Goodreads Ireland discussion

Hello friends!
My name is Veronica from Wisconsin, USA.
I'm very pleased to find a group of readers interested in Irish literature.
I love the fiction writers but each time I read a new novel, I am led to history, reviews and articles in order to explore new topics; a wonderful by-product of reading. I look forward to your discussions and making new "book friends."

Hi Veronica-good to see you join the group! I see that the books on your shelves at present are Irish interest-prepare to fill them with even more as you receive loads of great recommendations! :)

If you're interested, The International is our current Irish read, and is perfect for the said exploration of the history aspect of things, given its N Irish and historic setting.

Welcome Veronica!

Hello, Veronica. Nice to meet you and I look forward to seeing your books once you've had a chance to upload them. :)

Welcome to the group Veronica. There's also an older Irish read going at the moment Dracula, its a nice contrast between The International and Dracula covering two eras in Irish writing . Definitely worth giving a look at both .

Hello everybody!
I'm here to pick up some knowledge about Irish literature. I'm a great fan of Irish music but I'm not much acquainted with their literature.

I'll be interested to find out if there are any memoir writers here. I published a short Tribute memoir in 2013. Since then I have republished my work several times to include Tribute memoirs submitted by other authors.

I am about 50% Irish as far as I can figure out and live in New Jersey in a community comprised mainly of Italians and Puerto Ricans. I didn't even wear green on St. Patrick's Day – shame on me lol. Maybe I'll become a great reader of Irish literature.

Thank you everyone. I've already got quite a list of book recommendations to place on my somewhat empty shelf.
Hey Paul, I read Dracula when I was a young bride (kind of bad portent!)
It scared me terribly, esp. the scene at the crypt. Stoker had a real gift for colorful narrative.
Hi Emma, we are friends now! I like the Victorian authors, too and read most of them as a "Tween." My dad was a Victorian Lit scholar.

Emma, I'll check it out.

Hi Veronica, welcome and nice to meet you.

Welcome to the group Phillip!

Welcome to the group Philip and Veronica!

You all are so inspiring! I brought home 6 new books to read over the holiday break. Roddy Doyle, William Trevor and Charles Dickens.

Veronica, if you continue to engage with the group on a regular basis, you'll find that coming home with armfuls of books will become second nature-just have a look at the 'Requently Acquired Books' thread! :)

Welcome to the group Veronica and Phillip. I'm a bit late but better late than never. You will really enjoy this group. Lot's of nice folks here.

Allen, my bookshelves are groaning with added weight, so you are quite right.
Emma, yes Barrytown. Commitments has already grabbed my interest. The characters are fantastic.
Donna, thanks for the welcome!

I've just joined Goodreads after hearing so many great things about it. I'm an author too so it looks like I've landed in the right place! Check out my new novel 'Rising Star' for all you female 'chick-lit' fans, we all need a bit of romance in our lives.
I'm slowly building my 'read list', its great seeing what others are reading at the moment too, you never know where the next great read will come from.

Hi Niamh, welcome and nice to meet you. I feel your shame! Like you i haven't read many Irish authors but i plan on slowly righting that.

Welcome to the grouo Niamh. Plenty of interesting reccomendations to pick up here. Our current quaterlyrish reads are definitely worth a look if you want to try more Irish authors.

Hi everyone, I linked to this group when I joined gr just a couple of weeks ago but this is the first time I've interacted so to speak. I was born in Ireland (northern Ireland, its all the same to me but we'll not get into that argument!) so of course I have been fed Irish literature intravenously since I could hold a book the children of Lir being the first story I could read on my own as a child. I am an author and spent most of my life jotting down stories while I slaved over a hot stove as a chef, I've now retired to more cooler climes! I'd love to know what the Irish reader is really reading these days, are they loyal to Irish authors regardless of the stories themes or do they just love stories about Ireland or based in Ireland. Your thoughts please folks...happy reading....oh and check out my author page on GR....pretty pleeese :)

Lesley wrote: "Hi everyone, I linked to this group when I joined gr just a couple of weeks ago but this is the first time I've interacted so to speak. I was born in Ireland (northern Ireland, its all the same to ..."

Hi Lesley - I just looked at your page, and followed you - you seem to like a lot of the same books as I do.

Welcome to the group Niamh and lesley :)

Thank you Seraphina and hi to you Isabella .... I've only started to add books to my shelves....I think its going to take me sometime...lol... I've 40 odd years of reading to list....I wonder should I include the books I read as a child or is that taking it too far!

Niamh wrote: "Hi, I've just joined this group. I'm from and live in Ireland, but am ashamed to say that I haven't read too much Irish Literature which is why I'm here! I'd like to read more homegrown literature ..."

whereabouts in Ireland are you? I live along the border with Derry city and we have 2 fab bookshops in the city (second hand) that have a wealth of Irish literature at really cheap prices too!

on the note of Irish literature i have just begun reading ' Children of the Dead End' by Patrick McGill... a story of one mans efforts to pull himself out of the poverty trap he was born into and the psychological scars an upbringing in poverty can leave on a person.

Hi Lesley and welcome! I was born in Belfast but raised in Derry City but now I live in Florida. In my dreams I would retire back home - haven't shared that with my hubby yet!

Hi donna.....maybe a visit to the maiden city will convince him!

I am thrilled to have found this group. I am a Scots-Irish American writer ( and a Goodreads author!) who once lived on the western coast of Ireland, in a small town named Inverin, on the threshold of Connemara. I now live in Malibu, California, but maintain my strong connection with Ireland. I was there once again last October, and very little was changed! I am looking forward to discussing anything having to do with Ireland with this group! And since others in this group have mentioned their work,( I wouldn't want to be self-aggrandizing) I'll follow suit and mention that my second novel is entitled, "Dancing to an Irish Reel." It is literary fiction, set in Ireland and published by Vinspire Publishing. It is available everywhere online. Slainte!

Hello Claire and welcome to the group, we are glad to have you!

Welcome to the group Lesley and Claire!

Hello, my name is Natalia and I am from Poland.

I have no connections with Ireland or Irish ancestry but I've been fascinated in it's history and culture for a while. I think that our nations have some things in common (and I don't mean the massive immigration of Poles to Ireland). I mean the historical simmilarities and also the connection our Peoples made three years ago during EURO 2012 in Poland.

I haven't read a lot of Irish novels (fairy tales mostly) so I'm pretty glad I've joined this group and looking forward to exploring it further.

Slainte! ;)

Welcome to the group Natalia!

Welcome, Natalia!

Hi Natalia

Hi Natalia, and welcome to the group.

Hi, Natalia, welcome to the group.

Hello, everyone! :)

Hello Natalia!

Hello,
My name is Janeen and I am from Iowa, USA. I joined this group because I am of Irish heritage (by birth and by marriage) and so I feel a connection and a desire to understand Irish culture and history (from ancient to contemporary). One year ago I set a vague goal to start reading great Irish writers and I'm just getting started. I am third generation Irish-American, and there is so much I want to discover about those who came before me and the way in which they lived. Books are one of the only ways I know how to do that. And I know I'm biased, but I feel that there are no finer poets and wordsmiths than the Irish.

Welcome to the group, Janeen. I'm from the Boston (MA) suburbs, and my grandparents were Irish. This is a wonderfully friendly group, so I hope you enjoy it :)

Welcome to the group Janeen :) have you been to Ireland at any stage?

Welcome to the group!

Seraphina wrote: "Welcome to the group Janeen :) have you been to Ireland at any stage?"

Thanks Seraphina. I have not yet been to Ireland. A 2-week trip is planned for sometime in 2016 to include both the North and the Republic. Much of my family are Ulster Irish, but I am trying to learn more about my heritage before I come.

Hello!

Hello and welcome, Janeen! This is a great group but be prepared to end up with a lot more books added to your TBR stack!

Hello!
This is Tess from India.
I fell in love with Ireland reading Nora Roberts.
She's given such vivid and beautiful descriptions about the landscape and the people of Ireland that you cannot help but fall in love with this place. I found Irish culture , history , magic, folklores ,legends etc. too charming!

I hope I get to visit Ireland sometime!

Welcome to the group Janeen and Tess! Holler if you need anything.

Welcome, Tess!

Tess wrote: "Hello!
This is Tess from India.
I fell in love with Ireland reading Nora Roberts.
She's given such vivid and beautiful descriptions about the landscape and the people of Ireland that you cannot hel..."

Hello Tess and welcome to the group.

Hi I'm Jenn I'm Irish American. I use to live in Connemara and attended secondary school there so i read lots of Irish literature and history while i was there. I haven't really read much Irish literature since then so I'm looking forward to catching up.

Hello and welcome, Jenn. Connemara is such a beautiful part of Ireland, lucky you to have lived there! Where are you now?