Books Blog
Tuesday 17 April 2012
Tales of One City
This month's One City, One Book choice is James Joyce's classic collection of short stories, Dubliners. Donal O'Donoghue revisits its lives and landscape
Its title is audacious - or at the very least courageous. Can you imagine a book called Londoners or New Yorkers and reckon it any more (or less) than a chest-thumping paean to those town's citizens? But Dubliners, James Joyce's anthology of fictions, manages the trick of being both local and universal without missing a beat or taking a wrong step.
For these reasons, and more, it is perhaps an inevitable choice for this month's One City, One Book; Dublin Public Libraries annual initiative to pay tribute to the capital's status as a UNESCO City of Literature. A wise choice too, as Dubliners is probably the most accessible of the great writer's works: the James Joyce book most people claim to have read and have actually done so.
The Great Gatsby
Weekend Reads with Specsavers
1. The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (Doubleday)
The novel is written by an American Adam Johnson and it is a book that is funny, horrific and moving. It is also one of the novels that I bet is likely to be rated one of the best of the year.
A Book for Valentines
We have the perfect book for Valentine's Day and a thought-provoking movie tie-in. Donal O'Donoghue reviews The Brightest Star in the Sky and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close for 4 on Friday
The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes (Penguin)
Marian Keyes's last novel, The Brightest Star in the Sky, first published in 2009, is not the typical Valentine's Day book. But then Marian Keyes is not your typical Valentine's Day writer.
Thursday 26 January 2012
The Moment
This weekend's reads for 4 on Friday are the romance-cum-thriller The Moment and an award-winning collection of short stories from Edna O'Brien. Donal O'Donoghue reports
Sunday 22 January 2012
Love and Death on the Western Front
Tonight the BBC will screen its adaptation of Birdsong. But can it better the original novel? Donal O'Donoghue picks his 4 on Friday reads
Friday 9 December 2011
A Christmas Carol
Two great weekend reads from Four on Friday and Specsavers. Donal O'Donoghue reviews A Christmas Carol and Mistaken
Friday 2 December 2011
The Secret Life of Bees
For Four on Friday's Specsavers slot we have books about bees (The Secret Life of Bees) and bankers (The Fear Index). Donal O'Donoghue on two gripping weekend reads
Tuesday 22 November 2011
Monthly Bookclub
If you are joining in with the Four Live Monthly Bookclub then the book you should be reading at the moment is Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy.
Friday 18 November 2011
The King and I
Stephen King's latest is a whopper - a tale about time travel and the assassination of JFK. Donal O'Donoghue picks it up for a weekend read with Four on Friday
Thursday 10 November 2011
The Weekend Reads
Wuthering Heights is back on the big screen. Also one of the best thrillers of the year, The Faithless. Donal O'Donoghue with some weekend reads from 4 on Friday
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