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When James Baldwin published Giovanni’s Room in autumn 1956, he knew it was a dangerous move. He was a young writer who had already gained a reputation as an important...

As a child I loved the swashbuckling adventure of The Three Musketeers. I felt a kind of kindred spirit in D’Artagnan. Re-reading it years later, after experiencing a little more...

There’s a particular kind of reader who is almost impossible to buy for. They’ve read all of Jane Austen. Probably more than once. They have a well-loved copy of Pride...

Dark academia gifts for readers aren’t just about books, they’re about atmosphere. Think gothic libraries, annotated paperbacks, candlelight, and the quiet satisfaction of an evening spent reading something slightly intense....

This month, we’ve been sending out 1984 as our Classic of the Month. It’s one of those books that never quite stays in the past. Every few years, it seems...

I’ve recently been made aware that someone has been impersonating me and Bookishly, contacting independent authors and requesting payment to “feature” their book in a Bookishly book club. To be...

As LGBTQIA+ History Month draws to a close here in the UK, it feels fitting that this month’s Classic of the Month has been Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness. Published...

Let’s be clear: Wuthering Heights is not a guide to healthy relationships. It’s a novel about obsession, emotional self-destruction, and a love so intense it’s unhinged. And yet… once in...

Given everything that those of us in the UK are seeing on our screens about what’s happening in the USA at the moment, I wanted to take a moment to...

Jane Austen has been part of Bookishly since the very beginning, probably before I even realised what Bookishly was going to become. One of our earliest moments of wider recognition...

When Taylor Swift decides to summon a literary ghost, she never does it lightly. In her song The Fate of Ophelia she pulls one of Shakespeare’s most fragile figures back...

If you spent any time online during October you probably saw Boo Baskets everywhere. They’re cheerful, comforting, and a fun excuse to put together a surprise bundle for someone you...

Anne of Green Gables was October’s Classic of the Month title, which meant I finally had the perfect excuse to read it properly. I went in knowing almost nothing about...

When Bookishly joined the UK’s first four-day week trial back in 2022, we didn’t know quite what to expect. Could a small creative business really do the same amount of...

J.M.W. Turner is often remembered for his sweeping seascapes and golden-hued visions of southern England, but one of his most powerful and dramatic paintings was born from a snowstorm in...

“Boo basket” might sound like something whispered in a playground, but lately it’s been everywhere - TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest boards exploding with orange tissue paper. It’s the kind of seasonal...

Once More Unto the Breach… Thoughts of a Superfan With Henry V as our Classic of the Month for September, the question quickly arose: what does Shakespeare’s 1599 history play...

If you’re a reader who lives in T-shirts (or shopping for someone who does), this one’s for you. Bookishly’s literary T-shirts are made for people who love books, quotes, and...

I finally got around to watching Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius on the BBC, and I’m so glad I did. I expected something nice and educational, but it was...

I truly believe this epic slab of a novel to be the second greatest book ever written. A tale of betrayal, imprisonment, hidden treasure, and dramatic redemption. But was The...

Cooler weather, longer evenings, and the return of tea-fuelled reading marathons? It must be autumn. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for a fellow book lover (or just want...

I haven’t read To the Lighthouse yet. I’ve moved it to the top of my skyscraper stack of TBR, quietly waiting: like the lighthouse itself, maybe, always in view but...

One hundred years ago this year, the most perfect novel of the twentieth century was published. When its author died fifteen years later, it had sold less than forty thousand...

Looking for the perfect present that says “I saw this and thought of you (and your reading habits)”? Whether it’s for a birthday, a thank-you, or just because, we’ve rounded...