DC Public Library discussion

In honor of Irish-American History month and in preparation for Saint Patrick's Day, we are giving away a collection of five novellas by contemporary Irish authors*. The covers are postcard sized, the novellas are individually bound, and they all have different colored spines, which makes the collection very attractive when shelved together.

The authors include:
Cecelia Ahern
Maeve Binchy
Roddy Doyle
Marian Keyes
Joseph O'Connor

Reply to this thread by noon on Friday, March 8, recommending a book by an Irish or Irish-American author that you've enjoyed, and you'll be entered to win this collection.

We will hold the drawing on Friday afternoon and announce the winner on this thread. The novellas can be picked up at any DCPL location.

*Thank you to solas nua for making this giveaway possible.

Perfect timing: last night I finished The Rage by Irish journalist Gene Kerrigan. It won the 2012 Gold Dagger for best novel from the Crime Writers Association, and justly so. It's a great police procedural/heist/crime thriller. Kerrigan also wrote two other excellent "Irish noirs", The Midnight Choir and Little Criminals -- definitely worth checking out.

I recommend Skippy Dies by Paul Murray, a novel about boarding school misadventures. It's the total opposite of a novella, at 661 pages long. (In fact, it felt like 6,000 pages long due to the tiny print.) Cheeky fun.

A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories and Everything That Rises Must Converge are both excellent short story collections by Flannery O'Connor. Dark Southern Gothic at its best; these tales of nihilism, racism and loss of faith often had me laughing out loud. I know that makes me sound cracked...but seriously, this woman's wit is unstoppable.

Congratulations to Anna! I entered your names in the list randomizer at random.org and she won the novellas! Anna, I'll send you a message about pickup.

I love Flannery O'Connor's stories and her persona. In fact, my phone case has one of my favorite quotes from her: "Whenever I'm asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one." About a year ago I heard about a novel being released based on her life, A Good Hard Look: A Novel, but I'm assuming it wasn't great since it didn't get too many reviews/ I only heard about it that one time.

Lydia, I'm impressed that you've read Skippy Dies! It looks good, but it is soooo long! I've heard only good things about it, though.

Tony, I'm glad we can count on you to know the crime and noir literature from every culture!