"You can immerse yourself in a book and forget about everything else." Freda Deegan opens the door of her north Dublin home with a broad smile on her face. Her delivery of books from Cabra library has arrived, and she has her last bundle ready at the door to be collected. An avid reader since she was a child, Freda is living alone during the pandemic but says having books around her has been a huge source of comfort and entertainment. "I love to see a row of books facing me," she says, and romantic fiction and books "full of adventure" are among the novels she loves.