July News: Bibliotherapy, Book Recs & Upcoming Author Events
What is bibliotherapy and how might it help you? Also, book recommendations and where you can find me and my books this summer
Bibliotherapy
Picture this: you step into your counselor’s office, heart pounding, palms damp. You’ve imagined this moment for weeks, wondering what type of invasive questions you’ll be asked or how it will feel to spill all your darkest secrets to a virtual stranger.
But it’s not like that at all.
Instead, you sit with a mug of tea and chat with the counselor about... books.
Does this sound like a bookworm’s fantasy of what mental health counseling could be like? Bibliotherapy may be for you if you’d like a way to work through mental health issues or just the normal stresses of daily life, through literature.
History of Bibliotherapy
When I recently learned about this practice, I thought it must be fresh and new. Otherwise, as a writer and bookworm, I surely would have come across it decades ago.
But, no.
Bibliotherapy is a very old practice, with its roots in ancient Greece. More recently, however, it is used in practices of all sorts: literary groups for prisoners, people who are grieving, or single parents are ways that some bibliotherapy happens. Counselors can also give one-to-one “reading prescriptions” either in-person or in virtual settings.
Officially, to call oneself an accredited bibliotherapist, one must complete a two-year post-graduate program. Unofficially, there is more leeway.
A pastor might recommend that someone they’re counseling read a particular book. Or a librarian might think of a particular title that they think would help a patron. You might recommend a book that helped you through a difficult time to a friend facing her own. These, too, are forms of bibliotherapy.
I plan to write another post diving more deeply into bibliotherapy in the near future. Please let me know if this is something you’re interested in learning more about.
Thriller, Suspense, and Mystery Book Recommendations
Summer is here and the reading is easy . . . I only wish there were more hours to do even more of it!
I mentioned in my recent post about why highly sensitive people (HSPs) are drawn to books. I think this might be more true in the summer. Why?
Because with the warmer weather comes:
Hiking, biking, kayaking, canoeing, walking, and otherwise enjoying nature more
Travel/camping/beach trips
Family and friends’ invitations to parties and get-togethers
Graduations, weddings, anniversaries, reunions, and other celebrations
Projects around the house
All of these things are wonderful, but can also take a lot out of you, particularly if you’re an HSP who is already feeling overloaded with work/family responsibilities.
Enter, fiction reading.
For me, these have been great retreats this summer:
The Housekeeper, by Joy Fielding
Jodi’s mom has Parkinson’s, and so she hires a housekeeper to help her dad out as he’s the full-time caregiver.
Elyse seems perfect—efficient, caring, a fantastic cook, and a capable home manager. She even helps watch Jodi’s kids on occasion.
But all is not as it seems.
As Elyse gains more control in her parents’ household, Jodi begins to fear for her mother’s mental health and her family’s safety.
I plowed through The Housekeeper in just a couple of days. One of the things I appreciated most was how the author used humor—you don’t always get that with a suspense novel, but it was expertly woven into this novel.
The Inmate, by Freida McFadden
Brooke Sullivan is a single mother with a problem—she can’t find a job anywhere as a physician’s assistant. Until that is, she gets a call offering her a position at a local prison.
The next problem? The man Brooke incriminated in a murder investigation as a teenager is incarcerated there. Shane remembers her and has a score to settle.
As Brooke tries to navigate new life in her old hometown, she’s reunited with her best friend, Tim, who insists that Brooke keep herself and her son away from Shane. But is Tim really the honest, helpful, and caring guy he seems to be? Or does he have an ulterior motive?
Like other books by Freida McFadden, this novel was a quick read. Unlike others I’ve read by her, though, this one was predictable. Also, there were points I nearly put it aside because Brooke makes really stupid decisions more than once and misses obvious clues.
While it wasn’t my favorite of this author’s books, it was still entertaining. I also learned more about the prison system, something I’m completely ignorant of. It got some great reviews and ratings on Amazon, so maybe it just wasn’t the best fit for me.
The Rocky Road to Ruin, by Meri Allen
What a treat (pun intended) this cozy mystery was! This is the first in the Ice Cream Shop Mystery Series. In it, Riley Rhodes has returned to her small hometown in Connecticut to attend her best friend’s mother’s funeral.
While there for moral support, Riley is also facing a big change in her life: recently unemployed, she’s scrambling to figure out what’s next for her future. Offering to help run the deceased’s ice cream shop temporarily is one way Riley can give back to a family she loves.
But when her best friend’s brother is found murdered, Riley puts planning her future on hold. She needs to find out who wanted the guy dead and clear her friend’s name. Between scooping up cones and creating sundaes, Riley sleuths her way into a perilous position.
You can check out The Rocky Road to Ruin for yourself if you’re looking for something sweet to read this summer.
Stillwater Lake and Shadow in the Woods were recently part of the Summer Based Book Sale on Substack. This is the first time I’ve participated in the event, and I was blown away to learn that Shadow made it into the Top 25 Books Sold category!
Upcoming Author Events
One of the things I’ve been missing most in the past year or so is meeting readers at book events. Whether at a craft show, book signing, or book store meet-and-greet, spending time talking with other book lovers is something that I really enjoy.
To remedy that, I’m going to be participating in a couple of upcoming author events.
I’m still working out the details, but expect a sighting in Milton, Vermont, sometime soon. I’m also working with some other venues in different towns in the state. I’ll keep you posted in this newsletter as the final details fall into place.
In the meantime, thank you so much for all your support of me and my writing work. I love introducing you to people (characters) through the stories we bring to life together!
If you would, please share this newsletter with a friend who also enjoys suspense/mystery or thriller books, and become a subscriber here on Substack if you haven’t yet.
Until next time. . . happy reading!
-J.P.
J.P. Choquette is the author of creepy books set in Vermont. Atmospheric pageturners, her novels are gothic-inspired and frequently tie in the themes of art, nature, and psychology. Her 11 novels have been downloaded nearly 25,000 times across multiple platforms. Learn more by visiting the author’s website or connect with her on Instagram.
This was such a great list of books! Definitely adding some to my tbr. I keep joking that in my next life I’m coming back as a bibliotherapist. Ellery Adams has an entire cozy mystery series—secret book and scone society—where the main character owns a bookstore, and for anyone who buys books from her, she acts as a bibliotherapist. So, I'm definitely interested in what else you have to say about bibliotheraphy. For some reason, I'm not able to vote in the poll (darn internet connection). In the recent sale, though, I was lucky and bought both Still Water and Shadow in the Woods. I'm excited to read them both. And of course, Writers' Retreat had been on my tbr and was one of my favorite reads for June.