Manus from Kilbeggan Libraryjoined Westmeath Libraries in 202 View more posts from Manus Diarmaid Ferriter’s new history of the Irish Civil War seeks to get at the human experience and day-to-day texture of the war and its aftermath. In Between Two Hells, combat itself is skimmed over quickly. Other books have dealt with the strictly... Continue Reading →
Kathleen from Athlone Library reviews The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This is a memoir of a successful journalist's journey from the deserted mining towns of the American Southwest. Jeanette’s father was an intelligent man, but was an alcoholic unable to support his family. Her mother was an Artist, in her own world, and was... Continue Reading →
Ray from Kilbeggan Library reviews Dark Blue by Shane Carthy. Shane Carthy's journey over the last five years has seen it all. From the highs of Leinster glory in the Under 21 football final versus Meath in 2014 to the lows of waking up in St. Patrick's Mental Health Hospital a few days afterwards, a... Continue Reading →
This could have been a non-fiction title, and have become heavy with data, instead it is a work of fiction enriched by all the research it must have required. The book has three intertwinning stories, with beginnings in England in 1852, the United States in 2007, and China in 2098. And all this is what... Continue Reading →
In the year 2000, Irish Times journalist and poet Rosita Boland set herself the task of reading the 13th edition of the Chambers Dictionary from cover to cover, collecting words which delighted her in a notebook. She uses some of these unusual and evocative words as chapter headings in this beautifully written book which documents... Continue Reading →
This morning I would like to review a book called The affairs of others by Amy Grace Lloyd. The affairs of others reveals the different lives held within a Brooklyn brownstone; a landlady and her tenants. Apparently an ordinary story at the outset, the tale reveals characters, some of whose personal lives inhabit a dark... Continue Reading →
Lorraine from Athlone Library talks about 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith: This hugely entertaining book centers around 44 Scotland Street, a fictitious building in a real street in Edinburgh occupied by a wide range of interesting characters. The characters are so well drawn they become like old friends as the series progresses: among... Continue Reading →
Aine reviews two titles: Homes and Experiences by Liam Williams and The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
The Scandal by Fredik Backman review by Anne Byrne The Scandal is set in a small Swedish town called Beartown, and the community of Beartown live for hockey. They hope to win the league so that people with invest in their town. The author helps us understand the characters, and their hopes dreams, fears and... Continue Reading →
Margaret from Kilbeggan Library reviews The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd. Nan Shepherd offers a depth of scientific knowledge and lived experience from the point of view that "each of the senses is a way into what the mountain can give". The mountain being the Caingorms of Scotland. It is an invitation into a world... Continue Reading →
