Well, that brings week one of Reading Ireland Month to a close and what a great week to kick everything off!

It was ‘Contemporary Novels’ week on 746 Books and I reviewed:

• The Good Son by Paul McVeigh
• All The Beggars Riding by Lucy Caldwell
• My Coney Island Baby by Billy O’Callaghan

I also posted about the forthcoming Irish novels that I’m most excited to read and there are so many that I had to create not one but two posts

Reading lists are being made and book piles assembled and this week saw planning posts by Rachel at pace, amore, libri  Virginia at Rosepoint Publishing from Kim at Reading Matters on Instagram and Lara Maynard on Twitter.

Lara is also posting pics of some delicious Irish themed baking over on her Instagram, so make sure and check those recipes out!

The Classics Club also posted a very helpful list of Irish and Welsh classics here
while Karen at Booker Talk themed her Top Ten books with one word titles for Welsh and Ireland Month too!

Reviews this week came from:

• Nancy Elin reviewed The Education of an Idealist – a memoir by Irish-American scholar Samantha Power
• Nancy also explored A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde and The Wake by Tom Murphy
• Hopewell’s Library of Life reviewed the Booker Prize-winning Milkman by Anna Burns
• Rosemary at Scones and Chaises Longues reviewed Dublin 4 by Maeve Binchy
• Virginia at Rosepoint Publishing reviewed Murder in an Irish Cottage by Carlene O’Connor and Sockeye by Michael F Tevlin
• Annabel at Annabookbel reported back on her recent Book Club read In The Woods by Tana French
• She Reads Novels reviewed Becoming Belle by 746 Books favourite Nuala O’Connor
• Heaven Ali reviewed Loving Without Tears by Molly Keane
• Loves Books Reads Books shared a review of When All is Said by Anne Griffin

There is also a lovely buzz on Twitter as some Irish writers and poets are sharing their favourite Irish reads, so don’t forget to keep an eye on the hashtag #readingirelandmonth20 for more recommendations and news!

If you’ve posted a review and I’ve missed it, please do drop me a message in the comments and I’ll share.

You can also follow along on my 746 Books Instagram page, using the same hashtag and on the Begorrathon Facebook page where I am sharing all your great reviews.

As today is International Women’s Day, I have a very special prize for my first giveaway of the month. To celebrate all the great women writers from Ireland, I’m giving away a gorgeous Irish Authors tea-towel and magnetic bookmark, along with a Faber Stories copy of Paradise by Edna O’Brien.

To enter, just comment below and let me know who your favourite woman writer is (Irish or otherwise) and I’ll draw a winner on Wednesday 11 March. The competition is open to international readers also!

Check back in next week when I’ll be exploring Classic Irish Novels. There will be another giveaway on Monday and a post on the newly opened Museum of Literature (MoLi) in Dublin.

Thanks to all who have taken part so far, read, commented on and retweeted Reading Ireland Month posts.

You’re legends, the lot of ye!

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