The Bookish Drop 📚 Thursday 26 June 2025
Glastonbury bookish events are looking SO good👀 What’s on your summer TBR?🌞 The science behind why books are good for mental health🧠
📚 Hey, book lovers! It’s safe to say the summer has well and truly arrived in the UK. If you’re looking for new titles to curl up next to your fan with, we have you covered - including some hot romance recommendations. Global news is just as heated as the weather this week, with Donald Trump finding himself in trouble over library funding and Irish author Sally Rooney making a very bold pledge in her latest personal essay. If you’re heading to Glastonbury today, Zoe has found the top book-related events taking place at the music festival this year, including a talk with an award-winning author. She’s on the hunt for secret bookish finds on Worthy Farm, so get in touch if you have any tips for her this weekend.
❤️ What we’re reading this week…
Catherine: Family Album by Penelope Lively - I love Penelope Lively, with her novel Moon Tiger one of my favourite books of all time. Family Album explores the life of Alison, her husband, their six children, plus their au pair, with the novel looking back on the children’s childhood and how it impacted their lives as they grew up. It’s an addictive read with Lively’s storytelling immensely gripping as always.
Danielle: Bad Friend by Michelle Elman - A rare non-fiction choice from me (by the Queen of Boundaries, of course), this book is everything I wanted and more. It speaks about the reasons friendships don’t work, why some people don’t have friendship groups but others do, and basically validates or questions the friendship decisions you’ve made, making you think about everything deeply. So far, I feel really vindicated by it, and it’s a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
Talya: Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld - Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld was one of my favourite reads of last year, so I was so excited when I saw her new collection of short stories as a recent Kindle deal. I'm only a couple of stories in, but it's living up to my (high) expectations so far...
Zoe: Him by JD Kirk narrated by Louise Brealey and David Tennant - I’ll be on my way to Glastonbury when this lands in your inbox and I’m not going to lie, I don’t imagine I’ll be curling up with a good book in my tent at any point over the next few days! However, I have downloaded this Audible original for the drive down. It’s already giving early series Black Mirror vibes, which is a good sign.
⏰ What’s trending…
🌞Which books are on your summer TBR? Hanna, aka @fictionoverreallife, shared the books that she plans to read over the summer months. Do you have any in common?
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
♻️ Do you ever feel like you’re not reading as much as everyone else? Is your book nook unworthy of an Instagram post? Fear not - full-time book content creator Diaries of Creativity is on hand to make you feel better about ‘failing’ as a reader as she aims to de-influence people to snub toxic trends.
💆 A Novel Cure - ‘Bibliotherapy’ has been soaring in popularity across the world, with many people turning to literary remedies to improve their wellbeing and mental health. Learn all about the benefits of being prescribed a good book and the science behind it here.
✏️ Do you annotate your books? Personally I’m a big fan of sticking tabs in my book to highlight favourite passages. But whilst annotating and tabbing books may be all the rage now, it didn’t always used to be this way, writes The Guardian.
📱 BookTok is the home of a wonderful and thoughtful community, and those a part of it often have many positive experiences to share. However, like most online communities, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t had its fair share of problems. NBC News has highlighted the recent wave of scandals within BookTok.
📢 The weekly review: The Compound by Aisling Rawle ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(5/5)
Talya: I might not watch Love Island religiously anymore, but I still gravitate towards any fiction inspired by, or featuring, reality television. The Compound by Aisling Rawle sees 20 contestants trapped in a remote desert compound and filmed 24/7 as they compete for luxury prizes and basic necessities - while also trying to find love.
We see everything through the eyes of contestant Lily, a disillusioned young woman who really doesn’t give much away about anything. As readers, we end up watching, as the cameras do, while wondering why she makes the choices she does. The narrative style is so clever, and the glimpses at the outside world give a rather eerie feeling. There are sudden twists, a simmering uneasiness and an ending I’ve thought about since I finished reading it. It’s out on July 3, and I’d definitely recommend adding it to your summer reading list!
📖Bookish news and events
🎪 Glastonbury Festival 2025 is officially underway! If, like Zoe, you’re currently en route to Worthy Farm, make sure to take note of the bookish events taking place this weekend. Award-winning author Zadie Smith will be in conversation with Selina Brown on the Silver Hayes Stage on Friday, while journalist Miranda Sawyer will be chatting to Matt Everitt about her new book over at The Crow’s Nest.
📚 To mark Independent Bookshop Week last week, five booksellers shared their favourite books of all time with the Daily Express - how many have you read?
💘 Romance author Katie Ginger has also been sharing some recommendations with the Mirror. She’s revealed her top 10 romance novel recommendations, perfect for taking on holiday with you this summer.
🇮🇪 In an essay for The Guardian, award-winning Irish author Sally Rooney has revealed she will “support Palestine Action wholeheartedly” even if the group is proscribed and it becomes a terrorist offence to do so.
🇺🇸 President Donald Trump is in trouble after the Government Accountability Office found that his administration violated the law by withholding funding to support libraries, archives and museums across America that Congress had already approved.
✨ Book Nook of the Week
Press invite.
Danielle: If you’re looking for a Book Nook away from home, then King Street Townhouse’s offering could be just the thing. If you’d love nothing more than to take yourself on a solo date, or maybe head there with your book-loving bestie, it has the perfect cosy corners where you can relax and unwind. With shelves full of aesthetic books and barista-style coffee on tap, what more could you want? You can even get the perfect Instagrammable shot while you sit in your booth. With an array of tasty treats on offer with the delightful afternoon tea menu, you certainly won’t be going hungry, and you can sit for hours while reading your current obsession. If you’re in Manchester or visiting soon, it’s a must-visit. If you’ve got a Book Nook you want us to feature, email thebookishdrop@reachplc.com
💸 Deals of the week
📚 Looking for an excuse for a new book haul? Amazon has got you covered. Until July 4, they have 30% off if you buy three books from a selected list. There are some amazing books on the list, like The Lamb by Lucy Rose and The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins. Have a browse through and see if anything takes your fancy!
📗 Looking to purchase your favourite books as a box set? Or is there a particular series you’ve wanted to read but haven’t had the chance to? The Book Bundle is an online bookstore that sells box sets at a discounted price! They have everything from Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet, to a Bridgerton box set.
👀 There may still be a couple of months to go until the release of R. F. Kuang’s Katabasis, but this Barnes & Noble exclusive edition is making us feel even more excited for it! You can pre-order it for 10% off at the moment.
❓ Is there anything in particular you want to see from us? We’d love to hear from you - whether you want us to review the book you’ve got coming out, you’re organising a book swap IRL, or you have some juicy bookish gossip to share! We’re always all ears. Fill out this form to get in touch!