Books

Nat Newman set herself the challenge of only reading women writers for a year. Here she talks about her experience and how it changed and enriched her reading habits for good. A few years ago, on this very site, I announced that I…

It has been said that bookshops are the afterlife for good trees and the sound of turning pages is a kind of prayer to them. On this week's Motherfoclóir: Belfast bookworm Caitlín Nic Íomhair is the manager of An Siopa Leabhar on…

In our March 2018 episode we kick off with our regular ‘Book News’ including a round-up of various literary prizes. For our ‘Bookish Bookclub’ we discuss Margaret’s pick of The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris and our ‘Trilogy’…

“For the true bookworm,” journalist Lucy Mangan declares, “life doesn’t really begin until you get hold of your first book.” Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading is, as Mangan, acknowledges, “necessarily incomplete”. Now in her early…

Montpelier Parade, the debut novel by Irish-born American author Karl Geary, was published by Harvill Secker just over a year ago, in January 2017. Its name is now quietly bubbling to the top of many ‘best books of the year’ lists, making…

Words To That Effect Episode 11: Cesare Lombroso & The Born Criminal The northern Italian city of Turin is quite distinctive as Italian cities go. It is still Italy, so of course it has its grand piazzas and ornate churches, and pasta…

Words To That Effect Episode 10: From Robinson Crusoe to Survivor: The Robinsonade Daniel Defoe’s classic novel, The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, is, without doubt, one of the most recognizable stories in our…

Words To That Effect Episode 9: Imaginary Countries and the Ruritanian Romance Writers make up imaginary countries all the time, and for a variety of reasons. It’s relatively straightforward to slip in a familiar-sounding name into a part…

Words To That Effect Episode 8: A Lawyer, an Author, and a Murderer – The Trial of William Edward Hickman The case of William Edward Hickman went to trial in Los Angeles in 1928. The accused was charged with the gruesome murder of a…

Words To That Effect Episode 7: Overpopulation from Malthus to Manila A baby girl was born in a hospital in the Philippines, on 30th October 2011. However, unlike all the other children born that day, the arrival of Danica May Camacho was…