Readers in Clare County Library get healthy

All but 3 of the books on the list of the top ten most popular adult non-fiction books in Clare County Libraries in 2018 were related to healthy eating, wellbeing or mental health. Healthy Ireland is the national framework for action to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in Ireland and as part of that strategy all libraries have been provided with relevant books and health related events have been held throughout the library network.

Of the three books that aren’t on the Healthy Ireland reading list, one – The Happy Pear by David and Stephen Flynn – is also a healthy eating cookbook. The 3rd most popular book on the non-fiction list was The Doctor’s Wife is Dead by Andrew Tierney. The book, set in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary in 1849 unravels a compelling but forgotten murder mystery about the trial of a local doctor for the murder of his wife. Michael Harding’s On Tuesdays I’m a Buddist, claimed 8th place on the top ten non-fiction books list. Mixing stories from the road with dispatches from his Irish Times columns, this is a powerful book about the human condition and the ultimate bliss of living in the present moment. Brian O’Connell’s book about Sixmilebridge native Brendan O’Regan was also very popular with our readers.

Top ten adult non-fiction books 2018
1. The plan: eat well, lose weight, transform your life by Aoife Hearne
2. Karl Henry's healthy living handbook by Karl Henry
3. The doctor's wife is dead : the true story of a peculiar marriage, a suspicious death, and the murder trial that shocked Ireland by Andrew Tierney
4. Mindfulness for health: a practical guide to relieving pain, reducing stress and restoring wellbeing by Vidyamala Burch.
5. Food for the fast lane: recipes to power your body and mind by Derval O'Rourke
6. The Happy Pear: healthy, easy, delicious food to change your life by David and Stephen Flynn
7. Mindful walking: walk your way to mental and physical well-being by Hugh O'Donovan
8. On Tuesdays I'm a Buddhist by Michael Harding
9. Your middle years: love them, live them, own them by Paula Mee
10. The life well lived: the therapeutic journey to recovery and wellbeing by Jim Lucey