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WHETHER YOU’RE HEADING away some time over the next month or two, or spending the long weekend at home, you might be looking for a new read to occupy you.
But which books are winning awards, getting good reviews, and ready to be picked up off the shelves (or ordered to your Kindle)?
We sort through the piles to help you choose your next read.
Only want to read award-winners? Here are some recent ones (with links to the other nominees):
Ticks all the boxes if you want a fairly thrilling and absorbing read about conflict in Colombia and its impact on a young man’s life. (Read our interview with him here)
The winner will be announced in September, but there’s time to:
Frank O’Connor short story award
This collection by young Mayo man Barrett is mainly set in the fictional Co Mayo town of Glanbeigh. Looking for stories about young people in modern rural Ireland? Here you go.
Harding provides an interesting take on Irish life; Boyce won the newcomer award; and Phillips will provide you with a crime fix.
Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction
A much-talked about debut.
Want to get stuck into a weighty book? Try these for size. The Kills is a ‘multimedia novel’ with audio and video content too.
Stuck for time, or love little nuggets of fiction that you can devour quickly? (Lydia Davis provides the tiniest morsels)
The young bloods always have something great up their sleeve. We’re particularly looking forward to getting stuck into these.
Looking for classics? Here are some that have been talked about this year.
Books of various genres getting all the good reviews this summer:
We write for a living, ergo we love reading too.
Here are some of our team’s favourite reads. While the above books are generally from 2013 – 2014, these are from a range of years.
What books would you recommend? Tell us in the comments.
Most of these books can be bought online in physical/ebook format, or in your local book store. Where links are provided, they are to the online stores of the publishers of the book, or to sites with more information.
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“Dear Leader” by Jang Jin-Sung. True story of a defector from North Korea. One of the best books I’ve read in years.
That’s the second recommendation I read for that book so I think I need to go and buy it now.
Thanks Crocodylus..In Book Limbo at the moment so think I will give that a go..
Book Limbo………if hell was on earth
Thanks for the recommendation. Just got it. If you want more on North Korea, try The Aquariums of Pyongyang and Under The Loving Care Of The Fatherly Leader
Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill is spectacular, well worth a read. To that list I’d add pretty much everything by Margaret Atwood, Annie Proulx, Anne Tyler, Barbara Kingsolver and David Mitchell. They are the writers whose new books I will consistently buy without even doing a test-read. Oh, and Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake trilogy is being adapted for TV as we speak, so read it first if you haven’t already!
I love Margaret Atwood dearly but The Year of the Flood was a bit of a let down for me. Oryx and Crake was so good I don’t think she could match it. The Blind Assassin is in my all time top 10 too. My top writerly crush at the moment is Jim Crace, Arcadia was so lovely it made my head swim. Just finished Harvest, also fantastic. Wonderful books for lovers of a beautiful phrase, very poetic.
Sam, I accidentally read them in the wrong order; Year of the Flood first, then Oryx and Crake. It really worked for me for some reason. I finished Maddaddam (sp?) recently and thought it the weakest of the three, but I still love the world she built.
David Mitchell is my idol. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet is a personal favourite. I met him when I was a silly thirteen-year-old with aspirations to be the next J.K. Rowling, and he had nothing but praise for the hurried samples of writing I produced for him. If I become a successful writer/author in years to come, I’ll have him to thank. A true gentleman.
The Kite Runner is one i read earlier this year after many years of hearing about it, fantastic read.
Unfortunately, having grown up with sattelite tv and the internet, my attention span is totally ruined.
Just finished reading “the son” by Jo Nesbo . Pretty damn good . Also the sisters brothers as mentioned in the article is a great book as well
I love Jo Nesbo and most Scandinavian authors. There is a new Kurt wallander coming soon. Liza marklund is very good and erlendur indriadsson is excellent
Jo Nesbo’s “Harry Hole” series of books are incredible. I’m on the latest called Police right now and devouring every word.
More ad the Icelandic series by indriadsson. Amazingly good, particularly the one called Voices from the Grave. Similar character to Harry Hole.
***read the
Have read all the Martin Beck books at this stage. Found them brilliant.
Was recommended them after reading Jo Nesbo.
Loved the early Nesbo stuff. Redbreast in particular was wonderful and gave an incredible insight into Norwegian society and history. However, I’ve found the last few, including the Son to have really fallen in quality. They have become highly conventionalised with ever more implausible plots, twists and turns. It’s almost as if he’s now writing crime by numbers. IMHO. Have just picked up a few books by Hermann Koch which look very promising.
BTW, with regards Irish crime writers, I would highly recommend Conor Fitzgerald. But the best book I’ve read this year has been Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking by Anya von Bremzen. Not what you think, but a wonderfully evocative memoir of life in the Soviet Union.
Ian. Agreed Martin beck series is excellent, read them all too, such a fascinating insight in 1960′s Sweden. Wahloos other stand alone books are not so good though. Wallander series are brilliant.
A friend recommended I read Conor Fitzgerald’s new book “Bitter Remedy”. The problem is that it’s a series about a detective in modern Italy, and I prefer not to start half way through. So I’ll be starting with his first Commissario Blume case, “The Dogs of Rome”
A song of fire and ice is a good series by George R.R. Martin if you’re bored.There’s also the hush,hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick or The hunger games by Suzanne Collins.
If you like a song of fire and ice then I recommend Throne of glass, crown of midnight and heir of fire by sarah j maas.
If you like hush hush then I recommend fallen saga by Lauren Kate also any Jennifer armentrout book series also her pen name off j. Lynn, cassandra claire books – the mortal instruments x 6 books / clockwork trilogy, elementals x 5 books by brigid kemmerer,
If you like the hunger games then I would recommend divergent trilogy, maze runber trilogy, legend trilogy, shatter me trilogy, legend of tril trilogy.
I’d recommend Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy for anyone whose interest is piqued by George R.R. Martin. Slightly less mature, with religious undertones, but an incredible trilogy. A film was made of the first book, which unfortunately was a complete flop.
Oh I love His Dark Materials! One of my all-time faves :)
I desperately wanted a dæmon for the longest time after reading that series… I still do, I must admit!
The diary of Anne Frank is a must read August 4 th marks the 70 th anniversary of the day she and her family was betrayed
I am reading the Goldfinch at the moment and I am not over excited.
I didn’t like it, I have to say. Think I won’t read the next Donna Tartt, too much effort for not enough reward.
It’s on my To Be Read pile, but I’m hearing a lot of people saying the same thing. Dunno if I’ll bother.
It’s on my should read but don’t really want to list. I found The Secret History ending disappointing. Is it just me or are many highly trumpeted US authors not actually as great as Americans think they are?
I absolutely loved The Goldfinch. Her ability to construct some of the most beautiful sentences in modern literature was a joy to read. There are weaknesses in the novel, but on the whole, I was hooked. It did not feel like a tome at all.
I really liked the first half of Goldfinch.
But the constant applause that this book has gotten makes me think that alot of reviewers didn’t have the time to read the unbelievably dull second half.
I loved the Secret History, it’s in my
Top ten for sure… Abandoned Goldfinch on holidays but will get back to it this weekend
Hope Ur Ok Hun xxx
Brilliant comedy! https://m.facebook.com/hopeurokhun
The Facebook page is a howl. People actually get all huffy with her and tell her it’s their taxes that are buying her crudy chips lol #kantkope. Lol
The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak is an amazing book, I think the film adaption didn’t really do it justice, I thought, though it was a good movie. Also any book by Terry Pratchett is worth a read, he’s been my favourite author for years!
Tana French – Broken Harbour. Fiction that’s spectacularly close to home. I’ve just finished another of hers, The Likeness. Her style is quite like John McGahern, highly recommend her
The best Irish book I have read this year has been A Model Partner by Daniel Seery. A great novel on loneliness full with black humour. Highly recommended.
Well done to Louise O Neill “Only Ever Yours”. Amazing author. The sky is the limit!
The Bill Bryson book mentioned above is called ‘One Summer – America 1927′ and it’s a great read about a remarkable time. If you do not often read history, this is the history book for you. Best non-fiction I’ve read in several years. And do not be put off by the size, I read it about twice as fast as fiction.
The Circle by David Eggers. Very interesting take on the potential effect of technology on the fabric of society. Characters lack depth,for sure, but the ideas prompted are haunting.
“The Three” by Sarah Lotz is excellent. One of the best I’ve read from a new author in years.
Just finished fields of fire great read if any interest in GAA
I found “The Thrill of it All” by John O’Connor and the “Summer of 1927″ by Bill Bryson to be wonderful reads this year
I presume you mean Joseph O’Connor. Thought it was terrible. Wish fulfilment rubbish from a vastly over rated author.
A Girl is a Half Formed Thing is a pile of sub Joycean nonsense.
Fastian by Jay Finn. Okay, I did write it and it’s a bit of shameless self promotion but for all you fantasy lovers out there, I hear it’s a great read!
But on a non self promotional note, ‘The Ocean at the End of The Lane’ by Neil Gaiman is amazingly brilliant.
American Gods as well.
I read that recently, thought it was one of the best books I’ve read in ages
Ah aisling. A lot to be said for good taste :)))
“A Girl is a Half-formed Thing” has a fascinating and tragic storyline but actually reading it involves more endurance and stamina than climbing Everest! I love stream-of-consciousness as a technique, Woolf and Kerouac are masters of the form, but McBride, I feel, takes it too far. It’s like reading some sort of ode to Finnegans Wake. I had a friend read it at the same time as me and his review was, “I liked it but it gave me a headache”. I can see why it won the Bailey’s Prize but I won’t be recommending it to anyone without a literature degree haha!
I completely agree Barry. I’d consider myself open-minded when it comes to writing styles, but A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing demanded unwavering concentration at each sitting. I found the employment of a continuous stream of consciousness interesting and engaging but, for an eighteen-year-old girl on summer holidays, I found the effort required to actually read the flippin’ thing took away from the power of the story!
George Saunders ‘Tenth of December’ is amazing.The opening story and one about suspect medical experiments in the middle are most noteworthy.
The wheel of time.Its like a cross between game of thrones and lord of the rings but it will take a year plus to read the whole series for an average reader but it’s much better than either of the two mentioned above in my opinion
Fantastic books. I was a bit disappointed with the ending.
Who’s the author? If it’s “like a cross between game of thrones and lord of the rings” I’m definitely interested, and I need a new series to get interested in now I’m finished GoT!
Robert Jordan
For those of you with a kindle The Goldfinch is $5.95 at the moment.
Appros Amazon Vacquez novels are 2 euros each. Paid 2 fifty for child’s mineral that was gone in one minute. Richard Ford, and Trawler & the fantastic Congo journey by Redmond.ohanlon.
Strong recommendation for ‘The Golem and the Jinni’!
So far this summer I have enjoyed..The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan, How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran, Eeny Meeny by M J Aldridge ( brilliant thriller), Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty, Rage against dying by Becky Masterston and just started Life after life by Kate Atkinson. Love a good book!
“Cascade”, by Maryanne O Hara; a beautiful story, wonderfully lyrical and imaginative. Well worth a read!
best book of the summer I am pilgrim by terry hayes
second Live by night by dennis lehane
also anything by David baldacci or our own John Connolly
Ajax, The Dutch, The War: Football in Europe During the Second World War by Simon Kuper & Football Dynamo by Marc Bennetts are excellent.
I found Madeleine’s D’Arcy’s Waiting for the Bullet an absorbing collection of stories to read this year.
have your say