Summer Reading!

Don’t forget to drop by the library for your summer reads. We have the complete shortlists for recent Booker and Impac prizes; both A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz have impressed staff-members. Or get something set where you’re headed – perhaps The New York Trilogy or even, if you're so inclined, Down and Out in Paris and London… And there is always that long-meant-to-get-to classic – Dickens, Tolstoy, Woolf…

Book of the Month

Our choice among the new additions to our shelves this month is An Atlas for Celtic Studies by John T. Koch, a ground-breaking publication on the Celts in Europe.

The book contains 64 large-format pages of maps of Europe (including impressive coverage of Ireland) with thousands of Celtic placenames, inscriptions and other mappable linguistic evidence. The maps are accompanied by scholarship on the archaeology and placenames of the different regions including explanatory text, theoretical discussion, map details, bibliography, and index.

It is an attempt to move away from the usual presentation of the Celts in narrative form and to allow space for individual interpretations of linguistic and cultural sources.

An essential work for anyone studying the Celts, and a fascinating read for all, it can be found in our Main Lending Collection at 936.4/KOC.

Book of the Month

Top of the pile for March is a junior book by Roberta Basel, "Sequoyah".

Sequoyah was a Cherokee Indian who in 1821 created a set of written symbols for the previously spoken-only Cherokee language. He went on to work as a delegate in Cherokee dealings with the US but his creation of the Cherokee alphabet is his most enduring legacy.

The book is in our Junior Section at J970.1/BAS but is a gorgeous production and a fascinating read for child and adult alike.

Book of the Month

"One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies."

This month we're shining a light on a wonderful new addition to our Junior Books collection: The Gift of the Magi, an Edwardian Christmas story by the celebrated American short story writer O Henry (real name William Sydney Porter) first published in 1909.

This new edition published by Walker Books is stunningly illustrated by the renowned Irish artist P.J. Lynch, bringing new charm to a classic story for both young and old. You can see a selection of Lynch's magical drawings in the book on his own website here.

The Gift of the Magi tells the tale of Della and Jim, a young couple in love but too poor to buy gifts for each other for Christmas. Have a look and get into the Christmas spirit, Edwardian-style!

Book of the Month

“The fact is, the whole of Australia despises my father more than any other man, just as they adore my uncle more than any other man. I might as well set the story straight about both of them...”

This month we are giving the Library thumbs-up to A Fraction of the Whole the hilarious debut novel of Australian writer Steve Toltz which was shortlisted for the 2008 Booker Prize. Though it missed out on the main prize, Toltz's quirky prose has seen him compared to writers such as John Irving and DBC Pierre.

It's a hefty work coming in at over 700 pages but don't let it's size put you off. As The Guardian put it "it is a fat book but very light on its feet… it is brilliant.'
We agree! Check it out and judge for yourself...

Book of the Month

"Oh, what did you see, my blue eyed son?"

On this blog we will frequently be drawing attention to interesting new titles to be found on the library shelves.

First time out, we're throwing the spotlight on
Hard Rain: Our Headlong Collision with Nature, by Mark Edwards.
This book contains a collection of stunning photographs taken by Edwards over 40 years, detailing environmental and humanitarian concerns, and marries them with the lyrics of Hard Rain, written by Bob Dylan during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
The collection was exhibited in the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin during the summer. The book also contains essays by Robert May, John Elkington, Geoff Lye, Jonathon Porrit and David Bohm.