There’s something extraordinary about discovering a fragment of someone else’s life tucked inside the pages of a second-hand book—a photograph, a faded note, a concert ticket. Each of these foundlings carries a whisper of a story, a glimpse into a moment we were never meant to see. In their new single “Things You Find in Books,” released March 14, 2025, Yvonne Lyon and Boo Hewerdine turn that fleeting magic into a poignant and poetic folk-pop ballad, capturing the quiet intimacy of memory and the enduring beauty of what’s left behind.
Inspired by a visit to Culzean Castle’s second-hand bookshop in Ayrshire, Scotland, the song is a delicate reflection on the emotional weight of the discarded and the lost. A noticeboard in the shop displays items once discovered nestled between book pages—love letters, shopping lists, postcards, scribbled notes—and it was this collection that sparked Lyon’s imagination. Seven years later, what began as a quiet moment of curiosity has become a work of art: the song that would become the namesake and foundation for an entire album.
“Things You Find in Books” is not just a song—it’s an invitation to slow down, to notice, and to care. Set against a gentle acoustic backdrop, Yvonne Lyon’s voice carries a soft melancholy, while Boo Hewerdine’s songwriting lends subtle gravitas. The lyrics conjure the delicate nature of memory, presenting each item as a breadcrumb trail through unknown lives, allowing listeners to fill in the blanks with their own imagination.
This isn’t just a story about other people; it’s also a story about us. About how we mark our place in time, how we hold onto moments without even realizing it, and how even the smallest artifacts can bear witness to our lives. There’s a universality here—who hasn’t left something behind, intentionally or otherwise, for someone else to find?
Lyon and Hewerdine don’t approach the subject with grandiosity. Instead, “Things You Find in Books” is wonderfully understated, like the mementos it honors. The song is laced with quiet reverence, allowing the listener space to reflect, to remember, and to wonder. It feels personal and timeless, like a handwritten note discovered in the attic of a stranger’s house. There’s no urgency in the music—just a patient unfolding of story and sentiment.
Though it opens a wider project steeped in similar themes, this single stands powerfully on its own. It encapsulates the entire spirit of the album it will eventually anchor. “Things You Find in Books” asks the listener to consider: what do we leave behind? What do we carry with us? And how do the stories of others shape our own?
The production is simple but evocative. Acoustic guitars and soft piano form a foundation, while Lyon’s voice leads the way like a candle in a dim room. It’s a song best enjoyed with a quiet evening, a warm drink, and a worn paperback resting nearby. It’s music made for those who find beauty in forgotten things, who feel the weight of moments even when they come secondhand.
The magic of “Things You Find in Books” lies in its ability to turn the ordinary into something sacred. A discarded receipt becomes a time capsule. A snapshot becomes a novel in miniature. A torn piece of paper becomes a song. Yvonne Lyon and Boo Hewerdine have captured that magic and preserved it in sound.
With this release, they haven’t just given us a song. They’ve given us a reason to revisit our shelves, to open old pages, and to search for traces of lives that may still speak to us—if we’re quiet enough to listen.
