In conjunction with the Voices of the Easter Rising 1916 event taking place on April 28th in the 2nd Floor Library, April’s Staff Picks are related to all things Irish. Works by Colm Tóibín, James Joyce, Roddy Doyle, Tana French, and others are on the Staff Pick’s display waiting to be read. Need some inspiration? How about:
Beowulf: a new verse translation/ Seamus Heaney. “Seamus Heaney rocked the world of epic poetry with this new translation. His personality and gift with words make this ancient tale shine!”. Recommended by Taryn.
The Death of the Heart / Elizabeth Brown. “Likened to Henry James, this novel is one of Bowen’s best. An orphan has her innocence dashed upon coming to live with relatives in London. Prepare yourself for a deft psychological character study and exposé of what lies beneath the superficial lives of the well-to-do.” Another great pick from Taryn.
If Detective Fiction is your thing, then try Benjamin Black’s Christine Falls. Complex characters in a dark suspenseful plot will keep you interested until the final page. Benjamin Black is also the nom de plume of John Banville who won the Booker Prize for his novel The Sea, in which the main character deals with love, loss, and the power of memory. Read them both and see which style of Banville’s writing you prefer.
The armchair traveler may want to sit back and relax with a Guinness and explore Ireland from the comfort of their own home with a copy of Christopher Somerville’s Walking in Ireland: 50 walks through the heart of Ireland.
For the Foodie, Pat Whelan’s An Irish Butcher Shop inspires chefs to make all kinds of Irish entrées and sides, as well as the traditional corned beef and cabbage dish.
For the Fairy Tale lover, check out Oscar Wilde’s The Fisherman and His Soul and Other Fairy Tales. A collection of short stories that are deceptively simple and teach us to treat others with love and kindness, a must read for everyone.
Speaking of Oscar Wilde, we at the Mechanics’ Institute, thought it would be fun to imagine what books the author of The Picture of Dorian Gray and ultimate narcissist would be reading in this day and age. Here’s what we came up with:
The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement by Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell.
The Wizard of Oz and Other Narcissists: Coping with the One Way Relationship in Love, Work and Family by Eleanor Payson.
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weissberger. The ultimate self-interested boss, she makes assistants and designers cower with just a look.
Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was obsessed with the frivolous narcissism of the jazz age. Many of his characters are co-dependent and unhealthy for each other.
American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. Patrick Bateman is infamous for his psychopathic selfishness and murderous cruelty.
White Oleander by Janet Fitch. Astrid’s tale of her eccentric, tyrannical mother and all around cold parent.
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Tom Ripley is a narcissistic sociopath scorned by the jet-setting crowd. He will stop at nothing to fit in with that crowd.
Middlemarch by George Eliot. Rosamund, the materialistic sister in Middlemarch nearly destroys her husband.
All of these titles will be available to check out from the Staff Pick’s Display in the 2nd Floor Library.
