Tag: Ireland

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“I couldn’t explain it, not even to myself, but books gave me an unflinching sense of stability and groundedness. That because words survived, somehow I would too.”
― Evie Woods, The Lost Bookshop

Hidden stories swirl beneath the surface in Evie Woods’ debut novel, The Lost Bookshop. Opaline, Martha, and Henry have been pushed around and shunted to the sides of their own lives. Desperate to escape, they start down paths that will change their stories forever.

In the past, Opaline is facing off with her brother. His plans for her are not what she wants, so she looks for a way out that eventually leads her to a magical, mysterious bookshop. In the present, Martha is an Irish woman trying to escape her abusive marriage. Leaving her husband, she finds work as a housekeeper for a mysterious woman in an even more mysterious house that comes alive the longer Martha works there. One day, Martha sees Henry pacing outside her bedroom window. Henry is a scholar who has made his way to Dublin to find a missing manuscript and a lost bookshop that should be right next to where Martha lives. Henry and Martha work together to find the history of the bookshop and what happened to the people involved.

This was a lovely read. I adored listening to Opaline, Martha, and Henry tell their stories across time. This is a dual timeline, so readers (and listeners) need to pay attention! Evie Woods pulled together the timelines, characters, and storylines in such a way that almost everything is resolved at the end. Woven into the storylines were multiple classic books, manuscripts, and their authors. Sylvia Beach and her bookshop Shakespeare & Company played a large part, as well as famous authors who dropped in to help the characters on their self-discovery journeys. Pick up this book if you’re looking for a bit of magic, myth, historical fiction, or have a deep love of anything literature. You’ll be transported to Ireland and the mysterious worlds of Opaline, Martha, and Henry as they work to find the lost bookshop and, by extension, themselves.

“The thing about books,’ she said, ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.”
― Evie Woods, The Lost Bookshop

Leap Day / Leap Year items

- Beth Leave a comment

You would think with Leap Day coming only every four years, there would be more stories revolving around the rare event. I could only come up with four titles in our catalog. (Descriptions provided by publisher.)

Lucky Leap Day by Ann Marie Walker — During a whirlwind trip to Ireland, after one too many whiskeys, fledgling screenwriter Cara Kennedy gets caught up in the Irish tradition of women proposing on Leap Day. She wakes up the next morning with a hot guy in her bed and a tin foil ring. With a flight back to LA in four hours, the best thing they can do is figure things out along the way. In LA Finn Maguire spends the nights charming his new bride– and his days going on auditions. Is their marriage the real deal– or was he just after her Hollywood connections?

 

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Leap Year (DVD) – This movie from 2010 introduced me to the Irish tradition that allows women to propose to men on Leap Day. Anna (played by Amy Adams) follows Jeremy to Dublin to propose to him. But after landing on the wrong side of Ireland, she must enlist the help of Declan, a handsome and carefree local man, to get her across the country. Along the way, they discover that the road to love can take you to very unexpected places.

 

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Leap Day by Wendy Mass – This Young Adult novel features a heroine Josie on her fourth Leap birthday, when she turns sixteen. Josie has a number of momentous experiences, including taking her driver’s test, auditioning for a school play, and celebrating with her family and friends.

 

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A Different Dawn by Isabella Maldonado — When the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program database detects two murder incidents “staged to look like double murder suicides,” FBI special agent Nina Guerrera investigates, in Maldonado’s captivating sequel to 2020’s The Cipher. The most recent occurred in Phoenix, Ariz., and the previous one happened four years before in Manhattan, both on February 29. FBI agents soon discover the existence of eight similar crimes at four-year intervals, all involving young couples with an infant or newborn child. As the agents get closer to finding commonalities among the murders and in particular the significance of leap day, things get personal for Nina as she uncovers clues to the crimes related to her entry into the foster system as a child. (Publishers Weekly review, 06/28/2021)

The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan

- Lynn Leave a comment

  The Queen of Dirt Island  by Irish author Donal Ryan is a short novel with even shorter two-page chapters.  The brief chapters allow for quick mood changes – bleakness and sad events are followed by the very dark humor of Nana and her daughter-in-law.

The novel follows several generations of women in a housing estate in rural County Tipperary in the 1990s. Seen through the eyes of Saoirse, we get to know Mary (Nana), Eileen (Saoirse’s mother) and Pearl (Saoirse’s daughter).  They are the focus though there are other richly drawn characters, such as Paudie, Saoirse’s uncle who is in prison for his IRA activities.

The vocabulary and idioms are so very authentically Irish that googling is a must (boreen, busht, and cop on). Eileen and Mary, in particular have a very clear-eyed view of the Catholic church – abiding by its traditions but also uncowed by the local clergy. The irreverence of these two women is a very major part of the charm of this book. They squabble with large amounts of profanity but are devoted to each other.

The title refers to a childhood idyll, an island that was part of the farm where Mary grew up and she ultimately inherits it even though her family has disowned her. The untraditional group of women are the objects of gossip but Eileen is fierce and will physically fight anyone who disrespects the little family. The women rely on each other to survive after the men die, are absent, or who have used their power to withhold property and inheritance.

Online Reading Challenge – May Wrap-Up

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Hello Fellow Challenge Readers!

How did your reading go this month? Did you read something set in Ireland that you enjoyed? Share in the comments!

I read our main title: Good Eggs by Rebecca Hardiman. This is the story of three generations of the Gogarty family in Dublin, Ireland. The Gogarty family are all rambunctious people in their own way – full of spunk and the desire to get their own way. All the main characters have issues, but this book is rife with added humor that make the story endearing. They are all ‘good eggs’ looking for second chances.

Kevin Gogarty is frustrated. His eighty-three-year-old mother, Millie, has been caught shoplifting yet again. AGAIN! At a loss of what to do, Kevin hires a caretaker to come into his mother’s house to help take care of her. After all, his wife isn’t home to help. Kevin is currently unemployed, stuck at home managing their full house while his wife travels around the world to exotic locations for work. He’s not bitter at all.

Millie is livid. She’s just fine, thank you very much.  Her nosy son’s plan means that she will have to miss her planned vacation with Jolly Jessica to the States. This new caretaker is destined to be a pain in her side, no matter what they all say. She doesn’t need any help.

Kevin’s daughter Aideen is annoyed. Her parents think she’s sullen and misbehaved, but if they had to deal with her spoiled rotten twin sister, they would act the same way! After one of her outbursts, her parents decide they have had enough and send her to a new boarding school during the school week. She can’t believe she’s been banished. Her troubles escalate even more at the school when Aideen befriends the campus rebel.

Millie’s new home aide, Sylvia, walks right into the Gogarty family mess with a smile on her face. Sylvia is upbeat and nothing seems to phase her. Kevin has high hopes that Sylvia will be able to alleviate the stress his mother causes him on a daily basis. Little do they all know that the addition of Sylvia will tip the family towards their greatest disaster yet.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought that I would. I found myself laughing out loud at some points, as I could definitely picture the hijinks in my head. I was drawn to certain characters and found myself instantly invested in what was going to happen next in each of their lives. All in all, a hilarious romp of a debut novel. I can’t wait to see what Rebecca Hardiman writes next.

In June, we’re headed to Australia!

Online Reading Challenge – May

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Welcome Readers!

This month the Online Reading Challenge travels to Ireland, nicknamed the Emerald Isle for its wide expanses of lush, green fields! Our Main title is Good Eggs by Rebecca Hardiman. Here’s a quick summary from the author.

A hilarious and heartfelt debut novel following three generations of a boisterous family whose simmering tensions boil over when a home aide enters the picture, becoming the  calamitous force that will either undo or remake them—perfect for fans of Where’d YouGo, Bernadette and Evvie Drake Starts Over.

When Kevin Gogarty’s irrepressible eighty-three-year-old mother, Millie, is caught shoplifting yet again, he has no choice but to hire a caretaker to keep an eye on her. Kevin, recently unemployed, is already at his wits’ end tending to a full house while his wife travels to exotic locales for work, leaving him solo with his rebellious teenage daughter, Aideen, whose troubles escalate when she befriends the campus rebel at her new boarding school.

Into the Gogarty fray steps Sylvia, Millie’s upbeat home aide, who appears at first to be their saving grace—until she catapults the Gogarty clan into their greatest crisis yet.

With charm, humor, and pathos to spare, Good Eggs is a delightful study in self-determination; the notion that it’s never too late to start living; and the unique redemption that family, despite its maddening flaws, can offer.

This title is also available in the following formats:

As always, check each of our locations for displays with lots more titles to choose from!

Belfast on DVD

- Ann Leave a comment

Buddy, a 9-year-old boy living in Belfast, Ireland in 1969 enjoys simple things – playing in the streets with his cousins, walking to school and working on his maths (homework) and going to the cinema and being dazzled by the films. He is loved and watched over by his older brother, his parents and his Pop and Granny (grandparents) as well as all of the people living in their tight-knit neighborhood where everyone knows everyone.

This safety and peace is shattered when “the troubles” explode on their street. A gang attacks the neighborhood, breaking windows, setting cars on fire and creating havoc, demanding that Catholics must leave. While Buddy and his family are Protestant and have no problems living next to Catholics, his father is pressured to either join the gangs or pay them, money that the family can’t afford.

They must now all face a terrible choice – stay in the place that they’ve always known and loved but which has become deadly dangerous, or move away for better opportunities but in a place where they know no one and no one knows them?

Directed and written (for which he received an Oscar) by Kenneth Branagh, Belfast features a collection of some of the finest actors alive today including Dame Judi Dench, Ciaran Hinds, Jamie Dornan and Catriona Balfe. Jude Hill, who plays Buddy is mesmerizing. Based on Kenneth Branagh’s own life story, this movie is by turns funny, heartbreaking and suspenseful but most of all, it’s about family love and the sacrifices one will make for them.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

- Lynn Leave a comment

At 118 pages, Small Things Like These  by Claire Keegan, is a quick but powerful read. The book jacket and the beginning of the book lull the reader into the expectation that this will be a comforting Christmas story. The fact that it’s set in the eighties – with all the attendant nostalgic, pre-internet, village shops and village life – reinforces that feeling. However, those expectations are upended when Bill Furlong, during his coal deliveries, encounters girls who live at the local convent. These encounters are so unsettling that they cause him to doubt his previously unquestioned faith in the Church.

The second part of the book deals with Bill’s crisis of conscience. He struggles with his faith and with identifying the right course of action. He feels disconnected from his family and struggles with how his responsibilities to his wife and his family affect doing what he feels is right.

This is a brief but immersive look into a period of Irish life that had resonance for decades afterwards. Seen through Bill’s innocent eyes, one can begin to understand how hard it was for entrenched ideas to shift.

 

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

- Anna Leave a comment

“We all live in an unwalled city, that was it. I saw lines scored across the map of Ireland; carved all over the globe. Train tracks, roads, shipping channels, a web of human traffic that connected all nations into one great suffering body.”

I have to admit, I took a risk reading The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue due to its extremely timely and grisly content but, that being said, I am extremely glad I read this novel and am excited to share it with you.

This historical fiction novel is set in Dublin, Ireland, and takes place during the most lethal wave of the 1918 Flu Pandemic and WWI. The story primarily revolves around Nurse Julia Powers, who works as a midwife and cares for expecting mothers who have contracted the virus. Not unlike conditions we have witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals were described as being completely overrun with patients, severely understaffed, and lacking necessary medical supplies. With that being said, there were also some very different hardships people experienced over a century ago, so this is a very enlightening and humbling glimpse into the experiences of a past pandemic. Taking place over the span of three days, you will experience a whirlwind of emotions as you follow Julia through her incredible work at the hospital and meet several unforgettable women who will haunt you long after you finish the story.

Overall, I found this book to be extremely intense, but definitely worth the read. Not only does this subject hit close to home as we are living through a pandemic ourselves, but the fact that Julia spends most of her time working in the maternity ward lends itself to several passages with explicit descriptions of medical procedures (albeit they are noted as being extremely accurate for the time according to the notes at the end of the book). While I definitely found myself feeling squeamish at times, I was truly in awe and astounded by the seemingly impossible work Julia did for her patients during such a trying time.

This story is also brimming with character development, as you get a chance to intimately meet several women in the confines of the maternity/fever ward and learn their stories over the course of three days. You will definitely find yourself on an emotional rollercoaster, experiencing sorrow and sympathy, hope and love, shock and awe, life and death, and everything in between. I was extremely inspired and humbled by the strength and resilience of humanity in this novel, and this is what ultimately made it well worth the read while living in the midst of COVID-19.

I also found myself extremely interested in the setting and time period of this story itself, as I didn’t know too much about either the 1918 pandemic or the history of Ireland during this period of history before reading. In fact, I was drawn in so much that I immediately found a documentary and podcast to listen to after finishing the book.

All in all, I found this novel to be worth its intensity and, while it may not be the best time to read this particular book for some, it may be relatable and inspirational to others as we live through a pandemic in our own time.

This book is also available in the following formats:

OverDrive eAudiobook

OverDrive eBook

Reese Witherspoon JUNE Celebrity Book Club Picks

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Every month Reese Witherspoon releases a new pick for the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine book club. June is an exception! She has announced TWO books for June and we are so excited to tell you about them.

If you want to make sure that you don’t miss any celebrity book club picks, join our Best Sellers Club and have those automatically put on hold for you.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley is her fiction pick for the month. This book is available in the following formats: OverDrive eAudiobook and OverDrive eBook.

Below is a description of this book provided by the publisher:

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed. But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast. And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?

Reese Witherspoon’s second book club pick for June is I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown. This book is also available as an OverDrive eBook.

The following is a description provided by the publisher:

The author’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when her parents told her they named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. She grew up in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches, and has spent her life navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, a speaker, and an expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion. While so many institutions claim to value diversity in their mission statements, many fall short of matching actions to words. Brown highlights how white middle-class evangelicalism has participated in the rise of racial hostility, and encourages the reader to confront apathy and recognize God’s ongoing work in the world.

Real Irish Food by David Bowers

- Ann Leave a comment

real irish foodPeople in Ireland are sometimes mortified by what Americans think of as Irish food.  That’s because the real thing is much subtler and more delicious than any platter of overcooked corned beef and mushy cabbage could ever be. Real Irish food is brown soda bread so moist it barely needs the yolk-yellow butter; fragrant apple tarts with tender, golden crusts; rich stews redolent of meaty gravy and sweet carrots; crisp-edged potato cakes flipped hot from a skillet directly onto the plate. Forget meatloaf or mac and cheese – this stuff is the original comfort food.

Real Irish Food by David Bowers is the first comprehensive cookbook to bring classic Irish dishes to America with an eye for American kitchens and cooks, and with tips and tricks to help reproduce Irish results with American ingredients. Transform plain white fish by baking it with grated sharp cheese, mustard, and crumbs. Discover that celery takes on new life when sliced, simmered in chicken stock, and served in a lightly thickened sauce. Homemade Irish Sausages, Potted Shrimp and Potted Salmon, Finglas Irish Stew with Dumplings, Whiskey Chicken and Roast Goose with Applesauce Boxty, Cally, Champ, and Colcannon AppleSnow, Almond Buns, and Summer Pudding, Elderflower Lemonade, Black Velvet, and Ginger Beer Cherry Cake, Custard Tart, and Brandy Butter.

From hearty roasts to innovative vegetable dishes, from trays of fresh-baked scones to rich, eggy cakes, and from jams bursting with tart fruit to everything you can do with a potato, there’s no food so warm and welcoming, so homey and family-oriented, so truly mouthwatering as real Irish food. (description from publisher)