Goodreads Ireland discussion

So it's that time of the year again when book lists start to get compiled and debates start over best books....
So thought we could have a thread of
1. Favourite book you've read this year
2. Favourite GRI monthly read this year
3. Favourite GRI quartery read this year

Tough call on each count. I'll have a think

So my favourite read was a tie between Modern Classics the Grass Arena: An Autobiography and Travels with Charley: In Search of America
My favourite monthly read was The Perks of Being a Wallflower
And my favourite quarterly read was The International

My favourite read was The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street or The Storied Life of AJ Fikry. My favourite monthly read was An Officer and a Spy. And I didn't read any of the quarterly reads :O My favourite from the Classics challenge was probably Maurice.

Think it would be as follows -
1. Tough choice between Knight's Shadow ,The Providence of Fire, Red Rising and A Darker Shade of Magic
2. An Officer and a Spy
3. The Picture of Dorian Gray

I'd forgotten the Dorian grey...another great read. There's been a few good ones this year

I did a lot more group reads this year than last year as well.

I'd nearly say I did less group reads this year but it was a busy year for me so getting back into the swing of things now

Have to agree that The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry was a great read. The best book i read this year were without a doubt The Art of Racing in the Rain. Enzo rules

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

I only did 1 group read All That Is Solid Melts into Air but would not rate it among the best books that I have read this year.

Thomas wrote: "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

I only did 1 group read All That Is Solid Melts into Air but would not rate it among the best books that I have read this year."

I bought The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet a while back - must get around to listening to it!

This is not easy to decide, and it was tricky finding which GRI books were which, though in the end I looked at the group bookshelf which helped.
1. My favorite book this year: Eleanor & Park. Runner up : Light Years by James Salter.
2. Quarterly read: A History of Loneliness by John Boyne. 2nd is All That Is Solid Melts into Air.
3. Monthly read: Station Eleven

My favorites so far:

1. Favorite book of the year--I'm not sure yet. Still thinking--but fierce competition among Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend, Penelope Fitzgerald's The Bookshop, and E.M. Delafield's The Diary of a Provincial Lady
2. Quarterly read--A History of Loneliness

3. Monthly read--it's a tie between Travels with Charley: In Search of America and Company of Liars.

1. Favourite book you've read this year

Americanah, runners up The Fifth Season andAnd the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic

2. Favourite GRI monthly read this year

For now it's Station Eleven, but I have a sneaking suspicion it will change to The Song of Achilles once I read it!

3. Favourite GRI quartery read this year
All That Is Solid Melts into Air

Can anyone recommend books that are actually Irish in nature?

Depends on what you mean by Irish in nature. Different peopke have different ideas on that. Ones I think really captured Irishness are the Roddy Doyle Barrytown books ( Mainly a Dublin Irishness) or Strumpett City by Plunkett. Too many books are an idealised idea of Ireland that grates

Julie wrote: "Can anyone recommend books that are actually Irish in nature?"

Julie it's hard to know to start. Anything by John B Keane, or James Joyce, maybe Dubliners for a more cultural read. Star of the Sea for the famine and emigration. Can't beat Maeve Binchy for a bit of light and fluffy - my choice would be Light a Penny Candle. I don't reallymdo non-fiction, but Philomena was very good and goes into our recent issues with the church.

Hope I've hit on something that takes your fancy

Our current quarterly read, Tipperary, is about as Irish as it gets lol. You'll find the quarterly reads on the groups bookshelf Julie

Paul wrote: "Depends on what you mean by Irish in nature. Different peopke have different ideas on that. Ones I think really captured Irishness are the Roddy Doyle Barrytown books ( Mainly a Dublin Irishness) o..."

Paul on touched on one of my pet peeves - books by non-Irish writers that romanticize Ireland, and can be full of cultural, and historical inaccuracies. Emma and Seraphina have directed you to our archive of appropriate titles.

Thank you very much for all of your suggestions. I did find a couple that caught my interest and I will check out the quarterly reads.

So far my favourite from the classics challenge is still north and south but I have one more to go...

The mill on the floss so could go either way

North and South is amazing, I also loved Great Expectations. I am reading Mill on the Floss at the mo but with the little guy not well I haven't gotten a good run at it.

I've been considering the audiobook of North and South.

It's an incredible story Barbara

I always look forward to reading this list. A few predictables on it
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/...

I really enjoyed most of the novels I read this year.
I would say my favorite novel was The Bone Clocks. My favorite GI Quarterly is A History of Loneliness. My favorite monthly read was An Irish Country Christmas.
The only novel I really hated was Room but I hope to read The Sealed Letter and see if I like it any better before I give up on her.

A few late additions to this list, it's not possible to pick just 1 o 2!
The Song of Achilles, Lolita narrated by jeramy irons, and A Snicker of Magic read by cassandra morris.

Hands down, A History of Loneliness. Also on my favorite list were The Song of Achilles and Company of Liars neither of which I thought I'd like and then was blown away. I also liked We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I would never read any of these on my own and so I appreciate all of you for opening my eyes, even Paul. :)

Seraphina wrote: "I always look forward to reading this list. A few predictables on it
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/..."

Thanks, Seraphina, now I feel totally inadequate. The only book I read that all those critics mentioned was The Girl on the Train and I wouldn't have name that as one of the best books of the year.

I do my best Susan

I may have the wrong end of the stick here, but I'm listing all my favorite books from our book club reads. My faves we read were (in no particular order):
All That Is Solid Melts into Air
A History of Loneliness
To Kill a Mockingbird
An Officer and a Spy
The Orphan Master's Son
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
Station Eleven

This group has gotten me to read American classics - Harper Lee and John Steinbeck.

So hard to make a decision.

1. Favourite book for this year - The Invention of Wings

2. Favourite GRI monthly read this year - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

3. Favourite GRI quartery read this year - The Picture of Dorian Gray

Marcia wrote: "So hard to make a decision.

1. Favourite book for this year - The Invention of Wings

2. Favourite GRI monthly read this year - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

3...."

I loved The Invention of Wings :)

I, too, loved The Invention of Wings . I thought it was preposterous until I had found out it was based on a real story. It just shows that truth is stranger than fiction.

Susan wrote: "I, too, loved The Invention of Wings . I thought it was preposterous until I had found out it was based on a real story. It just shows that truth is stranger than fiction."

Yes, I didn't realise it was based on a true story til I got to the auther note at the end. Made I even more interesting

Initially when I started reading it I didn't realise it was based on a true story but then I had a look at the end of the book. I really liked this book. It makes me thankful that I live in these times.

Me too.