By CAROL JENNINGS

I love to read.

Being absorbed by a good book is one of my absolute pleasures. Diving into the pages and going somewhere new, learning about a new life, living vicariously with someone else’s dreams and triumphs, challenges, or tragedies.

I’ve been known to wander into bookshops and just browse for a while. Snuggled up in the cool weather. Lying around the pool in the summer but always with a book. More often these days I read electronically, but I still prefer the feel, the weight, the turn-the-corner-over guilty pleasure of losing myself in a book.

Making friends through books..

When I finish a great story I’m bereft that I have left that life behind, I miss the characters and crave that same connection, so I started a local book club. Now I get the chance to relive the story I just finished, great recommendations from new friends, a lot of nibbles, a bit to drink and lots of gossip.

Selling houses and loving books I am sometimes saddened that there are no great home libraries these days. Maybe that’s down to Kindle and iPads taking over the world, but now there are more screens than shelves. 5 televisions in a home, and barely a book to be seen. So here is some inspiration for you!

Library home under the stairs. Under-used space. Simple and effective.

Stunning Benedictine monastery library in Austria. It would be hard to look down at a book with that ceiling!

Geometric wall library. A great way to separate spaces and add character.

Spines to the rear. Every book showing the pages. Hard to find the book you have in mind, but looks great.

The 9-storey Stuttgart Library in Germany. Don’t drop a crisp packet in here.

Window seat. A perfect place for dreaming away the day.

The Walker Library of The History Imagination. Very interesting story behind this, click here for more information.

Another great use of space. Tiny nook library. Cosy and quiet.

Homely and comfy. Perfect to share a quiet evening. I can’t see it but I imagine a fireplace in this room.

The largest library in Ireland, the Library of Trinity College.

My type of library. Shelves on shelves of books. Those who know me to be height challenged would see the humour in this one.

So there’s some inspiration.

This winter, grab a book, and lose yourself for a bit. Actually make the effort to read a book, and not watch a screen. Let me know which one you chose.

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