553 ratings | 366 reviews | avg rating:4.29

Ronan’s Year In Books

Ronan’s 2024 Year in Books

Take a look at Ronan’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Ronan’s Bookshelves

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read (584)
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Ronan’s Friends (67)

Caileigh (thebookpear)

941 books | 809 friends

Jacquelyn

2,313 books | 141 friends

Aerin

2,189 books | 361 friends

Brian

2,015 books | 307 friends

Y C

456 books | 9 friends

Erin

1,377 books | 940 friends

Anthony Ryan

317 books | 778 friends

Dan Stratton

845 books | 43 friends

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2025 Reading Challenge

2025

READING

CHALLENGE

Ronan O'Driscoll has read 18 books of his goal of 1!

1800%

Ronan O'Driscoll

Goodreads Author

Born

in Southport, The United Kingdom

Website

https://ronanodriscoll.com/

Twitter

ronanodriscoll

Genre

Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction

Member Since

January 2011

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Originally from the West of Ireland, Ronan O’Driscoll moved to Chicago as a teenager in the 1980s. He returned to Ireland to study at University College Dublin where he graduated with a Masters in English literature. Ronan has traveled a good deal: to Europe, America, Africa, Japan and Canada. His second book, Chief O'Neill, recounts the fascinating life story of Francis O'Neill (1848-1936)-- the Irish-American police chief who saved Irish music.

Ronan currently lives with his wife and family in Canada. His first novel, Poor Farm, describes the experience of an autistic boy on a 19th-century Nova Scotia poor farm. Both his works of historical fiction are carefully researched stories from the past, still relevant and compelling for today’s re ...more

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Ronan O'Driscoll’s books

Average rating: 3.94 · 36 ratings · 8 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	Poor Farm 3.88 avg rating — 25 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chief O'Neill 4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Porch to Porch: A Maritime Haiku Anthology by Blanca Baquero (Editor), Lindsey Harrington (Contributor), Rose Adams (Contributor) 3.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2024	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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Ronan O'Driscoll's Blog

Interview with me!

If you want to find out how infectious the Cork accent is, here's an interview with myself and Maria Gillen! It was mighty craic!

https://ronanod.substack.com/p/interv...

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Published on July 02, 2025 04:57

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Ronan is Currently Reading

Ronan O'Driscoll is currently reading

Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI

by Karen Hao

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Sep 25, 2025 07:06PM

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The Bright Sword

by Lev Grossman (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 25, 2025 07:05PM

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Bel Canto

by Ann Patchett

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Jun 15, 2025 04:39AM

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Ronan’s Recent Updates

Ronan O'Driscoll rated a book really liked it Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I was much more impressed by Katabasis than the previous Babel. The love story held it together much better, as did the magical universe based on paradoxes. I hoped Hell was a bit more described, rather than largely skipped over (there's a lot to say ...more
Sep 28, 2025 04:13PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Katabasis by R.F. Kuang <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronan O'Driscoll is currently reading Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI by Karen Hao	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 25, 2025 07:06PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Empire of AI by Karen Hao. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Empire of AI by Karen Hao <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronan O'Driscoll started reading The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Fantasy	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 25, 2025 07:05PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronan O'Driscoll rated a book liked it The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard, #1) by Scott Lynch (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Got a bit long-winded but the premise was good.
Sep 25, 2025 07:05PM · like · see review
Ronan O'Driscoll rated a book it was amazing Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Fast-paced, topical and funny. Surprising for a linguistics book! It does, in my opinion, over-exaggerate the "Algorithm" as this all-powerful boogeyman. Otherwise, lots of insight into how the internet is driving language and culture. ...more
Sep 25, 2025 07:04PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Algospeak by Adam Aleksic. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronan O'Driscoll rated a book it was amazing Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Fast-paced, topical and funny. Surprising for a linguistics book! It does, in my opinion, over-exaggerate the "Algorithm" as this all-powerful boogeyman. Otherwise, lots of insight into how the internet is driving language and culture. ...more
Sep 25, 2025 07:02PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Algospeak by Adam Aleksic. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronan O'Driscoll rated a book liked it The Watermark by Sam Mills	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Good start but the meta novel premise wore thin as the stories layered over each other.
Sep 25, 2025 07:02PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Watermark by Sam Mills. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Watermark by Sam Mills <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronan O'Driscoll finished reading Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 21, 2025 05:53AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Algospeak by Adam Aleksic. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronan O'Driscoll is currently reading Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 19, 2025 12:20PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Algospeak by Adam Aleksic. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ronan O'Driscoll is currently reading The Watermark by Sam Mills	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 03, 2025 05:02AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Watermark by Sam Mills. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Watermark by Sam Mills <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Ronan’s Quotes

“Non est ad astra mollis e terris via" - "There is no easy way from the earth to the stars”
― Seneca

tags: latin, philosophy, stars

1146 likes

“Am I crazy?" she asked. "I feel like I am sometimes."
"Maybe," he said, rubbing her forehead. "But don't worry about it. You need to be a little bit crazy. Crazy is the price you pay for having an imagination. It's your superpower. Tapping into the dream. It's a good thing not a bad thing.”
― Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being

tags: imagination, mindfulness

235 likes

“She smiled. “Life is full of stories. Or maybe life is only stories. Good night, my dear Nao.”
― Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being

tags: life

116 likes

“Le vent se lève! . . . il faut tenter de vivre!
L'air immense ouvre et referme mon livre,
La vague en poudre ose jaillir des rocs!
Envolez-vous, pages tout éblouies!
Rompez, vagues! Rompez d'eaux réjouies
Ce toit tranquille où picoraient des focs!”
― Paul Valéry, Le cimetière marin / El cementerio marino

312 likes

“My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?”
― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

4769 likes

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Ronan’s Year In Books

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Ronan O'Driscoll

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69 posts
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Ronan’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

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Preview — Empire of AI by Karen Hao

See a Problem?

Preview — The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman

See a Problem?

Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

See a Problem?

Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

See a Problem?

Preview — The Watermark by Sam Mills

See a Problem?

Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

See a Problem?

Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

See a Problem?

Preview — The Watermark by Sam Mills

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Ronan O'Driscoll’s Followers (17)

Ronan O'Driscoll

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See a Problem?

Preview — Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

See a Problem?

Preview — Empire of AI by Karen Hao

See a Problem?

Preview — The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman

See a Problem?

Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

See a Problem?

Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

See a Problem?

Preview — The Watermark by Sam Mills

See a Problem?

Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

See a Problem?

Preview — Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

See a Problem?

Preview — The Watermark by Sam Mills

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