore books about books, books by readers. Readers are a particular species who love nothing better than finding another reader in life and find it hard to understand why not everyone loves to disappear inside books, reread old favourites and stay up far too late to finish just one more chapter. 

Beyond that the author weaves her own story throughout and share how books have been her constant and her lifeline throughout the ups and down of her life. 

“Eventually I realized that these ups and downs were affirming my thesis as I followed the same pattern of getting depressed, retreating back into my old favourites and then feeling well enough to re-engage. Finally I worked out that this project, and possibly all my endeavours, could be summed up as: ‘Life hurts; books help.’”

As someone who has struggled with difficult times and depression this made me feel more seen than anything else I’ve ever read. Life does hurt and books do help. And reading old favourites really does help build you back up to feeling well enough to take part in real life.

Thank you Cathy Rentzenbrink for writing this book.

Grace O'Callaghan

*4.5 ⭐️

“The very way that fiction works – the process of conflict and resolution at the heart of every story – means that novels are full of people encountering challenging situations and, usually, surviving them. Books are a masterclass in how to carry on.”

Dear Reader follows the author as she reflects on how books have always been a part of her life. How they got her through some rough times and then gives us some recommendations that correspond with the chapter.

I couldn’t stop listening to this one. I was expecting to love it, but not quite so much. The way Rentzenbrink was able to make me connect with her in such a short amount of time was remarkable. As much as I loved all the talk of novels what binds the book together is the author’s story.

Something that stood out to me was her talking about her work helping to create books for prisoners that don’t know how to read. Reading is something that I take for granted and this just really reminded me to be grateful for that. It has inspired me to look into helping people to read as 1 in 6 adults in Ireland can’t read properly.

Overall, I’d highly recommend to any book lovers that are wanting to dive into memoirs a bit more. I think I have the potential to give this 5 stars upon reread but I listened to it as an audiobook so I didn’t manage to catch all the book recommendations and all the quotes I wanted to.

"I believe this is one of the great powers of literature: to comfort, to console, to allow a tiny oasis of - not exactly pleasure, but perhaps we could think of it as respite, when we feel we might otherwise drown in a sea of pain."

I picked this book up as a quick read to end the year, and it was the perfect read for me.

In Dear Reader, we are taken on a book lovers journey from an awkward child "who reads too much" to a wife, mother and writer, and how books guided her through each stage of joys and woes and helped her cope when nothing else could.

I especially enjoyed the chapters with her book recommendations for each stage of her life she describes.

Maria Amaro

He tardado en leerlo, pero sé que lo he terminado en el momento adecuado. 

Justo tenía un bloqueo lector del que "Dear Reader" me ha sacado con sus últimas páginas. Ha sido increíble conocer la historia de Cathy, descubrirla a través de los libros que ha leído y que le han enseñado tanto, a través de su trabajo como librera en Hatchards o en Waterstones... Ha sido un viaje precioso. Es una lectura tan dulce, pero a la vez real y cautivadora. 

Ojalá haberlo comprado en una librería de Londres, y no por internet. Las librerías españolas tendrían que aprender que los libros sobre libros también tienen su importancia y que, incluso, pueden generar más interés que otros. Ahí lo dejo.

Joanna Rosenwink 

Reading this memoir about the role that books and reading have played in the author’s life was wonderful and something I could completely relate to. Cathy writes with passion about how books have helped her through tragedies which was very moving. Interspersing chapters of her life with books that were important at that time or that she now relates with the period gave the book a deeper structure and meaning than some similar books I have read. I hadn’t previously realised that she was also a Waterstones bookseller for several years so it was great for me to read about her experiences with the business.

Many of the books she writes about are ones that I love, but I’ve also added a few more to my ‘to be read’ list from her recommendations.

A love letter to books and reading, this is a must read for any fellow bookworm or bookseller.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for proving me with a review copy.

Dear Reader The Comfort and Joy of Books

Reviews

Highlights