Are you one of those people who love to read but whose habits have stagnated somewhat due to lack of ideas and inspiration? Or do you find books and literature to be something that other people spend their time on but not yourself? Regardless of what your relationship to reading is like, this might be the event for you; it aims to help all people escape their reading rut and fall in love with literature all over again.
Ella Berthoud, ‘renowned bibliotherapist from the School of Life’, and co-author of the soon-to-be-published book, The Novel Cure, is ready to help you out of any tough literary time you may be having. The wonderfully strange Hendrick’s Carnival of Knowledge is an appropriate venue for this free drop-in service, as the entire building is used to host various literature events throughout the Fringe.
Each session lasts for about 15 minutes and, although in theory you should be able to drop in whenever you wish, you may have to wait for an available opening, as this appears to be one of the more popular events among the Carnival’s guests. The session starts off with some opening questions, in order for the bibliotherapist to truly grasp the extent of your problem. Before taking part in this session therefore, it may be useful to think through what your problem actually is, as it will make the therapy more efficient. When your 15 minutes are up, you are provided with a prescription card stating your ailment and the cure prescribed.
This truly is a fun and useful way to discover new literature and move beyond the styles and genres you normally would turn to when picking up a new book. It is obvious to everyone that Ella Berthoud knows what she’s talking about; her advice was not only surprisingly accurate but also unconventional enough to push you out of your personal literary comfort zone and move into wonderful unknown territory. This session is wonderful. Just what the doctor ordered.
