Books by Irish Authors -- BOOK LIST

 

BOOK LIST

Books by Irish Authors

I have not a drop of Irish blood in me, but I do enjoy books by Irish authors and books set in Ireland. When I saw a chat group on Instagram dedicated to reading books by Irish authors in 2025, I knew I wanted to join in the fun. 

As it turns out, I don’t have a huge number of unread books by Irish writers on my shelves, but several of those I have have been on my shelves for a long, long time.

Here are the books I’ve rounded up. I hope to read most, maybe all, of them this year. Edna O’Brien is first up because she’s waited on my shelf the longest. But I also want to try the Donan Ryan book because he is new to me and apparently hugely popular in Ireland.

See any I absolutely shouldn’t put off?

• Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan
• The Woman Who Walked Into Doors by Roddy Doyle
• The Barrytown Trilogy by Roddy Doyle
• The Commitments
• The Snapper
• The Van
• At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien
• Castle Corner by Joyce Cary
• The Little Red Chairs by Edna O'Brien
• The Country Girls Trilogy by Edna O'Brien
• The Country Girls
• The Lonely Girl
• Girls in Their Married Bliss
• History of the Rain by Naill Williams
• Dr. Copernicus by John Banville
• The Untouchable by John Banville
• Athena by John Banville
• The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty by Sebastian Barry
• Farewell Companions by James Plunkett

These are just the books I found on my unread fiction shelves. I'm sure I missed a few and if I find them, will add them to this list. The bigger lacunae are crime fiction and nonfiction. I was afraid my list would overwhelm me if I included those, especially mysteries and thrillers. 

If I get around to it, I might make a long list of all the Irish books I can think of, read, unread, literature, crime fiction, nonfictions, whatever. That list would be like the French Connections and Venice Books lists I keep. 

I'll come back and update this as I go. 

If you have ideas for other Irish books I should read, please leave a comment and tell me about them!

Book Beginning: The Black-Eyed Blond by Benjamin Black

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

It was one of those Tuesday afternoons in summer when you wonder if the earth has stopped revolving. The telephone on my desk had the air of something that knows it's being watched.

The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black. Brilliant idea! Take Raymond Chandler's anti-hero, Philip Marlowe, and get the literary author John Banville to write a new mystery under his noir-novel pen name, Benjamin Black.  A recipe for a terrific read!

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

Three terrific books came into my house last week, all different from each other:



The Founder's Find by Scott Frey. This is the first in a new YA "philosophical fantasy" series called Watchers of Worlds. See the trailer and read more about this absorbing new series on the author's website, here. The Kindle edition is on super sale right now for only $.99!



A Farm Dies Once a Year: A Memoir by Arlo Crawford. This is the personal story of one year on a family farm, inspired by Crawford's adult return to the organic farm in Pennsylvania where he grew up. The Kirkus review recommends it for "aspiring organic farmers" but I think "armchair farmers" ("farmer fantasists"?) like me will love it.



The Black-Eyed Blonde: A Philip Marlowe Novel by Benjamin Black. I've had my eye on this one because I love Raymond Chandler’s originals, Black's Dublin-based Quirke series, and the literary novels he writes under his own name, John Banville.

Teaser Tuesday: Elegy for April by Benjamin Black

He was smiling now but there was a glitter to his smile and the sharp tip of an eyetooth showed for a second at the side. He was jealous of Patrick Ojukwu; all the men in their circle were jealous of Patrick, nicknamed the Prince.

-- Elegy for April by Benjamin Black (aka John Banville).  This is the third book in Black's Quirke series, set in the damp and gritty Dublin of the 1950s, featuring the moody and hard drinking Quirke, a consulting pathologist, amateur sleuth, and tortured soul.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.