Bord Gáis Energy has launched an online book club www.bordgaisenergybookclub.ie which aims to deliver something for every reader: whether you are a hopeless romantic, current affairs addict, cookery guru or autobiographical fanatic.
The club’s rotating panel of reviewers will include a librarian, and this month David O’Brien of Bishopstown Library reviews Skippy Dies by Man Booker Prize nominee Paul Murray.
The online book club will become the hub of all the energy company’s association with books and reading, something they have invested in heavily over the past 12 months.
As well as supporting the Readiscover Your Local Library initiative, Bord Gáis Energy’s support of books and reading now encompasses the Irish Book Awards, Book of the Decade, and the Bord Gáis Energy Book Club on TV3’s Ireland AM.
Six in ten Irish adults identify reading as a ‘passion’ and in addition to the 200 library book clubs and estimated 500 plus private book clubs, the online book club is designed to provide a forum for further discussion around books and reading as well as an information source for this growing audience.
The online book club, which was developed by Webfactory, was launched to Bord Gáis Energy staff a fortnight ago and has achieved a registration rate of 60% to date.
Featuring a rotating panel of reviewers which includes Bert Wright, administrator of the Irish Book Awards, a celebrity author and a librarian from one of the 369 public libraries around the country, the site features three book reviews each month which are selected to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. September sees David O’Brien of Bishopstown Library reviewing Skippy Dies by Man Booker Prize nominee Paul Murray. Celebrity author Amanda Brunker reviews fellow Irish author Patricia Scanlon’s number one best seller Forgive and Forget while Bert Wright reviews Kathryn Stockett’s novel, The Help.
Speaking about the launch of this invaluable resource and new online book club, David Bunworth, managing director, Bord Gáis Energy said, “We are fortunate to have attracted a strong panel of reviewers such as Bert Wright, Cathy Kelly, Sarah Webb and our librarian reviewers who are at the very heart of reading in the community. We hope that their reviews will offer informed opinion and enable yet further discussion around the inexhaustible topic of books and reading”.
Mr. Bunworth continued, “
bordgaisenergybookclub.ie is the hub of all our activity in the books and reading arena. This superb resource, which has already proved popular with our staff, will give book lovers nationwide an opportunity to discuss their book experiences with others. Books tend to transcend societal divides and bring together people from many different walks of life who share a common interest in reading. Discussing books has fortunately replaced discussing property prices and we’re delighted to provide a very comprehensive forum for consumers to further this discussion.
