The Lost Bookshop by The Lost Bookshop | Book Club: Healing, Identity & the Magic of Stories

This month in book club, Marisa Serafini (@serafinitv) and I explore one of the most enchanting and quietly powerful reads we’ve picked: The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods.Blending magical realism, historical fiction, and contemporary storytelling, this novel unfolds across dual timelines—1920s Europe and present-day Ireland—following three characters whose lives are mysteriously connected through a vanishing bookshop that seems to exist outside of time.In the past, we meet Opaline, a fiercely independent woman who refuses to accept the constraints placed on her and escapes into the world of books—only to be hunted down and silenced. In the present, Martha, recovering from an abusive past, and Henry, a scholar chasing a literary mystery, find themselves drawn together as they search for answers about the same elusive bookshop.But this isn’t just a mystery—it’s a story about becoming the main character in your own life. About reclaiming agency. About how stories—both the ones we read and the ones we tell ourselves—can shape who we become.We dive into: The idea of “side characters” stepping into their own power Books as healing tools (bibliotherapy) and portals to possibility The tension between fate and choice How trauma, identity, and freedom intersect across generations And the subtle magic woven into everyday lifeIt’s a warm, whimsical, and emotional story that asks: Who gets to write your story? And what happens when you take the pen back?We also share what we’ve been reading outside of book club lately.Upcoming Book Club Picks: A Good Year – Peter Mayle (April 2026) How to Solve Your Own Murder – Kristen Perrin (May 2026) Fight Club – Chuck Palahniuk (June 2026) La Belle Sauvage – Philip Pullman (July 2026)