I have Rosemary Kaye to thank for introducing me to British author Lucy Mangan. Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives is really about Mangan and how reading shaped her life. Books saw her through her college years, her jobs afterward, introduced her to her husband, saw her through COVID and her dad’s death. The loss of reading time caused some of her two year postpartum depression. While some of those events involved people, Mangan admits she’s an introvert who lives for her books.

“Books bring us joy and comfort all our lives.” That’s the overall theme of this book memoir. It’s filled with Mangan’s comments about books that helped her through various stages of her life. Because it’s written by a British author, I was unfamiliar with many of the books, and other readers probably will be, too. But, I added books to my TBR list, and there’s an extensive list called “Lucy’s Bookshelf” at the end of the book. I dare anyone who reads it not to add a book or two to their piles.

The author, who owns a library of 10,000 books, is now intimidated by the fact she won’t get a chance to read everything in this lifetime. I can identify with that. I was still young when I realized I’d never be able to read all the books in my hometown library because I realized they continued to add new ones. That was once my goal, as it often is for young avid readers.

I identified with Mangan’s comments about her childhood reading, so I’m waiting for a copy of Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading. And, I mourn along with her with this loss. “At some point over the years I had lost the ability, this gift, the mental malleability, the porousness required to be able to open up a book and vanish instantly into it.” I had that. I think the Harry Potter books were the last ones that allowed me to do that, and I was an adult when I read them. But, as a child, I could do that with every book.

I did disagree with the author about a major point. She said “Listening to an audiobook is not reading.” I disagree. I have a nephew who was never a reader of print books, but he’s found his books in audiobooks. He “reads” them all the time. I do agree with her comments about being forced to read books in school, and that it can take away some of the pleasures of books. As a librarian, I’ve seen that in kids who “had” to read books at a certain reading level or from a list. When they reached for a book for pleasure, that was sometimes snatched from them because the book wasn’t on an approved list.

There’s so much meat in this book, and so many titles for future reading. Now, I’m looking forward to the past with Mangan’s earlier book, Bookworm.

Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives by Lucy Mangan. Pegasus Books, 2026. 304p.

FTC Full Disclosure – Library book

EARLY WARNING – There will be other warnings on Thursdays. When we discussed Comfort Reads last Friday, several of you suggested we do that kind of Friday post in the future. I think that’s a great idea, so we’ll do it on the First Friday of the month. On Friday, April 3, we’ll talk about Childhood Favorites I’m lucky. Mangan’s book reminded me of some of my favorites, and I have the feeling Bookworm will remind me of others. You don’t have to participate, but I think it will be fun. Start thinking now! Those childhood favorites made us the readers we are today.