Over 200 rare books linked to Bram Stoker have been given to Dublin City Library. The collection includes books on Transylvanian history possibly used by Stoker for his novel, Dracula. The Bram Stoker Society organised the handover of the collection and said it had huge value for researchers.

Shriver to read at Waterstone's

Orange Prize-winning author Lionel Shriver will read at Waterstone's on Dawson Street, Dublin, this Friday, 28 April at 6.30pm. Shriver will be discussing her new novel, Double Fault, the follow-up to her award-winning We Need To Talk About Kevin. Ticket prices are redeemable against the purchase of the book on the night.

For tickets phone 01 6791260.

Stopper focuses on feminism

This Thursday, 27 April, at 7pm, Anthology Books in Temple Bar, Dublin, launches Anne Stopper's book, Monday at Gaj's: the Story of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement.

Stopper's account of the Irish feminist movement of the 1970s focuses on a group of women who met regularly at Gaj's Restaurant in Dublin, to discuss women's rights in Ireland. The launch is free and open to the public.

A bounty of Beckett from Trinity and RTE

Trinity College Library is currently running an exhibition of its collection of Samuel Beckett manuscripts, correspondence and related material. The exhibition explores his years as a student at Trinity and includes new acquisitions of Beckett manuscripts since the last major exhibition in 1991, which include a notebook containing the first working draft of Imagination Dead Imagine. For more details, log on to www. beckettcentenaryfestival. ie Meanwhile, RTE Radio has launched a special edition CD box set of Samuel Beckett's Three Novels . . . Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable. The books are read by actor Barry McGovern and the box set is for sale on RTE's website www. rte. ie/shop and in retail outlets nationwide.

It's words that really turn women on

It's official. Women prefer books to sex. Or so a survey carried out by the Telegraph concluded. The survey of 1,500 predominantly married, working women aged from 35 to 59 found that the majority preferred a good book to sex, shopping, or sleeping. They also preferred thrillers and crime novels to happy endings.