Book Week

It's been Book Week in Northern Ireland this week- a joint initiative between BBC NI and Libraries NI celebrating the pleasures and benefits of reading.

As an avid reader I appreciate the many benefits from reading - aside from enjoying the actual book, relaxing and escaping to new worlds, there are definite benefits to our mental health and wellbeing.

This week I've been making my way through a variety of gorgeous books, dipping into short story and poetry anthologies as well as some research and novels.

While I wasn't able to pop in to my local library during the week, I have also been reading a couple of books borrowed via the Libby App - Lisa Jewell's 'One Hit Wonder' and appropriately for Book Week, Matt Haig's 'The Midnight Library'. 

I managed to catch up on a couple of events virtually including the wonderful Poetry Pharmacist in Belfast Central Library and also attended a virtual bookclub hosted by Translink in No Alibis bookshop in Belfast with local authors Shirley McMillan and Brian McGilloway.

All in all a great week of books and reading but in my world Book Week should really be every week!

Holiday reading

They say a change is as good as a rest, and while a rest would have been nice, a busy break away visiting family in Scotland was lovely. The change of scenery was beautiful and walks along by the River Tay certainly blow the cobwebs away.

We managed to call into the Robert Burns museum on the journey home for a quick visit, 

some sustenance and some inspiration. 

Good as it is to get away, it's always lovely to get back home again. And even lovelier when I found  my copy of 'Travel Write' was waiting for me.

I was delighted to see my story 'Return to Sorrento' in print in this beautiful book 

and I'm looking forward to dipping in and out of this anthology on my next travels, even if the trip is only from my armchair.