Irish authors are among the most widely read authors in the world.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve selected some works by Irish authors.
This month, we also have books about women for Women’s History Month and I’ve included a couple of spring romances.
Plus, I found some great books about the sport we all love, baseball.
It’s a fun assortment.
Enjoy!
In the Woods by Tana French (2007) is French’s debut novel that introduces the Dublin Murder Squad. Three children disappeared in the woods in Dublin. Only one child was found alive, clinging to a tree in blood-soaked shoes with no memory of what happened to him. Twenty years later Rob Ryan is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad when another child is found murdered in the same woods. Can Ryan and his partner catch the killer and finally discover what happened to him in those woods?
Normal People by Sally Rooney (2018) – It’s a story of love and the connections we make regardless of social standing or obligations. Connell and Marianne grew up together. Connell was the popular extrovert and Marianne was the loner, but a random conversation between them led to a connection that couldn’t be broken. At University, their roles were reversed. They maintained their distance seeing other people, but no matter what the future held, they seemed unable to break the thread connecting them. How far will they go to come together? This book is the basis for the 2020 Emmy nominated series of the same name from Hulu.
The Story of Ireland: A History of the Irish People by Neil Hegarty - This book is a companion effort to the five-hour BBC/RTE television series of the same name. Hegarty explores the history of Ireland from the first known settlement in A.D. 433 to present day (2011). It examines how events in Europe have affected the course of Irish history and the contributions of the Irish to world history.
A New Ireland: How Europe’s Most Conservative Country Became its Most Liberal by Niall O’Dowd (2020) – an interesting account of the social and cultural revolution in Ireland. Since 1990, Ireland has had two women heads of state and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, an openly gay man of Indian descent. Ireland became the first and only nation to pass a countrywide referendum legalizing same-sex marriage and supporting Marriage Equality by universal suffrage in 2016. Three years later Ireland legalized abortion in a countrywide referendum.
Irish Fairy and Folk Tales by William Butler Yeats – Yeats was fascinated with Irish folklore and the occult from an early age and his collection of these tales helped cement his reputation as a leading proponent of Irish nationalism and Irish cultural independence. Yeats was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.
The Short Stories of Oscar Wilde; An Annotated Selection by Oscar Wilde (edited by Nicholas Frankel) – Enjoy nine classic short stories by Wilde with his trademark wit and sharp social criticism.
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore – Moore tells the real-life story of the girls and women who worked in factories painting the faces of watches with radium, the new miracle discovery of the early 20th century. Radium was touted as the beauty aid and medical miracle. The women and girls who worked with it in factories were envied and at night when they walked home, they glowed. Everything was wonderful until they started getting sick and dying from exposure to radium. Read about their struggle for worker’s rights as their employers denied any wrongdoing and turned a blind eye to the safety of their workers. The scandal that ensued caused permanent changes to the handling of radioactive materials and has saved countless lives.
Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J.B. West and Mary Lynn Kotz - J. B. was an assistant usher and eventually became the head usher at the White House. He was responsible for making sure the lives of America’s first families went smoothly. From Eleanor Roosevelt to Pat Nixon (1941-1969), West interacted with the First Ladies and got to know them as few people could. It’s an interesting look at the lives of some of our former First Ladies and how the role of FLOTUS has changed.
The History of Women in 100 Objects by Maggie Andrews and Janis Lomas – Two noted history professors picked 100 objects that best defined the accomplishments and struggles of women as they have fought for equal rights and autonomy. What objects have aided them and what objects have held them back? It’s a fascinating way to look at history.
Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women who Changed the World by Ann Shen – read about 100 women who challenged the status quo by pushing boundaries and daring to enter fields previously dominated by men. These trailblazers have paved the way for generations of women.
In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists and Entrepreneurs by Grace Bonney – over 100 women explain how they embraced their creativity and forged a path to become successful entrepreneurs in the face of adversity and limited opportunities for women.
200 Women: Who will Change the Way You See the World – compiled by Geoff Blackwell and Ruth Hobday – edited by Sharon Gelman and Marianne Lassandro – 200 hundred influential women from around the world answer questions about their successes, the struggles they have faced, and their inspirations to bring positive change to the world.
A Splendid Ruin by Megan Chance – Left alone and penniless after the death of her mother, May Kimble is mysteriously summoned to San Francisco by wealthy relatives she’s never met. When May is welcomed into the family, she can’t believe her luck. But mysterious things start to happen and May receives warnings her life is in danger on the eve of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Can May unravel the mystery and save herself amid the rubble?
Shadow of a Century by Jean Grainger – Grainger weaves the story of the Easter Rising and Ireland’s struggle for independence around the lives of three women. Mary was raised in an Irish orphanage and seems doomed to a life of servitude in Dublin until she learns about the Irish movement for independence which promises her a better life. Scarlett is a young journalist who makes a career-ending mistake in judgment in New York. She meets Eileen an elderly woman whose apartment has been burgled. They strike up an unlikely friendship which gives the women to courage to change their destiny and head to Ireland, Eileen’s birthplace. Will each woman find what they are looking for despite the violence and upheaval all around them?
K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches by Tyler Kepner – Kepner charts the history of the game through ten basic pitches and how they were used by various pitchers in some of the most legendary games of baseball. Kepner interviewed over 300 people including hall of fame pitchers and stars of today.
The Baseball Book of Why by John McCollister – This book answers over 100 questions about baseball, like “Why do they call left-handed pitchers Southpaws?” as well as questions about the history of baseball and the mechanics of baseball. Great info if you are trying to learn about the sport and fun facts for people who love baseball.
Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Live in the Minor Leagues of Baseball by John Feinstein – Feinstein takes readers through the excitement of being drafted to the promise of a spot on an MLB team if you play well in the minors. He also shows the flip side where promising careers stall and MLB players stumble and end up back in the minors on crowded buses and out-of-the-way motels instead of private planes and 4-star hotels.
Everything I Know I Learned from Baseball by Philip R. Theibert – Theibert is a motivational speaker and a third-generation Baseball coach. He takes 99 essays about the principles he learned from playing and coaching baseball and divides them into nine areas of focus to help you become successful in baseball or any endeavor.
The Wax Pack: On the Road in Search of Baseball’s Afterlife by Brad Balukjian – Is there life after baseball? To answer that question Balukjian had a radical idea. In 2015, he opened the very first pack of baseball cards he started collecting in1986 and left on an 11,341-mile trek through thirty states in 48 days to locate every baseball player in the pack. He succeeded in finding every player, but one and interacted with the former baseball players to learn their stories and share some of the activities they now enjoy. Along the way, Balukjian was able to retrace his past and reconnect with some lost loves and old friends in the cities he visited which helped him come to terms with his life-long struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
