Column: Turning the page - how we never lose the desire to read - Kilkenny Live

Read any good books lately?
Chances are if you’re reading this you have. And based on the busy-ness of the book shops in Kilkenny City, whenever I am in them, you, and I, are not alone.

Dire warnings of the demise of ‘the book’ several years ago are a thing of the past with consistent reports that book sales are actually growing and more book shops are opening.

I think the simple reason for this is that we will never lose the desire to read - to find out more about a subject that interests us or to lose ourselves in the stories of mystery, fantasy, romance or travel.

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Hand-in-hand with book sales booming, our libraries have never been as popular. Here in Kilkenny we are especially lucky with branches in all the main towns, with huge investment in the library infrastructure seeing the fabulous Mayfair Library in the city, the new Thomastown library soon to open, and plans for a new library in Callan in the future.

I love to get lost in a good book, which is precisely what the Ireland Reads campaign is urging us to do, next month.
February sees the campaign kick into high-gear. “It doesn’t matter what you read, where you read or how well you read, as long as you read!” the campaign says.

It’s not just about leisure - according to Ireland Reads reading “relaxes the body by lowering your heart rate and easing the tension in your muscles. Studies have even shown that reading boosts your mental health by reducing stress by up to 68%.” And who doesn’t need to reduce their stress levels a little bit?

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My tips for enjoying a book boil down to two things - don’t stress it and don’t be a book snob!

Don’t stress - if you don’t like what you’re reading, if it’s just not clicking, if you hate the stupid characters… put it down and move on. There’s no rule that says you have to persevere with something that doesn’t bring you joy. I have to credit Ryan Tubridy for that one.

He makes a valid point - sometimes it’s just not the right time for a particular book. You might pick it up again months later and love it. You might try many times and just never get into it (I’m looking at you Wolf Hall!) But move on if you want.

Don’t be a book snob - we don’t all have to read Godot in French or the Booker Prize winners every year. Maybe your bookshelf is Mills & Boon (I acknowledge that ages me) or murder mysteries. That’s perfect. They can all sit together on the same shelf.

We’re rapidly moving on from the part of the year when ‘best of’ lists from the previous 12 months are everywhere, but before we let it go, just a few of the best books I read last year (with the important note that these books were not necessarily published last year)…

My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor. The renowned Irish author turned his skills to the real-life amazing story of an Irish priest who was stationed in Vatican City during Rome’s occupation by the Nazis, during World War II. Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty really was responsible for saving 6,500 Allied soldiers and Jews during the war and was a target for the Gestapo. O’Connor animates the daring historical facts with the voices and actions of O’Flaherty and his compatriots to create a nail-biting tale. This will eventually be a three-book series, and I also recommend the already-published second installment, The Ghosts of Rome.

Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold. History and true crime buffs will have heard of the Victorian London wife murderer ‘Dr’ Crippen - but can they name his victim? Historian Hallie Rubenhold has turned the focus back to Cora Crippen in this masterful weave of historical research and the real, human story of a woman with dreams and ambitions who wanted to be a famous actress but gained that fame in an awful way. She did this before with a wonderful biography of the women murdered by Jack the Ripper - giving them back their identities, which were so much more than just ‘a victim.’ Cora, or Belle Elmore to give her stage name, jumps off the page and it’s also a fascinating look at the world of medicine and ‘scam’ health schemes of the age, from America to London.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. Osman had fun writing this book and I had fun reading it! It’s almost madcap in its unlikely ‘detective’ pairing and it’s random world travel in a private jet, but, like his Thursday Murder Club series, it’s well written and a good old yarn. It also has a great joke about the weather in Cork.

And for something completely different, the Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series by Juno Dawson. It’s got witches, the good kind and the bad kind, and a battle of good versus evil over the future of the world. All based in a town in Yorkshire where the good witches also have to deal with getting their kids to school, holding down jobs. It will remind you of your mates’ WhatApp group, but with spells.

With apologies to Beckett fans, I do not recommend Waiting for Godot in French. Or in English.