Bored of your books just catching dust? This service can revive your reading list

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I’m not alone in the fact that I love buying books, I just don’t read them quickly enough. But I can’t bear to give up my hundreds of tomes, as I know, one day, I will read them.

When I moved into an unfurnished flat with my husband, we had to buy another bookshelf to house our newly joined collection. The easier, and cheaper, option of getting rid of some books wasn’t even discussed – at least he and I are on the same page when it comes to that.

I even have books from my first degree. Why? I just don’t want to part with them. From the notes inside to the edition of the cover, each holds precious memories which jolst my memory back to a certain time – much in the same way that a song or scent can unlock a specific moment in time you thought you’d long forgotten. Other books have been given to me as special editions, many I’ve collected along the way based on recommendations from friends and family, as well as books lent to me that I’ve not yet read and returned.

Yes, there are libraries, but then what do I put in my shelves? Plus, my local library was forever out of the books I wanted to read. Or if I get one, by the time I’d finally finished it, I’d owe about £8 in fines, and could have pretty much bought the book by then anyway making the whole process practically financially pointless.

I used to read a book I loved, and then go into shops and look at their recommended section, or ask someone what they might recommend to follow up with. Sometimes, this would end badly though. I hate not finishing a book, it feels like you’re letting the author down, but sometimes, it’s best to know when you’re flogging a dead horse. There’s just so much else out there to read and your time can be better spent.

Helping to point you in the right direction is BookTherapy, a service that prescribes you a reading list, based on what you already like. As there’s only so many books you can read in a lifetime – 2,000 apparently – but for some of us slow readers, it could be far less. And considering there’s more than 170 million books in the world – at least that’s according to the Google Books project, which is trying to digitialise them – and around 2 million new books are published each year too, it makes far more sense to be clever about the ones you do actually buy and start. So knowing what you really like and narrowing it down makes sense.

I put BookTherapy’s service to the test to see if it would bring up some good suggestions I’d like to read and would normally pick up in my local bookshop.

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I’ve likely been reading the same sort of genres for decades now, so I know what I like: mostly modern fiction and non-fiction with an element of travel or another culture. After all, reading is cathartic: a form of escapism, and that’s something no-doubt all of us have needed in the past two years, and that always forms a big part of my reading list. But I can also get bogged down in it. And in the past seven years or so, I’ve really started to enjoy non-fiction more too.

To get going with BookTherapy, I started off by filling out a short questionnaire, with just five questions, which include any specific issues you’d like them to work on, your reading preference, how much time you can devote to reading (which then determines how many books are suggested) as well as what your favourite genres and books are. I detailed that I liked reading a mix of fiction and non-fiction, and loved books such as Where The Crawdad’s Sing and Behind the Beautiful Forevers.

About two days later, I was emailed my personalised reading list. My recommendations contained 11 books across the four categories I’d explained that I liked reading about, which were: travel, fiction on post colonialism and non-fiction by war correspondents. I’d also stated on my reading preferences questionnaire that I had, on average, one hour a day to spend on reading – I planned to do that in the evening instead of my usual phone scrolling.

My first section covered travel, ranging from memoirs to literature with the first suggestion being Waypoints: A Journey on Foot by Robert Martineau. Published last year, the memoir focuses on the psychological benefits of pilgrimage walking – something that’s always appealed to me, despite not being religious. The author, at just 27, left his office job and flew to Accra to begin a 1,000 mile journey on the West African coast, and along the way, contemplates the beginnings of slavery.

This is absolutely something I’d love to read, and have already added to my list. Many of us dream of walking away from the 9-5, booking a flight and going on our own physical and mental journey, but our sensible hat takes over, leaving this nothing more than a pipe dream.

Through his life-changing (and affirming) journey Martineau gives us escapism through his bravery of actually doing it, and let’s face it, travelling through deserts, rainforests and mountains on his own is no mean feat. It’s certainly the kind of inspiring armchair travel book on an epic journey I love to read, that also brings to the fore the cultures of the places he’s travelling through.

Next up is Mia Kankimaki’s The Women I Think About At Night: Travelling The Paths Of My Heroes.In thi book she honours 10 pioneering women from throughout history which take her as far as Japan, Italy and Kenya. Already, I love this title: who doesn’t lie awake at night pondering some of life’s great mysteries (do penguins have knees?!). More seriously, I love literature and films based on a true story, and crave inspiration from books I read as a source of knowledge.

This sounds like it will not only give travel inspiration, but teach me more about some of history’s most important, yet forgotten, women. Yes, it’s another "off to travel after sacking off the day job" type story, but it’s never bored me yet. Many of the women mentioned are not very well known, but should be, and I look forward to meeting them in the pages of Kankimak’s book.

The third in this section was Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration by Sara Dykman. I love a bike ride travel book, despite not really actually liking cycling myself. A firm old favourite is Blood River by journalist Tim Butcher about cycling through the Congo, but never has this been crossed with any sort of migration, which is where this book becomes so unique, to me at least.

Following the migration of the monarch butterflies is not something I’d usually reach for, but as a lover of nature documentaries, I think it’s something I’d enjoy. I absolutely revelled in truly enchanting and mystical debut novel Where The Crawdad’s Sing which was written by biologist Delia Owens and drew so heavily on the unique floral, fauna and landscape of the marshes of North Carolina landscape. Plus, protagonist Kya, really brought it to life for me. It was so successful it’s been turned into a film which is due to be released in July.

The final suggestion, at first, seems a bit out of left field, but as I read more about it, it feels more up my street – forgive the pun. The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth and Power by Deidres Mask feels very timely. It makes me think of the statue of Edward Colston pulled down in Bristol in 2020 for his involemvement and financial gain from the Atlantic slave trade, amid the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. His name was then given to Colston Hall, which has since renamed itself, as well as Coltson Road.

Other cities that profited from salvery, such as Liverpool and Glasgow, have all had petitions to change the names of roads that are linked to slave trading too. I think this sounds like an important read for making positive changes to how history is taught and remembered, as well as who is celebrated or immortalised in statue form.

The second section, which is focused on colonialism, or more accurately post-colonialism, kicks off with Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. I first read this book in 2010 while writing my dissertation, which was about the identity of India and its people after the country gained independence on 15 August 1947.

Now, I’ll be honest, I didn’t disclose reading this or my dissertation in my questionnaire, but this is one of the most well known and highly regarded books in the genre. Although it sits quite firmly within the magical realism genre too, and is not usually something I’d pick. I remember finding it quite dense, but beautifully written. Considering my slow reading pace – and the thickness of the novel – I’d unlikely pick it up again anytime soon. But I’ll never say never.

Stepping away from India and onto Trinidad, V.S Naipaul’s book, A House for Mr Biswas is set in post-colonial Trinidad. Although I’ve read some of his work before, most of it was centred around India. I’ve also not read much about post-colonial Trinidad, and would love to understand more about its history through this book.

The final section covers literature by war correspondents. Although it seems dark, it’s always been an interest on my reading shelf, as well as photographers like Don McCullin. But, since the war in Ukraine, I’ve understandably swayed away from such heavy subjects. I had been reading Lindsey Hilsum’s book on Marie Colvin, In Extremis, but haven’t wanted to pick it up in a while.

Out of the three suggested, the most appealing to me is In Wartime: Stories from Ukraine by Tim Judah, a war reporter for The Economist. Although written in 2016, the book is still valid now, and was one of the first books I saw on the shelves in Waterstones in a display of books about the ongoing war. What I like about this is the human interest aspect, from mothers, soldiers, to businesspeople and writers, all help to build a picture of what it’s like to live through Ukraine’s unfortunately turmultous recent past that’s struggled with ongoing war for decades, and is sadly present again. Although I should say that the book doesn’t cover the current situation.

For me, it’s hearing about the people’s stories rather than the politics and those who are enforcing war, although they’re certainly beyond tough to read about in the news right now. So Putin’s People may not be a book I’ll be keen to read at the moment, but it does sound like it would provide a lot of the backstory to what’s happening now. The third Russian based book recommended on my list is Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine which sounds a little dense for my liking.

The final book is Black Wave by Kim Ghattas, based on the Iranian revolution in 1979. I was glad for a change of subject here, and to see something on Iran, as its history is rarely taught in our curriculum. Written by Lebanese journalist Kim Ghattas, the text focuses on how the modern Middle East was formed. A deeply complicated subject that would hopefully help me understand its history, and to contextualise today’s politics better.

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The most inspiring section for me, which has the most books added to my reading list was the travel section. Every suggestion spoke to me in some way, and though all were different thery were equally inspiring in many ways.

Some of the books about colonialism were, in my mind, quite obvious choices. Salman Rushdie is revered as one of the most acclaimed writers in this field, while V.S Naipaul has also won the Booker and the Noble Literature Prize. Although they’re both writers I like and admire, I would have preferred some suggestions on perhaps some lesser known writers, seeing as it’s a subject I’ve read widely about previously.

As I’d already read one of the books, I think the questionnaire form could be more detailed and perhaps include a short section to list some of the books within that genre you’ve already read in a bid to avoid wasting a suggestion.

I think from the 11 suggested here, I’ll be adding five books to my list. I also think it would be better if the books were included as it’s a fairly substantial pricetag for only recommendations, but no books at all. There is the "book box" option however, which includes three of the books and a £10 gift card but this costs £59.99.

Overall, I think BookTherapy makes a thoughtful, and helpful, gift to the avid reader who might be a little lost with their reading list. It’ll also save them money – and the dreaded feeling of defeat – by not buying books they can’t get on with.