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Staring down the barrel of her fortieth year, Samantha Irby is confronting the ways her life has changed since the days she could work a full 11 hour shift on 4 hours of sleep, change her shoes and put mascara on in the back of a moving cab and go from drinks to dinner to the club without a second thought. Recently, things are more 'Girls Gone Mild.' In Wow, No Thank You Irby discusses the actual nightmare of living in a rural idyll, weighs in on body negativity (loving yourself is a full-time job with shitty benefits) and poses the essential question: Sure sex is fun but have you ever googled a popular meme? 'The only writer who can make me laugh with abandon in public... Her signature irreverence is intact, of course, but it can't mask the heart she leaves bleeding on the page.' Elle. 'So funny. Samantha Irby makes staying in feel like like a luxury, and reminds you that going out is actually quite annoying. I laughed out loud so much reading this... I honestly couldn't be more in awe of her.' Sara Pascoe. ISBN9780571359264 -
Our ancestors developed a uniquely nature-focused society, centred on esteemed poets, seers, monks, healers and wise women who were deeply connected to the land. They used this connection to the cycles of the natural world - from which we are increasingly dissociated - as an animating force in their lives. In this illuminating new book, Manchan Magan sets out on a journey, through bogs, across rivers and over mountains, to trace these ancestor's footsteps. He uncovers the ancient myths that have shaped our national identity and are embedded in the strata of land that have endured through millennia - from ice ages through to famines and floods. Here, the River Shannon is a goddess, and trees and their life-sustaining root systems are hallowed. See the world in a new light in this magical exploration into the life-sustaining wisdom of what lies beneath us. ISBN 9780717192595 -
Get ready for the online adventures of one man who just wants to make friends. And one very annoyed world. Based on the ingenious Sir Michael Twitter account, How to (Almost) Make Friends on the Internet is the funniest book you'll read this year. Whether it's offering his services as a Karate Lawyer or Funeral DJ, devising the world's worst plan to get a free haircut, or trying to buy a blue bucket that may or may not be for sale, Michael just wants to connect with people. The only problem is that people are slightly less enthusiastic about connecting with him and the results are utterly hilarious. Warning: you'll never think about adding someone called Michael to a group chat the same way ever again. 'He's almost certainly not the hero you ordered, but he's the hero we need right now' Dave Gorman 'I nearly stopped breathing twice as I was laughing so much. Glorious." Dom Joly 'Michael is the funniest human on the internet, bar none. Read his book, you cowards' James Felton, author of 52 Times Britain was a Bellend 'Finally, someone has worked out a good use for social media and it's brilliantly, painfully funny' Iain Morris, Co-creator of The Inbetweeners ISBN 9781398701816 -
What could be a more tempting Christmas gift than a compendium of David Sedaris's best stories, selected by the author himself? From a spectacular career spanning almost three decades, these stories have become modern classics and are now for the first time collected in one volume. Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler's lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say 'give it to me' in five languages and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird. But if all you expect to find in Sedaris's work is the deft and sharply observed comedy for which he became renowned, you may be surprised to discover that his words bring more warmth than mockery, more fellow-feeling than derision. Nowhere is this clearer than in his writing about his loved ones. In these pages, Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together, recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings, losing one parent and coming to terms - at long last - with the other. Full of joy, generosity, and the incisive humor that has led David Sedaris to be called 'the funniest man alive' (Time Out New York), The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing - quite often at himself - and invites readers deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time. ISBN 9780349144603 -
In this people's history of Ireland, John Creedon introduces a fascinating collection of stories from the Schools' Collection. This treasure trove of old stories, ways and wisdom, which could have been lost for ever, was collected by schoolchildren as part of a nationwide project set up in the 1930s to preserve Irish folklore. Published here for the first time, this 'best of' selection includes chapters on ghost stories, agriculture, forgotten trades, schooling and pastimes. The result is an incredible arc of folk history that tells us about ourselves and how we lived long ago. ISBN 9780717194223 -
Official Rules of the Road for Ireland, from the Road Safety Authority. Following the Rules of the Road saves lives and prevents injury. Written in straightforward language and aimed at all road users - drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and horseriders - the Rules of the Road sets out the laws, and details best driving practice. INCLUDES - Vehicle Safety, Road Signs, Markings & Lights, Speed Limits, Motorways, Penalty Points, Rules & Advice, Good Driving Practice & Safety. Rules of the Road Official RSA Guidebook: Essential for anyone using Irish roads, cycle tracks or footpaths, including: those looking to take out their first learner permit, those who are learning to drive, those who are preparing for their practical driving test and those who are already licensed drivers. A valuable reference for every road user. ISBN 9781788493307 -
"This book just makes me chuckle! If you enjoy classical art, social commentary, and memes then look no further. A great pick-me-up." Rebekah ISBN 9781797202839 -
Welcome to a year of wonder with Susie Dent, lexicographer, logophile, and longtime queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner. From the real Jack the Lad to the theatrically literal story behind stealing someone's thunder, from tartle (forgetting someone's name at the very moment you need it) to snaccident (the unintentional eating of an entire packet of biscuits), WORD PERFECT is a brilliant linguistic almanac full of unforgettable stories, fascinating facts, and surprising etymologies tied to every day of the year. You'll never be lost for words again. ISBN 9781529311488 -
Dubliner Jan Brierton wrote her first poem in January 2021. Frustrated with daily walks to parks, and longing for contact with beloved friends, Jan’s internal dialogue leaked out onto a page one night. ‘I think I wrote a poem’ she told her husband. ’Are you ok?’ he asked... That poem ‘What day is it, who gives a f**k’ went viral and caught the imagination of lockdown-exhausted women and men all over the world. Roisin Ingle at The Irish Times, one of Jan’s trusted few, received the poem in a late-night WhatsApp message. Roisin went on to share the poem on her Twitter page, The Irish Times Women’s Podcast and an asterisked version of the poem in The Irish Times. The poem has been shared extensively through WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, continuing to resonate with so many, all over the world. Jan’s lyrical writings offer a fresh perspective on modern life, written with humour, heart and honesty. ISBN 9781848408272 -
From the New York Times-bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo and Tenth of December comes a literary master class on what makes great stories work and what they can tell us about ourselves - and our world today. For the last twenty years, George Saunders has been teaching a class on the Russian short story to his MFA students at Syracuse University. In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, he shares a version of that class with us, offering some of what he and his students have discovered together over the years. Paired with iconic short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, the seven essays in this book are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it's more relevant than ever in these turbulent times. In his introduction, Saunders writes, "We're going to enter seven fastidiously constructed scale models of the world, made for a specific purpose that our time maybe doesn't fully endorse but that these writers accepted implicitly as the aim of art-namely, to ask the big questions, questions like, How are we supposed to be living down here? What were we put here to accomplish? What should we value? What is truth, anyway, and how might we recognize it?" He approaches the stories technically yet accessibly, and through them explains how narrative functions; why we stay immersed in a story and why we resist it; and the bedrock virtues a writer must foster. The process of writing, Saunders reminds us, is a technical craft, but also a way of training oneself to see the world with new openness and curiosity. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is a deep exploration not just of how great writing works but of how the mind itself works while reading, and of how the reading and writing of stories make genuine connection possible. A GUARDIAN, INDEPENDENT, IRISH TIMES AND EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF 2021 'This book is a delight, and it's about delight too. How necessary, at our particular moment' Tessa Hadley, Guardian ISBN 9781526624246 -
"This book may not be life-changing but it certainly offers a fresh and witty perspective on the many subjects concerned with being a woman. Expect classic, dry, New York humour mixed with Ephron's uncensored and self-deprecating take on life." Carrie ISBN 9780857526939 -
The Dictionary of Hiberno-English is the leading reference book on Hiberno-English - the form of English commonly spoken in Ireland. It connects the spoken and the written language, and is a unique national dictionary that bears witness to Irish history, struggles and the creative identities found in Ireland. Reflecting the social, political, religious and financial changes of people's ever-evolving lives, it contains words and expressions not usually seen in a dictionary, such as 'kibosh', 'smithereens', 'Peggy's Leg', 'hames', 'yoke', 'blaa', 'banjax' and 'luban'. It is a celebration of an irrepressible gift for the creative, expressive and reckless manipulation of the English language. This updated edition includes a new introduction by Blindboy Boatclub. ISBN 9780717190201 -
Cocooning with her ninety-year-old Aunt is not the life Helen imagined when she came home to Dublin after 30 years in London. Bickering, bitching, masking-up for rare outings, The Stairlift Ascends is a Twitter diary of our time trying to live together, surviving the pandemic: and each other! Aunt: *calling loudly from sitting room* Helen, can you help me? Me: *drops everything, rushes to front room, expecting her to have fallen* Aunt: The cat’s on my lap, could you pour me a small Jameson? Cocooning with my ninety-year-old Aunt is not the life I’d imagined when I came back to live in Dublin after 30 years of being a high-flying media executive in London. From the Groucho Club to our North Dublin coastal cocoon, it was back to earth with a bump. Funny and frustrating, living with the Aunt in our Covid bubble has been quite the eye-opener. Bickering, bitching, masking-up for rare outings, The Stairlift Ascends is a Twitter diary of our time trying to live together, of surviving the pandemic ... and each other. Love, lashings of apple tart, laughter and a longing for trips to Arnotts have seen us through, so far ... A hugely popular, funny and compassionate view on 2020 from @HelenORahilly ISBN 9781788492539 -
The Irish language has thirty-two words for field. Among them are: Geamhar - a field of corn-grass Tuar - a field for cattle at night Reidhlean - a field for games or dancing Cathairin - a field with a fairy-dwelling in it The richness of a language closely tied to the natural landscape offered our ancestors a more magical way of seeing the world. Before we cast old words aside, let us consider the sublime beauty and profound oddness of the ancient tongue that has been spoken on this island for almost 3,000 years. In Thirty-Two Words for Field, Manchán Magan meditates on these words - and the nuances of a way of life that is disappearing with them. ISBN 9780717187973
