Goodreads Ireland discussion
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What Are You Reading
Missy wrote: "Just finishing up Fin GallThought it was a standalone until I searched it on here... I think theres 6 in the series *sighs*
On another note, its been about -30 here lately, so the ..."
30 F is warmer than it's been in about 10 days here in the mid-Atlantic US. Yesterday I didn't go out at al. Next Friday it's supposed to be 60 F. these temperature ups and downs aren't good.
Susan wrote: What do you think of it? "It took a bit to get into it but I ended up really liking it and finishing it fast, I'll have to see if I can find the others at the library or something...
Barbara wrote: 30 F is warmer than it's been in about 10 days here in the mid-Atlantic US. Yesterday I didn't go out at al. Next Friday it's supposed to be 60 F. these temperature ups and downs aren't good. "minus 30 (that's without the windchill, some days it was -40s and into -50s) is cold enough for me... when your nostrils freeze together when you breathe .. yeah, its cold hahaha. I have to go out to get to work, and just doing general things that need to get done, otherwise I'd stay in and stay warm.
Mod
I just bought this on Kindle. I am currently fascinated with the Vikings after watching the show on TV. I like that this book seems centered around Dublin.
Thomas wrote: "I thought that there was a minus sign there. Are we talking centigrade or Fahrenheit? My wife walks around the house saying "I want this to end." We are up to 36f today, but it is snowing and I had..."I find I have only a vague idea of temperatures in Celsius. 20 C is comfortable and that's about all I can remember. We have had 2 weeks of frigid temperatures and while yesterday was "warmer" - just above freezing, freezing rain meant I got out of work before 1 PM and missed my book club. I didn't want to risk driving on slippery roads all the way back into downtown Washington DC - 40-60 minutes each way.
Thomas wrote: "I thought that there was a minus sign there. Are we talking centigrade or Fahrenheit? My wife walks around the house saying "I want this to end." We are up to 36f today, but it is snowing and I had..."There was a minus sign there, Thomas.
I'm reading The Good People and really enjoying the picture it's painting of rural Ireland. I remember also liking her previous novel Burial Rites.
I'm catching up on bunch of my comic books.
Donna wrote: "I'm reading The Good People and really enjoying the picture it's painting of rural Ireland. I remember also liking her previous novel Burial Rites."Donna, I really enjoyed Burial Rites, too, and I bought The Good People as an e-book at a really low price (maybe $1.99 or $2.99) during a recent sale. I haven’t gotten to it yet. Glad to read that you’re liking it.
Thomas wrote: "I thought that there was a minus sign there. Are we talking centigrade or Fahrenheit? My wife walks around the house saying "I want this to end." We are up to 36f today, but it is snowing and I had..."Thomas I'm going by Celsius here, sooo according to google -30C is about -22F, and somehow my days of -40C equal -40F
Either way its cold haha and going to work at 4am sucks even more when its -50
Mod
That's serious cold!!
I just finished The Women in the Castle and I really glad I read it . I think anyone that likes historical fiction should give it a try. The quote that spoke to me "Germany was being run by a loudmouthed rabble -rouser,bent on
baiting other nations to war and making life miserable for countless innocent citizens"
Sound familiar and current day ?
Colleen wrote: "I just finished The Women in the Castle and I really glad I read it . I think anyone that likes historical fiction should give it a try. The quote that spoke to me "Germany was bei..."
I saw the writer and that convinced me to buy the book. I liked it quite a bit.
I am reading a fantastic book, I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes With Death by Maggie O'Farrell. She is a writer from N. Ireland that I have long admired and she knocks it out of the park with this book. A memoir told through 17 different near death experiences, the book has opened long buried emotions on my part. There is a story when she is discussing her medical condition with a doctor who just brushed her off. She needed a Caesarean Section because of a medical condition and the doctor calls her a coward. I was so enraged and it brought up terrible memories of dismissive doctors that I wept. I can not recommend this book more highly. The writing itself is so lyrical.
Mod
I enjoyed it, 4/5, my review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I started Y is for Yesterday
I just started day or two ago Ape House by Sara Gruen. First book I have ever read of hers and am loving it.
Applying for naturalisation and asked friends what books by Irish authors should I read and a few recommended The Barrytown Trilogy and Ross O'Carrol-Kelly series—not sure what that says about my friends, or what they think of me.Anyways, even though I'm enjoying them but I think this forum is a more appropriate place to ask for suggestions, hence joining this group.
For what it's worth I've had several—all futile—attempts at reading Ulysses so I'm unable to thoroughly enjoy the best out there, yet.
I am just starting to read Montpelier Parade by Karl Geary. Nominated for the Costa Debut Novel award so my expectations are high.
Sue wrote: "I am just starting to read Montpelier Parade by Karl Geary. Nominated for the Costa Debut Novel award so my expectations are high."I have this on my shelves but I think my book group might read it so I am waiting...
Amir wrote: "Applying for naturalisation and asked friends what books by Irish authors should I read and a few recommended The Barrytown Trilogy and Ross O'Carrol-Kelly series—not sure what that..."I have to teach in a few minutes but will get back on Ulysses as well as other recommendations. I've never heard of the Ross O'Carroll - Kelly series but I'm American. I'm trying to think of what I would suggest to new Americans - probably John Steinbeck for one. So now to think who is the Irish equivalent of Steinbeck?
Declan wrote: "I can't think of Irish authors whose body of work I'd recommend, but, having been prompted by Barbara mentioning Steinbeck, Strumpet City is a saga about impoverished Dublin in the build up the WWI..."How about Colum McCann or John McGahern?
Declan wrote: "I've been thinking about that since I posted and I've probably read enough McCann to recommend his work generally. He didn't come to mind, BTW. That's a great recommendation, Cathleen. Sebastian ..."
I have to read Joseph O’Connor. I have several of his sitting, waiting, on my shelves.
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Thanks Donna, Declan, Barbara, and Cphe!@Cphe, I've read Dubliners but a translation of it, so probably not as helpful in my quest to read Ulysses in English.
I am in a Joyce group that meets monthly. We are finishing Portrait of the Artist in Feb. We read Finnegan's Wake which took 2 and a half years! The only way to read Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake is aloud in a group or via audiobook. Sweney's Pharmacy in Dublin behind Trinity College actually had groups that meet there reading Ulysses in Portuguese and French last time I was there (2016).I should add that Dublin has had the reputation of not loving Joyce. I imagine there are many reasons.
Amir wrote: "Applying for naturalisation and asked friends what books by Irish authors should I read and a few recommended The Barrytown Trilogy and Ross O'Carrol-Kelly series—not sure what that..."I'd recommend Mary Robinson's autobiography Everybody Matters: My Life Giving Voice because it provides a great deal of context for contemporary Irish politics and society. Everyone, it seems, is reading John Boyne's The Heart's Invisible Furies which also provides a portrait of Ireland over the span of a lifetime.
I got offered this book to reviewMy Father's Wake: How the Irish Teach Us to Live, Love, and Die
Has anybody heard of it and do you thin it would be a good choice for me?
I think it sounds really interesting, Susan.
Susan wrote: "I got offered this book to reviewMy Father's Wake: How the Irish Teach Us to Live, Love, and Die
Has anybody heard of it and do you thin it would be a good choice for me?"
I haven't heard of it and all the websites just have the publisher's description. But there is a review in The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...
I wonder why the name of the island isn't provided - maybe the author doesn't want tourists overwhelming the place.
Barbara wrote: "Susan wrote: "I got offered this book to reviewMy Father's Wake: How the Irish Teach Us to Live, Love, and Die
Has anybody heard of it and do you thin it would be a good choice fo..."
I found this review in the Irish Times which is somewhat unconvinced by the book:
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/bo...
And it mentions Toolis' family is from Achill Island. The author was born in Edinburgh where the family lived after leaving Mayo. Remote? No it is connected to the mainland by a bridge. Remote? It is the largest island off the Irish coast. Then I suppose in terms of the entire world, all of Mayo is remote. I really dislike this kind of hyperbole designed to appeal to romantic notions of a place. The Irish Times review dismantles his main theory which is that the Irish understand better death and mourning than other cultures.
I have to agree with you, Barbara. Thanks for the research. I think in my current state of mind, I think I'll pass.
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My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I am reading The Good People and it is very good! According to author's notes at the end, she did quite a bit of research in Ireland particularly on folklore which is at the heart of the story. Belief in "the good people" (fairies), many practices and beliefs often called superstitions, and the use of plants to cure just about everything.
Amir, you might consider reading Anne Enright's The Green Road - I haven't read it myself but I have read reviews praising its depiction of an extended Irish family. Enright was the first Irish Fiction Laureate.
Finished "Norina Luciano"An English novel by Noha Alaa El-Din
I loved it a lottttttt
Finnie wrote: "Hungry Hill by Daphne du Maurier"I was thinking of reading Hungry Hill as part of the challenge but decided against it because I'm trying to read only Irish authors for it but I'm still interested in reading it. It sounds good .
Colleen wrote: "I'm starting Ready Player One . I think the movie comes out in March"I picked that up and put it down in the bookshop about an hour ago. I decided it was so popular that I would probably get it cheaper than 8.99 soon.
So I chose:
Maria, that one's on my list at the library.
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Goodreads Ireland
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Thought it was a standalone until I searched it on here... I think theres 6 in the series *sighs*
On another note, its been about -30 here lately, so the ..."
What do you think of it?