“Whatever your ailment, our prescriptions are simple: a novel (or two), to be read at regular intervals.”

Finding the right book at the right time — isn’t that what we all want? It certainly is one of the central obsessions in my world. That’s why I’m delighted to discover The Novel Cure, which provides 751 suggestions for novels that can “cure” certain problems. The premise is that reading these works of fiction can be therapeutic.  This handbook is organized by categories such as: feeling like an idiot, zestlessness, getting dumped, being a goody-goody, and falling out with your best friend. Along with titles of books, the authors dispense quirky advice, humor, and a sense of camaraderie.

Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin, The Novel Cure (New York, Penguin Books, 2013), xii.