Bestselling author Mary O’Rourke fronts ‘Books are Good for You’ campaign for Gill Books

Bestselling author Mary O’Rourke fronts ‘Books are Good for You’ campaign

for Gill Books.

Bestselling author Mary O’Rourke has joined forces with non-fiction publisher Gill Books in a bid to encourage the nation to read more. It’s good for you!

Recent research shows that books can be not only a source of pleasure but good for you too:

• Neurologists report that mental exercise, such as reading, can reduce your chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease by up to 70%[i].
• Reading has been proven to raise your spirits and provide an escape from everyday stresses[ii].
• Later this year, GPs in the UK are to prescribe self-help books for people with mild to moderate mental health concerns, including panic attacks, anxiety and depression[iii].

Since her school teacher days, Mary O’Rourke has always encouraged people to read more and to read widely and often refers to the pleasure and comfort reading has brought throughout her life:

‘I read widely from an early age, whether it was the back of a cereal packet, Charles Dickens or something that was for a reader well beyond my years! Since my husband Enda passed away I have found it to be a particularly comforting pastime. You are never alone when you can pick up a book and escape into a world of fascinating characters and it’s proven to be good for you! We take vitamins, we try to eat healthily, we brush our teeth. What do we do actively every day to keep our brains in shape? Half an hour of reading every day is all you need.’

Mary will select one book every month for readers to enjoy and Gill Books is offering a year’s supply of books to the most avid readers. See www.gillbooks.ie for information.

‘The books will be a rattlebag of everything from Soundings to self-help, from cookbooks to history. We’re creatures of habit and we often pick up the same types of books over and over again. This selection will move you out of your comfort zone and encourage you to read something you wouldn’t ordinarily read, says Gill Books’ deputy publisher Nicki Howard.

So if your New Year resolutions have fallen by the wayside, join Mary this March and commit to a new resolution of reading every day.

Here’s how to get involved:

Step 1: Pledge to read every day

Step 2: Read with us! Mary O’Rourke will be choosing a new book every month. This March it’s Soundings: Poems we did for our Leaving Cert. Log on to www.gillbooks.ie/booksaregoodforyou for updates and to be in with a chance to win a year’s supply of books!

Step 3: Spread the word – join us on Facebook & Twitter via #BooksAreGoodForYou. Discuss the books we are reading this month, tweet your reviews and send us photos of your own book collections for random spot prizes!

Step 4: Feel the benefits: Watch your stresses fade away. Discover something new. Escape from it all. Amaze your friends with your expanding mind! Don’t forget to let us know how you get on!

Media information: The Books are Good for you Campaign begins on Friday 1st March 2013 with Mary’s first book choice Soundings: Poetry we did for our Leaving Cert.

Mary O’Rourke is available for interview about the campaign. For further information contact Teresa Daly, Communications Manager, 01-500-9521, 086-838-3559, tdaly@gill.ie.

[ii] www.science20.com/newswire/reading_good_health

[iii] www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jan/31/gps-prescribe-self-help-books