When I win the Lotto, I'm going to spend my time reading books and talking books and going to book festivals and maybe, maybe even writing books. (I should probably start doing the Lotto.) This week I was delighted to host a panel at the Waterford Writers' Weekend, part of the Imagine Arts Festival, discussing the [...]
I got lots of reading in during maternity leave, thanks to a lot of night feeds and discovering how useful a backlit iPad is as a Kindle! And I'm looking forward to meeting some authors (and you, I hope!) at exciting events over the next few months. Next month I'm at the West Cork Literary Festival [...]
I'm very excited to share the news that I will be interviewing Mary Robinson at the West Cork Literary Festival in July. The former President has written a book, Climate Justice, on the fight for climate justice by grassroots women around the world. It ties in very well with her podcast with Cobh comedian Maeve Higgins, [...]
Twenty years ago this week, something magical happened. With the publication of one book about a seemingly unremarkable bespectacled boy, reading suddenly mattered again. For a generation - two, by now - Harry Potter was the boy who lived, in our hearts and in our minds. His creator, Joanne Rowling (known as JK, because it was [...]
This post has been a *really* long time coming, but if you've seen my Instagram feed over the last while I've read some really excellent books. One of the bonuses of being pregnant is definitely all the reading - I can't do much else, and I'm told it's the last reading I'll be doing for a [...]
It's World Book Day and I want to know what you're reading! I'm a terribly unadventurous reader in many ways - my comfort zone consists of literary novels, detective series and historical fiction - but this year I've discovered two new forms that I really love. Short stories They've become a real go-to. When your brain is fried [...]
I first came across Anna McPartlin last year when I read her book The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes, and I was thrilled to see she has another just out, Somewhere Inside of Happy. I've got a sneak peek at the new release and, like Rabbit Hayes, it's a cracker. McPartlin's own complicated background really informs [...]
My Tuesdays have been made complete in recent months by the addition of the Irish Times Women's Podcast. Ireland has been crying out for its own 'Women's Hour' and this really hits the spot for me. Usually presented by Kathy Sheridan, it's just the right mix of politics philosophy and fun that I'd expect from chat [...]
The one advantage of holidaying in Ireland in bad weather is that you get plenty of time to read, with no glare from the sun and no sunscreen dripping into your eyes. Well, there are other advantages, but to be honest it suited me fine that it was raining as I'd plenty of time to read! [...]
We'd an interesting discussion on the show today about stress and how different people manage it (you can listen back at www.96fm.ie). Aisling, a childcare worker, contacted us to ask could we make people aware that stress can have physical manifestations like fatigue and memory loss. We had other people contacting us about their own symptoms, [...]
