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All Things Irish: A Novel
by
Michael Loynd (Goodreads Author)
AMAZON HUMOR BEST SELLER!
IRISH AMERICAN NEWS FEATURED BOOK CLUB SELECTION!
"A charming and thoughtful read that should prove hard to overlook..."--MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
Do bad things really happen to us for a good reason? Escape into the ALL THINGS IRISH shop in Door County, Wisconsin and laugh exploring why--as you indulge in outrageous Irishness, friendships as thick as Aran...more
IRISH AMERICAN NEWS FEATURED BOOK CLUB SELECTION!
"A charming and thoughtful read that should prove hard to overlook..."--MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
Do bad things really happen to us for a good reason? Escape into the ALL THINGS IRISH shop in Door County, Wisconsin and laugh exploring why--as you indulge in outrageous Irishness, friendships as thick as Aran...more
Paperback, 284 pages
Published
January 30th 2012
by Writers' Press
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As I got into ALL THINGS IRISH, I found myself laughing. A lot. This isn't a book with jokes but loaded with fascinating characters that were relatable and quirky, crazy (and anyone who knows me, knows I know crazy...) and colorful, the kind of people you absolutely want to spend time with. This is a story about family, and I have always written about family. It's universal, everyone gets family and everyone's is screwed up to one degree or another. Well, Michael Loynd writes about Mo McKenna, o...more
This book surprised me a bit (pleasantly). The story was a bit more complex and interesting than I was expecting. Meg departs L.A. for Door County, Wisconsin to help her mother with her newly opened Irish shop which is not doing well. The local Scandinavian Historical group is harassing them excessively because they feel an Irish shop is out of place in the context of their town’s history. Meg gets reacquainted with her old flame from her teen years and sparks fly..things get complicated, Meg’s...more
This was my first (and hopefully not last) book that I was honored to read through the giveaways. Michael, if I could have given your book more stars I would but I will tell you that I will be telling all of my friends and family to read it because I fully enjoyed myself reading this little treasure. I will make sure to put it out on my book shelf by the books that I read again and again and again because I will definitely want to devour this book several more times. It is funny, exciting, sad,...more
I kissed my four-leaf clover in hopes of this part Eire lass winning a copy of this book.
May the road rise up to greet us all!
Wear the green and you'll be seen. Brings Eire luck so pucker up!
I have just started reading this book...awesome so far...entering so I can give one to my book addict sister-in-law! Can't get enough!
May the road rise up to greet us all!
Wear the green and you'll be seen. Brings Eire luck so pucker up!
I have just started reading this book...awesome so far...entering so I can give one to my book addict sister-in-law! Can't get enough!
view all 7 comments
My inspiration for ALL THINGS IRISH came from my wife, who worked one holiday season at this wonderful little Irish shop and came home each night with the most entertaining, laugh-out-loud, put-a-smile-on-your-face stories. This O'merican subculture was so fun, I couldn't wait each night to hear the latest. The women who worked there were a bewitching, tight-knit cast of characters unto themselves, both strong and hilarious, who lived and breathed all things Irish. Then I recalled another peculi...more
Loved this book! If you like Fannie Flagg, Garrison Keillor, and Alice Hoffman, you must read ALL THINGS IRISH. Mo McKenna is the funnest character I've read in a long time. Outrageous, funny, and off-her-rocker Irish. I want to go to Door County and hang out in her shop, along with all the rich colorful friends and Lake Wobegon villagers that try to run her shop out of town! Michael Loynd tells a wonderful tale about family bonds (that sometimes drive us crazy), reunited first loves, and about...more
A book about an Irish family's female members and their relationships is well outside the scope of books I usually read. That being said, I really enjoyed "All Things Irish." The characters were deep, richly developed, and I genuinely cared about them. The character of Mary Lou was spot on to the New England Irish that I have spent my whole life with and I really enjoyed her. The setting of Wisconsin is a place I have never visited but Loynd transported me there and I could picture it all vividl...more
Just received this as a free book and haven't been this excited to read a new book in ages. It sounds so fun and different from the heavy stuff I've had to read lately. I'm ready for a change so thanks to Michael Loynd for putting it in front of me! I'll submit a review when I'm finished.
This is a review from my daughter. She'll post this on her page and when I get a chance I will post a review of my own.
...
I'm happy I finally got a chance to read this one! Once I was able to pick this up it was...more
This is a review from my daughter. She'll post this on her page and when I get a chance I will post a review of my own.
...
I'm happy I finally got a chance to read this one! Once I was able to pick this up it was...more
Oct 14, 2012
Stacy
added it
I can't give this book a rating, because I didn't finish it. And I VERY very rarely don't finish a book.
Perhaps because I'm originally from Wisconsin spent 14 years in Green Bay and spent a lot of time in Door County that the setting and locale of this book really rubbed me the wrong way. I understand it's fiction, but melding a number of villages together as one fictional village, yet leaving actual businesses intact by name, but in the wrong place, was just disorienting.
Perhaps because I'm originally from Wisconsin spent 14 years in Green Bay and spent a lot of time in Door County that the setting and locale of this book really rubbed me the wrong way. I understand it's fiction, but melding a number of villages together as one fictional village, yet leaving actual businesses intact by name, but in the wrong place, was just disorienting.
I won this in a FR giveaway. This book was great and such a quick read! It was really funny, but not in a filled with jokes kind of way, but in a crazy characters that you could know in real life kind of way! The characters are all so interesting and I really liked every single one of them (except Caitlyn's husband). It was emotional as well, sad but happy at the same time. I would definitely recommend it! I'm also part Irish, so it was so interesting and fun to read a book with Irish characters...more
I'm still on my Irish reading kick.... Meg Mckenna's mother is a kooky Irish woman that has opened an Irish store RIGHT in the middle of a Wisconsin town known for its Scandinavian charm. The locals want to run it out of business and Meg wants her mother to not be so Irish. Circumstances happen that force Meg to come to her mother's aid and run the store. This is a light chic-lit with a little Irish charm.
Loved, loved, loved this book!
I'm normally not a reader of fiction but this book was highly recommended to me by a friend and I can't thank them enough for doing so. The character development was so well constructed I fell in love with them all right from the get go. One of my favorite characters is Door County itself. I've never been to Door County but after reading the book I wanted to move there and open my own Irish shop. I found myself re-reading passages and laughing out-loud over and over...more
I'm normally not a reader of fiction but this book was highly recommended to me by a friend and I can't thank them enough for doing so. The character development was so well constructed I fell in love with them all right from the get go. One of my favorite characters is Door County itself. I've never been to Door County but after reading the book I wanted to move there and open my own Irish shop. I found myself re-reading passages and laughing out-loud over and over...more
I'm happy I finally got a chance to read this one! Once I was able to pick this up it was hard to put down. This is a story about life, family, forgiveness and love. Not too heavy but still enough to engage your brain. The characters are real and not made to seem perfect. I love the crazy Irish stuff... paper in the bread... painting the car like the Irish flag... all the superstition is just fun to read. It's written with accents and that also makes it fun to read. You can almost hear them spea...more
Not trying to be mean, but the formatting...one woman had a Boston accent and the author substituted italicized h's for every single word with an r, making paragraphs extremely difficult to read. Bit awkwardly plotted, in that you knew what was going to happen from the get go. Rather hard to get into this one, though I did finish it.
Overall, I liked this book very much. Just when you thought "Oh, it is becoming predictable" the author throws you a curve ball. Funny, bitter sweet, great characters. I do look forward to another book by this author. The worst part was the spelling and grammar mistakes, I hope the next book will be better edited in that regard.
If you are looking for a laugh, this book had me chuckling and sometimes right out guffawing. The only complaint I have are the love scenes. If I read the word tender or any variation thereof ONE MORE TIME *shakes fist* I don't believe in writing a whole synopsis of the book - that's what the book description is for, so suffice to say it was quite entertaining with kooky and irreverent characters aplenty.
Mo McKenna was born and raised in Ireland. Now a widow with grown children she sells her home in the Midwest and moves to a quaint, very
Norwegian town in Wisconsin and shocks her new neighbors by opening a shop, All Things Irish. Her neighbors are not amused!
Humorous, poignant.
Norwegian town in Wisconsin and shocks her new neighbors by opening a shop, All Things Irish. Her neighbors are not amused!
Humorous, poignant.
I was fortunate enough to have been a First Reader winner of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this bittersweet story and it made me laugh out loud, right along with shedding a few tears. I could identify with the characters and I had a hard time setting the book down. If you enjoy a good read about a quirky family with all the ups and down, than this will be a book for you. I highly recommend it.
a good yarn - hilarious in some places, made me cry in others. Would have been nice if an editor had touched it - gotten rid of the typos and misspelled words. Those were mildly distracting.
This book made me happy! The quirky characters mixed with Irish proverbs were a delight! Found myself laughing and smiling through most of the book. A nice change of pace from some recent reads.
There were interesting Irish facts throughout the book, but the story was poorly written. The author jumped around, in my opinion. I did like the characters...Meg, Caitlin, Mo, Robbie.
This to me was in no way a comedy. There were some wholly unexpected and really unpalatable elements that really did not add to the story. Not for me.
This was a cute little story about Irish heritage and their approach to hardships in life. you really care about the characters and want them to succeed.
I enjoyed this book, it wasn't a thick plot or anything but it was funny and charming. I especially liked the Irish sayings at the beginning of each chapter!
Mostly fun tale based around the family owning an Irish shop in a Scandanavian-culture town in Wisconsin. Easy read that left me smiling.
I might have enjoyed it if I hadn't had to stop and translate the authors phonetic Irish brogue and New York accent. Tiresome.
Different type of story, and a little hard to follow until you get to know the characters, then it's fantastic!
I really liked the story but had a hard time getting past all of the typos - things like "rot iron" instead of "wrought iron".
Very great cast of characters, laugh out loud moments.
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Michael Loynd is the author of ALL THINGS IRISH: A NOVEL, and the upcoming GOSSIPING WITH A WITCH (the inspired true story of Alice Roosevelt Longworth). Married to his high school sweetheart, they live in St. Louis with their four children.
More about Michael Loynd...
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