As a child, Lucy Mangan was reading all the time, using books to navigate the challenges and complexities of this world and many others. As an adult, she uses her new relationship with literature to seize upon the most important question: (how) do books prepare us for life? ‘Bookish’ picks up where ‘Bookworm’ left off: at the cusp of teenage, when everything – including the way we read – undergoes a not-so-subtle transformation. Revisiting the books of all genres, that ferried her through each important stage of life, ‘Bookish’ is a coming-of-age in books. It’s an ode to our favourite bookish spaces – from the smallest secondhand bookstalls to libraries, glorious big bookshops and our very own book rooms – and a love story to how books not only shelter our souls through hard times and help us find ourselves when we feel lost, but also help us connect with the people we love through shared stories.