October Read: Cootehill Library

Crocodile Tears by Mark O'Sullivan

Property tycoon, Dermot Brennan, is found murdered in his Dublin Home. Leading the investigation is Detective Inspector Leo Woods, an embittered former UN peacekeeper with a drug habit, a penchant for collecting masks and a face disfigured by Bell's Palsy. He is assisted by the intelligent Detective Sergeant Helen Troy, an engaging character with a troubled past. A host of suspects quickly emerge; together Woods and Troy weave their way through a tangled web to get to the shocking truth.

Acclaimed children's fiction writer, Mark Sullivan, is an exciting new voice in literary fiction, the absorbing plot and the exceptional lead character combine to make this novel an excellent summer read.

October Read: Bailieborough Reading Group

Notes on Scandal by  Zoë Heller

Barbara Covett, a school teacher  has led a solitary life until Sheba Hart, the new art teacher at St. George's, befriends her. But even as their relationship develops, so too does another: Sheba has begun an illicit affair with an underage male student. When the scandal turns into a media circus, Barbara decides to write an account in her friend's defense—and ends up revealing not only Sheba's secrets, but also her own.

October Reads: Cavan Reading Group

This month our group are reading the Collected Works of Richard Ford.

Richard Ford is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel The Sportswriter and its sequels, Independence Day and The Lay of the Land. Ford's latest novel, Canada, was published in May 2012. 

Read with us! Click on any of the Book Covers and reserve a title on our Catalogue...

What is 100 books with a Difference?

Through our “100 Books with a Difference” readers will explore the truth of living with prejudice and discrimination; learn that the shared experience of difference is what in fact unites us; and discover the wisdom of celebrating difference.

Find out more?

Check out the 100 Books with a Difference Blog

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Bernard MacLaverty's "Collection of Work" scores a 5-Star rating from our Cavan Reading Group!

"If you have not read any of Bernard's work before, or in a while; do not hesitate, reserve one today....", this is the advice from Cavan Reading Group members.

Here we have provided you with a few choices. Click on the Book Images to reserve your copy on our Catalogue!

This is the story of the growing up of Martin Brennan, a troubled boy in troubled times, a boy who knows all the questions but none of the answers. This is Belfast in the late sixties. Before he can become an adult, Martin must unravel the sacred and contradictory mysteries of religion, science and sex; he must learn the value of friendship; but most of all he must pass his exams - at any cost. 

This long-awaited new collection from the noted Irish writer Bernard MacLaverty examines worlds in collision, relationships fragmenting, innocence coming face to face with real life and real death. A Catholic schoolboy playing football has a theological debate with a Protestant policeman; a chess game in Spain is a catalyst for grief and redemption; in the haunting title story a Belfast man out walking his dog is kidnapped at gunpoint.

The award-winning Grace Notes is a compact and altogether masterful portrait of a woman composer and the complex interplay between her life and her art. With superb artistry and startling intimacy, it brings us into the life of Catherine McKenna — estranged daughter, vexed lover, new mother, and musician making her mark in a male-dominated field.

When Brother Sebastian, ne Michael Lamb, runs away from a bleak reformatory, taking with him twelve-year-old Owen Kane, the media and the police call it a kidnapping. For Lamb, though, it is a rescue of a formerly abused boy from a place of no hope, a last grasp at an elusive happiness. But as the outside world closes in, as time and money run out, Lamb finds himself moving towards a solution that is as shocking as it is loving. Lamb was produced as a widely praised film starring Liam Neeson in the title role.

Cal is the story of a Catholic teenager growing up in a mostly Protestant neighbourhood in Northern Ireland. Cal drives a getaway car after a Protestant is murdered and is tortured by the memory. His life is complicated by his growing love for the wife of the murdered man. Cal is one of the finest novels to emerge from the Northern Ireland conflict.

Fancy joining one of our Book Clubs?

We have 3 active English reading groups operating in each of our full-time libraries:

(1) The Johnston Central reading group was established in 1999 and currently has 25 members.

(2) The Bailieborough reading group was established in 2008 and has 8 members.

(3) The Cootehill reading group was established in 2002 and has 12 members.

We have an active Irish language group at Johnston Central Library:

Want to find out more? Contact Carmel Cusack-Smith at 049 4378500

How do I join?

It’s easy! Simply contact the appropriate Full-time library expressing your interest in joining their reading group!

Location	Group	Date & Time	Contact
Johnston Central Library	Adult English Reading Group	This group meet on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 1pm.	Katherine McLaughlin
	Grúpa léitheoireacht	This group meet on the 1st Thursday of each month at 1pm.	Carmel Cusack-Smith
Bailieborough Library	Adult English Reading Group	This group meet on the last Thursday each month at 1pm.	Marleen Kennedy
Cootehill Library	Adult English Reading Group	This group meet on the 2nd Thursday each month at 7pm	Sinead McArdle

What type of materials do the groups review?

It varies. We have reviewed a multitude of diverse genres ranging from popular fiction to award winning novels. Click here to access our Reading Group booklist which lists the books our groups have reviewed since 1999.