Goodreads Ireland discussion

I am starting a new thread. The old one has over 7k posts.

Good one, Thomas! Happy New year to you and your loved ones.
By the end of last year I fell behind my reading schedule, so catching up for now. My current read is dragging since before Christmas.
Once You Go This Far by Kristen Lepionka
It is a good one and i am enjoying it but need to allocate more time for reading!

Ali wrote: "Good one, Thomas! Happy New year to you and your loved ones.
By the end of last year I fell behind my reading schedule, so catching up for now. My current read is dragging since before Christmas.
[..."

Thanks Ali

Best Wishes for a Happy New Year!
Starting 2021 with light reading, “The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany”. written by Lori Nelson Spielman
The two sisters in this book are actually American, New Yorkers of Italian heritage. As of now, I find this book to be amusing and easy to read.
In this book, many Italian cultural traditions that are still adhered: intriguing, confounding, humorous and interesting, as in all varied cultures.
The characters in this book are three dimensional and authentic & truly “characters” in the best of descriptions..
A delightful book for this New Year?s Reading Journey!
May 2021 be a delightful year to all who read this!!

Maureen wrote: "Best Wishes for a Happy New Year!
Starting 2021 with light reading, “The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany”. written by Lori Nelson Spielman
The two sisters in this book are actually American, New Yo..."

Maureen, this sounds like a lovely book for winter holiday season. I marked it for myself.

Reading all of Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor series.

Reading a Man called Ove . Excellent read so far

I have just finished 'Shantaram' by Gregory David Roberts.
it is a very long, sometimes beautiful, sometimes ludicrous tale of an Australian fugitive living in Bombay.
it is supposedly a true story but i suspect a lot of embellishment has occurred in the telling. I sat on the fence and gave it 3 stars.

Next up is a complete change.
'Inverting the Pyramid' The history of Football Tactics by Jonathan Wilson. A christmas present to improve my ability to shout at the TV during games.

All the best for 2021

Hi all,

First time posting on here, I’ve just finished Kindred by Octavia E.Butler. It was such a good book, gave it five stars. I have just started The Hobbit. I’m really enjoying the writing in this book it’s really fun writing.

Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of their 2021 reads!

Hello one and all,
I just recently read The Partition of Ireland and the Troubles, Charles River Editor. I was rather disappointed. Not only did I find errors but the I felt this book was based on British news releases during the troubles.

Stephen wrote: "I have just finished 'Shantaram' by Gregory David Roberts.
it is a very long, sometimes beautiful, sometimes ludicrous tale of an Australian fugitive living in Bombay.
it is supposedly a true sto..."

I started it ages go. Managed to read a bit, but never got into it. Keep thinking i should give it another try.

Reading the Secret World by Christopher Andrew on Audible. 37 hours of scholarly reading is a bit of a slog. Thankfully its broken up into 1 hour chapters that are largely self-contained

Hello all, my first time commenting on this post but been a member of the group for a while. Hope all is well and safe during these times.

Just finished John Banville's novel snow 4/5 and currently finishing Lee Child's latest thriller The Sentinel 5/5.

Made a new years promise I would try to make more time for the classics so I decided to start the year off with great expectations - a childhood favorite.

My wife and I both enjoyed The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
It is historical fiction, set in WWII England.
We both rated it 4 stars. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Hi, Sam, it's a welcome reminder to me to be more active here! I tried to concentrate on writing more, but went through a happy period of constant reading, so I can recommend To Keep a Bird Singing by Kevin Doyle which is an enjoyable Cork-based thriller I've just finished. I also finished Nation by Terry Pratchett, a more serious book than the Discworlds and excellent. Over Christmas I polished off the highly entertaining Pirates! books by Gideon Defoe, very quick and easy reads and so much fun.

Thank you for the recommendation Lisa. I will be sure to check out that novel by Kevin Doyle. I particularly enjoy Irish stories set in the post Celtic tiger era of recession and austerity and would highly recommend Donal Ryan's the spinning heart if you haven't come across it already as it is of similar nature.

I myself pledged to concentrate on writing but got carried away by constant reading and a determined desire to fulfill my yearly target on the good reads reading challenge.

Thank you, Lisa, that is a great recommendation, I have added it to my shelves and will try to fit it into my queue. I have trouble saying no to a good thriller, especially if it hits so close to home. :)

I just finished A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller.
I wrote a small review about it here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Not a mystery/thriller, but a biography of 3 Dutch teenagers who joined the resistance in WWII. Three Ordinary Girls by Tim Brady
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I won Masque of Honor: A Historical Novel of the American South by Sharon Virts in a GR giveaway. I 'm a lucky guy--10 books awarded, 1833 entries.

Managed to finish A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, which is a somewhat controversial read during a pandemic and also from reviews that literally reach from omg, this is my all time favourite book to this is disgusting, this book should never have been written.
Here is my review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Considering how fresh it is, I am very much in a conversational mood about it still and think will be for several days.

I read The War Heist by Ralph Dennis
It is a thriller centered on a plot to steal the gold that the UK sent to Canada for safekeeping in 1940. It starts in the UK, moves to the US, then Canada. My 4 star review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, I have not read a book in 24h in quite a while!

You can read my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Masque of Honor: A Historical Novel of the American South by Sharon Virts
It is a slow moving book of historical fiction based on an actual duel in 1819 Maryland, US.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read The Maltese Pigeon by Sheldon Siegel
It is an enjoyable short story that can be read in 1 hour.
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Final Out by Sheldon Siegel
it is book 12 this easy to read legal mystery series suitable for cozy fans. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just read A Place Apart by Dervla Murphy. Wow what a read. I have read several books on the Troubles of Northern Ireland from '69 through "99 and none have given me the understanding of how the various participants and their communities thought. What a gutsy woman, to ride around the north in those times. A must read to fully understand Northern Ireland.

I read Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly
I enjoyed it and rate it 4 stars. It is book 3 in the trilogy that stat started with Lilac Girls
This one takes place during the US civil war and is based on letters written by the Woolsey family.
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read What the Devil Knows It is a page turner and book 16 in the series. I recommend that you read them in order. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Yesterday, I finished reading “The Next Gig”, the auto-biography of the late actor Frank Kelly. Kelly published his biography in 2015. He died in 2016. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read an enjoyable short story The Pact by Linda Castillo
It can be read in 1 sitting, 53p.
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read a history book that I enjoyed. Valcour: The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I’m reading The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley and is the second book of The Seven Sisters
Enjoying the book immensely

Some great recommendations herre thanks. Just finished Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent. Anyone else like her?

I read this book almost 10 years ago, but decided to update my review with a personal experience.
The Ballad of Tom Dooley
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read The Devil's Pawn It is historical fiction, based on the lesser known play Faustus II by Goethe. My review, 3.5 stars rounded down. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Levi's War I enjoyed it and recommended it to my wife. It is historical WWII fiction My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Right Now for 2021: Brain Candy!
Will check back in when publications worth being in the category of being deemed “Books”.
Brain candy Less unhealthful than eating ¿candy?
It is this kind of Pandemic Lining.
Mea Culpa!

I just started reading Morgan Llywelyn's The Lion of Ireland. I read through the other reviews here. I am not sure of what some readers expected. This is no Harry Potter or Game of Thrones. It is an historical fiction. I have read several of Morgan's other works and she usually does an outstanding job of weaving a believable tale around the set of known historical facts.

I read Man Down (Rogue, #2) by Irma Venter It is a South African crime mystery. My 3.5 stars rounded up review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Robert B. Parker's Payback
It is book 9 in the Sunny Randall series, started by now deceased Parker. I enjoyed it and recommend to Parker fans.
My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Thief of Souls by Brian Klingborg I enjoyed it and recommend it. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Trying to find as many books as I can on Quakerism. In the meantime, am reading The Searcher and Lost, Found, and Forever

I read Five Ways to Disappear and enjoyed it. My wife and I both like this series. It is book 6 in the series and they work better if read in order. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Joe wrote: "I just started reading Morgan Llywelyn's The Lion of Ireland. I read through the other reviews here. I am not sure of what some readers expected. This is no Harry Potter or Game of Thrones. It is a..."

I've read Llywelyn's books 1916 thru 1979 and have enjoyed them. I have Grania: She-King of the Irish Seas which I will probably read this summer.

I read those a couple years back. The first two were really well written and moved quickly along historical lines. where the third and especially the fourth seemed to go slow and drag a bit.

Saw in the newspaper, thought others might be interested.

A former UCD student has secured a six-figure publishing deal for her debut novel.

Disha Bose, who is represented by Marianne Gunn O’Connor — the literary super-agent behind the likes of Cecilia Ahern — has sold the rights to the novel Dirty Laundry to Viking for an undisclosed sum.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news...

I read Blood Washing Blood: Afghanistan’s Hundred-Year War It is an excellent history book.
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read. Dreidel To The Grave. It is an alternate history book, with Hitler still alive and a Mossad spy looking to kill him.
My review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I recently finished The Visiting Hour by Frank McGuinness

It's a play about a daughter visiting her father, who suffers from dementia in a care home during the first Covid lockdown. I'd highly recommend it.

Here's a link to my spoiler-free review if you'd like to check it out The Visiting Hour Review

I read The Women of Chateau Lafayette
I won it in a GR giveaway. It is historical fiction. I enjoyed it and recommend to anyone who likes strong women characters.
My 4 star review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...