7 captivating reads that are sure to stop you reaching for your phone

Brought to you by Bord Gáis Energy, sponsors of the Irish Book Awards.

Okay, so these days it's pretty difficult to keep ourselves from picking up our mobile phone. After all, we keep our entire lives inside of those things!

But this of course can have a major negative impact on our mental and emotional health. Watching a screen for most of the day is simply no good. Instead, we’re all for chilling out, lapping up a fun yoga experience and finding ourselves utterly enthralled in a captivating read. Like a sort of meditation, where we can forget about our own world and dive right into another! Well, the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards were on last night which showcased the absolute best in Irish talent and creativity. Every author in the room created a work that had us fascinated, gripped or transfixed in the story they created. And there were plenty of female winners too! So, here are some of those who won an award for their epic work and who we think might just have you moseying into the book store (or your Kindle). 1. The writing.ie Short Story of the Year award went to Christine Dwyer Hickey for Back To Bones. If you need a break from the hustle and bustle of life, but you’re a super-efficient yet busy person, this collection of short stories from the award-winning author might just be the very thing you need. 2. Rory O’ Connell nabbed the Eurospar Cookbook of the Year award for Cook Well, Eat Well. Okay so it's a cookbook, but we're a bunch of avid foodies in here, and we know you are too, so we're popping it in! The co-founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School pieces together oodles of mouth-watering eats, bites and feasts. If you LOVE cooking, or would like to, you’ll enjoy this. It’s ideal for a Christmas feast too. 3. Author Julie Parsons won the Irish Independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year award for the Therapy House. Set in Dublin, this clever crime thriller brings multiple layers to the table, captivating readers with a focus on two murder investigations – one in the present and one in the past during Ireland’s Civil War. Even if you’re not a fan of that particular part of history, you won’t want to put it down. 4. The Specsavers Popular Fiction Book of the Year was won by Marian Keyes for The Break. Break-ups, mid-life crisis’ and kids. It’s sure to entertain, leaving you pondering about your own life and… likely to make you feel good about it too! 5. Ruth Fitzmaurice whipped up the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year award for her novel I Found My Tribe. Ruth’s memoir draws on the period of her life when her husband was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). It was tough, but Wicklow with it’s gorgeous seaside, rustic setting, filled with comical, emotional and powerful happenings is the ultimate cure. 6. Deirdre Sullivan and illustrator Karen Vaughan (left) earned the Eason’s Teen/Young Adult Book of the Year award for Tanglewood and Brine.  Filled with charming tales and short stories about the destinies of young women, which may have some familiar undertones, but are given an original, magical and somewhat eerie makeover. 7. The Eason Book Club of the Year award was handed to Bernard MacLaverty for Midwinter Break. This attractive read depicts an Irish couple who head off to Amsterdam on a romantic break, and you may not even need to head off there anytime soon yourself afterwards! It’s remarkably descriptive but the couple’s antics are sure to hold your attention the entire time. Well aren’t we Irish an awfully talented bunch altogether! Don't forget book lovers, you can vote for your overall Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book of the Year from the award category winners online, and be in with a chance to nab €100 worth of National Book Tokens! Brought to you by Bord Gáis Energy, sponsors of the Irish Book Awards.