With much of the Bathurst community resigned to the homes due to COVID-19 restrictions, BooksPlus is advocating the strength of reading as an engaging form of entertainment during these strange times.
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Like many local businesses, BooksPlus has had to re-purpose their services while closed to the public, including an increased focus on online orders and deliveries to residents' doors.
Staff member Jenny Barry said reading can provide an engaging form of entertainment for people during these extended periods indoors.
"In a time where we're all confronting something new and terrifying, reading offers a place of solace and comfort," Ms Barry said.
"Reading allows us to travel to other worlds in our minds, giving us a vital reprieve from the stresses and concerns of everyday life at present."
Ms Barry said BooksPlus' has been receiving a healthy amount of online orders for books and other merchandise in the weeks since restrictions came into effect.
"In the first weeks of social distancing, there were a lot of requests for books and puzzles," she said.
"There's been a major resurgence in the popularity of reading across the country, and its pleasing to see people using extended periods at home to catch up on titles they've always wanted to read."
Ms Barry said there's a number of engaging new releases to keep both casual and experienced readers occupied.
"There's a lot of fantastic debut Australian novels making the rounds at the moment, like Pip Williams' The Dictionary of Lost Words, Viviam Pham's The Coconut Children and Laura Jean McKay's The Animals in That Country," she said.
"The Animals in that Country is actually set in outback Australia during a pandemic, so it's quite timely."
Ms Barry said there's also a host of attractive new releases from international readers, as well as a number of fun stories for children and teenagers.
"For those stuck for choice, we can actually help people pick out books that appeal to their interests," she said.
"Books are like cereals: you have to try a few before you find the ideal product."
For more, visit the BooksPlus Facebook page.
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Sam Bolt
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
