There was a cri de coeur in this paper recently from the editor of Cork Literary Review.

In a stout defence of the value of producing the review in print, he said that it was an artefact people would cherish and that publications such as his don’t have the same readability online.

I would have agreed with him until quite recently, but having just received my fortnightly online bulletin from the excellent Dublin Review of Books I'm not so sure.

Were I to receive it by post, or find a bookshop that stocked it, it would lie around the house for far too long, queuing up with the unread or half-read novels and the pile of daily newspapers, awaiting the elusive moment of quiet during which perhaps one of its essays might be read.

The reality of my life is that I seem to spend more time in front of a screen than lolling about in an armchair with a book, so it is easier for my attention to be caught by something I can read online.

The well-designed drb.ie website makes it easy to scroll through and find thoughtful essays, book reviews, new writing, short, well-written blogs, news about books and literary and cultural events, and links to articles in other publications.

Dublin Review of Books says it aims "to promote analysis and ideas by reflecting on international and Irish themes and, where appropriate, on their interaction".

When it pops into my email box it feels like an unearned gift. So far DRB has not asked me for a penny. Its policy, I'm told, is to provide high-quality content free of charge to an international readership with the aim of promoting Irish intellectual and artistic life. Most of those who write for it are not paid.

It is refreshing in this world, where everything seems to have a price, to come across high-quality work that is not produced to make money.

Most of the contributors began by submitting pieces, and, were more funds available, more work would be commissioned from those who write for a living.

DRB has received a modest Arts Council grant, and, as a taxpayer, I think it's money well spent. A look at the data on the reach of the review should confirm that. A third of its rapidly growing readership is in the US and Canada, another third in Ireland and the remainder in Britain and the rest of the world.

What a treasure people are getting, and what a great connection with what’s being debated and written about in Ireland.

All you have to do to receive the fortnightly fix is to visit drb.ie and insert your email address at the bottom of the page.

I have one complaint. The site lists 187 contributors. Only 31 are women. I have no idea why more women are not submitting work, or editors are not commissioning them, but it's not good enough to have 50 per cent of the population so under-represented in such an otherwise impressive publication.

Doireann Ní Bhriain is a radio producer