100 Books to Live By by Joseph Piercy is a lovely book prescribing literary remedies for all sorts of life’s conditions, from anxiety and unrequited love to growing pains and other everyday struggles. I enjoyed reading about bibliotherapy and found it very interesting, especially learning that books were actually suggested to soldiers as a ‘remedy’ after the First World War. The range of titles Piercy includes spans the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, offering something for every kind of reader. I especially loved the comprehensive list of books and authors at the back. This is definitely a book to dip in and out of, making it a thoughtful gift for a friend or a treat for yourself. I received a free advance review copy from NetGalley, and this is my honest review.


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If you're looking for the right book for the right mood/situation or just needing to find more books to add to your TBR, this is the book for you! Each book presented as a prescription is the right bite size of information to pique your interest, while providing well-rounded context.

I was very pleased to see some of my all-time favourites listed (Middlemarch, My Antonia, Before the Coffee Gets Cold) and have added a handful of books to my TBR for future reading. I also enjoyed that there was an international variety of authors from all literary eras. My only complaint is I'm not entirely sure Lolita counts as an "essential" book to your repertoire. 

Overall 5 stars for literary lovers and those who want to expand their reading horizons. Thank you Michael O'Mara Limited & NetGalley for this ARC!

I love lists of books so I was always going to love this book. It did live up to expectations - I got some new suggestions and re-found some old classics. The medicine cabinet essentials were also well chosen. There was a good balance between classics, modern and international. Thanks to NetGalley and Michael O’Mara for the ARC.

I absolutely LOVE the idea of this book!

This is one that I will probably refer back to for as long as I hold an interest in books, not only for myself but for others as well. I don't think I'm all too great at giving advice in emotional situations as I think quite rationally. Having something like this when a friend or family member is in a tight spot emotionally and being able to give them a book that could potentially help is a lovely way to try and help them.

The range of situations from a broken heart to feeling lost to facing the inevitability of death covers everything I could think of plus it also has some 'medicine cabinet' recommendations (books to cover a number of situations). Every recommendation has a meaning full quote, a detailed synopsis that includes why the book is good for the proposed situation. I also love that each recommendation gives one or two alternatives too.

There are a lot of classics in the recommended books (which I'm ashamed to say I only read a handful of) and plenty of books that I haven't heard of either.

I would like to see something similar published in future which could be more genre specific so those with certain reading preferences!

Thank you to NetGalley & Michael O'Mara Limited for this ARC ❤️

So beautifully written and so much inspiration for future reading! Such a good christmas present for all my bookclub too!