Cathy Rentzenbrink has been a successful writer for some time but way back when Waterstones was still in full possession of an apostrophe, I was the reviews editor for their magazine and she was a bookseller who regularly reviewed for me. She was a joy to work with: enthusiastic, reliable, always happy to help me out when I was in a tight spot and her copy was an editor’s dream. Dear Reader is her reading memoir. If you love books, and I can’t imagine why you’d be reading this is you don’t, it’s an unadulterated treat.
Lying on the floor in her new home, nursing a sore back with her head on a book, Rentzenbrink decides she needs a break from the unremitting misery of the news cycle and decides to do what she always does in times of trouble: revisit her favourite books. Appropriately enough, the one she’s resting her head on is Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca – she and her family have recently moved from London to Cornwall to be close to her parents – but she decides to begin at the beginning, opening the wardrobe door into Narnia, a favourite refuge.
Using the framework of her reading, Renzenbrink tells us the story of her life, from her peripatetic childhood – often the new girl in school laughed at for her cleverness – to her return to Cornwall where both she and her mother were born. It’s been a far from easy one. Many readers will already know her name from The Last Act of Love in which she wrote about her brother, knocked down one night on his way home to the family’s Yorkshire pub when Rentzenbrink was seventeen. Matty remained in a persistent vegetative state for eight years. Rentzenbrink chose to study in Leeds, wanting to be as close to him as she could, moving to London with her first husband after graduation and eventually applying for a Christmas temping job at Waterstones, a step on the path to becoming the writer she’d always hoped to be.
Rentzenbrink divides her book into chapters of her life, each woven through with her reading, followed by a section devoted to favourite books on an appropriate theme. She’s a warm, open and empathetic writer, enthusiastic in her bookish recommendations. Inevitably the bookselling chapters chimed most with me, packed with anecdotes from her time as an events manager my favourite of which is this:
The afternoon that Lauren Bacall – tired and bored – wanted to dwell longer in that same backstage area and asked me to explain goods-in to her while we both sat on kick stools will be something I remember for the rest of my life
Who wouldn’t treasure that memory?
She and I are very different people – Rentzenbrink’s an extrovert, I’m the opposite – but there were a multitude of ‘me, too’ moments in her book, from the solace of reading during the most difficult times to not being able to remember being taught to read. I’ll leave you with the one that resonated most:
I still feel like a bookseller by inclination and habit
A sure-fire Christmas bestseller, or I’ll have to eat my old bookselling hat.
Picador: London 9781509891528 240 pages Hardback
This sounds like an absolute treasure – even more so for you given that you know the author. Who doesn’t love a book about books!
It’s lovely, Liz. Perfect stocking filler material for the bookish!
I’m sold! It’s now on my wishlist.
Hurrah!
I’ve got this one waiting on the tbr pile. The sooner I can get to it the better.
One of those books that leaves you with a nice warm feeling, Ann
I have a feeling I’m going to REALLY love this book!
I’m absolutely sure you will!
Well, this sounds wonderful. I love books about books. I can imagine how exciting it’s been for you to see Cathy’s writing career take off.
She’s such a lovely person, it’s been a delight!
Hello, I’ve just found your blog and what a brilliant book to come in with – definitely on the Christmas list!
Delighted to hear that, Jane. I’m hoping this one will find its way on to lots of bookish people’s Christmas lists.
Ohhhh, just sounds wonderful. 🙂
It is, indeed!
I shall have an opportunity to hear her speak next month – wish it could be in person because based on what you say, she would be a delightful speaker…..
That is a shame but I’m sure it will be enjoyable.
What a lovely review ☺️ this book really resonated with me too – especially the book selling parts
Ah, are you an ex-bookseller too? And thank you!
I work at Waterstones
Meant to add a smiley face!
Hello! I was a Waterstones bookseller before becoming a book reviews editor. I’ve never got over that lost apostrophe…
I was lucky to meet Cathy at a book event and she was lovely in person.
I’m hoping we can meet up for a coffee in Bath when the world returns to ‘normal’.
It sounds lovely. And how wonderful to hear you have a personal connection with the author, something that must make it feel all the more special.
It does, Jacqui. Hoping to see this one piled up next to bookshop tills in the run up to Christmas.
Hooray – a new book about books! There can never be too many. And the cover is beautiful!
This one’s a real gem, Naomi.
This sounds such a bookish delight! One to curl up with as the days grow shorter for sure.
It is indeed. Perfect cosy reading!
Fabulous review. I loved this book. It’s something of a mirror. I think all book lovers will find some aspect of themselves reflected in it.
Thank you, Janet. That’s an excellent analogy.
I loved this book too, and relayed to so much of it.
I signed up to a writing course with her off the back of it, it was excellent.
Isn’t it great? I hope you enjoy the course. I’ve spotted quite a few people on Twitter who are very complimentary about her teaching.