"Stories can be healing. If we’re drowning in chaotic thoughts of our own, to step inside someone else’s head, just for a while, is a kind of freedom." ~ Ann Cleeves

Reading is low-cost, accessible, brings us simple pleasure & is an excellent mindful activity to help take care of your wellbeing & mental health. Did you know that reading can reduce stress?

Reading for just 6 minutes a day can reduce your stress levels by 60%! It can lower your heart rate, ease muscle tension & positively alter your state of mind. Losing yourself in a book is the ultimate relaxation.

With Book Lovers Day 2024 falling in August, we asked members of our team to share some of their favourite books & tell us a little bit about their current reads. Take a look...

Rose is reading: The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas

"This book has made me want to read more of Claire Douglas's books! It’s the story of a crime writer who is coming to the end of a detective series & how strange things start to happen in real life – things that she’d written about, including the murder of a friend who was a character in her books that died & how she has to try to work out who is doing this before anything else happens to her or her family."

Deanna is reading: Never Lie by Freida McFadden

"I enjoy thrillers & can usually figure out the plot twist before it happens, but this book kept me completely surprised from beginning to end. I didn't want to put it down. I loved this book so much I passed it on to my colleague Kulsum, who also loved it & has read more books by Freida. Edge of your seat suspense. A gripping psychological thriller that has twists and turns galore. I thought I had it figured out, but I was so wrong!"

Dani is reading: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

"I absolutely love this book! Could not put it down... A joyful, thought-provoking story that transports you between people, places & time, from the siege of Constantinople to a spaceship that's left the Earth we have destroyed. The book is bursting with adventure & love, with clever links to ancient history & modern society that I found fascinating. A perfect read if you want to quiet your mind, relax & lift your spirits. Doerr's 'About Grace' is next in line for me to read!"

James is reading: Foucalt's Pendulum by Umberto Eco

"This book is wonderful, if a little heavy to start with. A precursor to all the Dan Brown hits, this book deals with the illuminati, conspiracy theories, the Knights Templar, secret societies & just gets better & better. Umberto Eco is some author penning this excellent novel of ideas that looks like a thriller. Or is it a thriller that looks like a novel full of ideas? Give it a read & decide for yourself."

Feeling inpired to try a new book...? There's plenty of novels to choose from just across the road from Care Network Hub at our neighbours, Blackburn Central Library!

You can find out more about 'Reading For Wellbeing' here - a project supporting people to discover & share the benefits of reading for pleasure, founded by author Ann Cleeves as a way to give something back to the homeland of her beloved north east detective character: Vera.

Reading For Wellbeing