Public libraries throughout County Louth are taking part in Ireland Reads, a campaign to get the whole country reading in the lead up to a national day of reading on Saturday, February 24th.
Irish libraries have teamed up with publishers, booksellers, authors, and others for the campaign, which is part of the government’s Healthy Ireland programme and aims to celebrate reading and all the benefits it has for wellbeing and enjoyment.
The campaign is asking everyone to ‘Get Lost in a Good Book’ during February and particularly on Ireland Reads Day, Saturday, February 24th.
The Ireland Reads website offers book recommendations suited to a person’s interests and the time they have available to read. There are more than 1,500 recommendations from librarians all around the country for all interests and reading levels: https://www.irelandreads.ie/
People can simply enter their favourite type of book and how long they would like to read each day and the website will offer the perfect book suggestion and work out how long it will take to complete – so you can set yourself a challenge if you are finding it hard to get back to reading. You can also recommend a book to a friend through the website.
Urging everyone in County Louth to get involved in Ireland Reads, Amanda Branigan, Acting County Librarian at Louth County Council said:
“Getting lost in a good book is one of the best things you can do, at any age. Reading is great for your wellbeing; a good book can relax you; it can teach you, it can take you places you’ve never been and introduce you to people you’ve never met.
Louth Library Service are striving to get the whole county reading this month, especially those who might not be avid readers right now. If you don’t read or you haven’t read in a while, this is the perfect time to give it a try.”
A number of well-known campaign ambassadors are on board to help promote the campaign, including Booker Prize winner, Paul Lynch, Marian Keyes, Colm Tóibín, Rick O’Shea and Liz Nugent.
You can find out what reading means to them and why they support the campaign at www.irelandreads.ie.
Local ambassadors for Ireland Reads include authors Florence Gillan, Susan McGovern, Valerie Murphy and the 2024 KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Award shortlisted author Clara Kumagai for her title ‘Catfish Rolling’.
Find out about all that’s happening for Ireland Reads or to get or share book recommendations at www.irelandreads.ie or visit https://www.louthcoco.ie/en/services/library/ for more on what’s happening local to you.
For further information contact your local branch or email: Libraryhelpdesk@louthcoco.ie
