In Burn Before Reading, Daisy explores the writers who have helped her through the toughest mental periods of her life and shaped her as the award-winning author she is today.
Visiting stories that delight us as children or those that shock, challenge and change who we are, this book is for everyone.
It reminds us that reading is good for your mind and soul, with expert tips on how to cultivate your own habit.
The book includes a special foreword written by comedian, actress and writer Isy Suttie.
Words on Burn Before Reading
"Collectively, I think so many of us have experienced some form of burnout, or have struggled to keep our mental health on an even keel. This book is about how I reached that point in 2020, a year of unprecedented change – and found that reading helped me to focus, stopped me from trudging up the hedonic treadmill and taught me to sit still, figuratively and literally.
"I want to celebrate the many gifts that being a reader has given me. And I also want to reach out to all readers – especially any reluctant readers, anyone who might have felt discouraged at school, or fallen out of the habit. I want to challenge the idea that reading is somehow 'virtuous' or 'earnest', that it's the hobby you 'should' do. I want to make it the hobby you want to do.
"Reading can make us feel connected, nourished, moved and even joyful. It's just a matter of meeting the right book.”
Q&A
What is your favourite book? I honestly don't think I could narrow it down to ten favourite books. Here are ones that have brought me the most comfort and joy - The Pursuit Of Loveby Nancy Mitford, because it's about love, death and dreaming - and it's funny. Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes because it changed me. It's a novel about being a woman who is so full of shame and longing and fear that you'll do anythingto numb those feelings, even when they lead to more shame and longing. And it's funny. And Happy All The Time by Laurie Colwin because it's a delightful novel about learning to live with existential dread andit's funny. And Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny, and Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, and everything Nina Stibbe has ever written, and I Capture The Castle...
What is your favourite quote? A book is impossible, but a word and then another word is not. - Laura McKowen
