In the past year I have read a few Irish books that I loved. Let’s throw those out there for suggested St. Patty’s Day reading:

Prophet Song, Paul Lynch. Prophet Song is a book I keep recommending to people as “my favorite read of the year, last year.” It was also one of my first reads in 2024. People keep getting back to me to thank me for this recommendation. I don’t know if it’s the cover or the title—neither of which do the book a service—but this book isn’t getting as much attention as it deserves, even after the 2023 Booker Prize. I don’t want to talk it up so much you are disappointed, but once I got used to the unconventional writing style/POV (which is actually pretty normal for Irish writers), I was blown away by the beauty of the writing and the authenticity of the main character, a mother during an alternate-history break-down of Irish democracy.Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell. Irish author, but it takes place in Renaissance England. Cuz it’s about Shakespeare, though we never actually see his name on the page. Really, it’s about his family, and especially his wife as she deals with the death of their son, Hamnet, and her husband’s frequent absence. More beautiful language and surprising ways of presenting things. I am a Renaissance England kind of person, and I really loved this book.The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O’Farrell. Irish author, but it takes place in Italy (16th century Florence). I was so enamored by Hamnet that I wanted to dive into O’Farrell’s backlist. Alas, I have other pressing TBRs, but I did manage to read this one, her latest. It was “lush,” as I said in my review, the language beguiling me yet again. I had some complaints about tenses and also the ending, but overall, it was another big win for O’Farrell, for me.Trespasses, Louise Kennedy. I gave this one 3.5 stars, but I thought for the many of you who praise this book, I would include it here. I didn’t hate it, though the more I thought about it, the madder I actually was at it. And it’s one of those young-girl, older-married-man affair books, which I have very little patience for to begin with. But it takes place in the Troubles and explores Protestant-Catholic relationships and realities.Normal People, Sally Rooney. This is one of my daughter’s favorite books, as it is many other people’s (especially younger people). It is also a popular movie. I was not as enthusiastic as my daughter (or many of you) on this one, but I would still recommend it. On the blog, I said, “Here’s my very abbreviated two cents: it’s a realistically swirling tale, told with impressive, clear prose.” In the end, I think the character development suffered for it, unfortunately. Millennials do not agree with me.

What are we looking forward to in March? Besides St. Patty’s Day and Fat Tuesday (because of paczkis)? Oh, and the year to finally begin for reals and stop being a nightmare? (We can hope.)

Here are some highly anticipated March new releases:

Dream Count, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (literary fiction)Wild Dark Shore, Charlotte McConaghy (psychological thriller)This Book Will Bury Me, Ashley Winstead (mystery thriller)The Dream Hotel, Laila Lalami (sci fi-thriller-lit fic)When the Moon Hits Your Eye, John Scalzi (sci fi)Dissolution, Nicholas Binge (time travel thriller)The Unworthy, Agustina Bazterrica (dystopian horror)The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, Stephen Graham Jones (horror)Oathbound, Tracy Deonn (Legendborn Cycle #3, YA fantasy)Our Infinite Fates, Laura Steven (YA romantasy)They Bloom at Night, Trang Thanh Tran (YA queer body horror)Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins (YA fantasy, in the Hunger Games world)Everything Is Tuberculosis, John Green (nonfiction, history-science-culture)I Leave It Up to You, Joo-Win Chong (literary fiction)A Gentleman’s Gentleman, TJ Alexander (transgender Regency romance)Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton (nature memoir)The Antidote, Karen Russell (historical fiction/magic realism)Stag Dance, Torrey Peters (transgender multi-genre story collection)Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever (food memoir)On Air, Steve Oney (NPR history)Early Thirties, Josh Dubuff (romance)Saving Five, Amanda Nguyen (magical realism memoir)Theft, Abdulrazak Gurnah (historical fiction family drama)Tilt, Emma Pattee (literary mystery thriller—see a title trend?)Twist, Collum McCann (which could also double as a St. Patty’s Day read)

Some Ireland-related reads that I have not read yet:

The book at the top of my list this year for St. Patty’s Day is Tana French’s In the WoodsMaggie O’Farrell, This Must Be the PlaceCircle of Friends, Maeve BinchyUlysses, James JoyceDubliners, James JoyceEverything in the Country Must, Cullum McCannThe Commitments, Roddy Doyle

As for which books coincide with Oscar nominations… (There are a lot less this year than last.)

Wicked, Gregory Maguire (Wicked)Conclave, Robert Harris (The Conclave)The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead (The Nickel Boys)Dune, Frank Herbert (Dune: Part Two)The Wild Robot, Peter Brown (Wild Robot)Dylan Goes Electric!, Elijah Wald, (A Complete Unknown)Black Box, Shiroi Ito (Little Black Box)Magic Candies, Paek Hui-Na (Magic Candies)

Not as enthusiastic about these as some months, for sure. Except The Eyes & the Impossible. February just wasn’t the best reading month for me, for some reason. But I can still recommend these:

The Vegetarian , Han KangThe Eyes & the Impossible, Dave EggersOrbital, Samantha Harvey Julie Chan Is Dead, Liann Zhang (out at the end of April)

I’m in six book clubs. The list below means I’m skipping one this month.

Dear Life, Alice MunroA Study in Charlotte, Brittany CavaralloOlga Dies Dreaming, Xochitl GonzalezHouse of Fury, Evelio RoseroThe First Sister, Linden A. Lewis

And Then There Were None , Agatha ChristieBig, HarrisonIn the Woods, Tana FrenchMurder by Cheesecake, Rachel Ekstrom Courage (ARC)The Three-Body Problem, Cixin LiuA Family Matter, Claire Lynch (ARC)The Story, GodWorth Fighting For, Jesse Sutanto (ARC)The Familiar, Leigh BardugoHow to Learn to Be Brave, Mariann BuddeThe Hate U Give, Angie ThomasThe Fraud, Zadie SmithDark Forest, Cixin LiuSome Desperate Glory, Emily TeshLost Man’s Lane, Scott CarsonThe Commitments, Roddy DoyleThis Must Be the Place, Maggie O’Farrell