Episode 5: My conversation with Karen Spears

This was such a fun conversation on a hot summer day with a deep dive into the lure of Irish writing, the need to prune what we read to find what's next (with Karen’s own special formula for choosing what to keep reading), and a bit of an examination of the joy of the reading experience.

Here are the books and authors we mention:

A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving The Diviners, Margaret Laurence A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry Becky Chambers (Sci Fi author) A Study for Obedience, by Sarah Bernstein Fayne, by Anne-Marie MacDonald (loved in audio read by author) The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy The Fraud by Zadie Smith

Irish writers and books:

Sally Rooney Ann Enright Tana French (mystery writer) Donal Ryan

The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe Brooklyn and Nora Webster, by Colm Toibin Bina, by Ankara Schofield A Ghost in the Throat, by Doireann Ní Ghríofa Apeirogon, by Colum McCann Small things like these, by Claire Keegan Snow, by John Banville Soldier, Sailor, by Claire Kilroy Checkout 19 and Pond, by Claire Louise Bennett Scottish writers and books: Robert Louis Stevenson Ian Rankin Mungo by Douglas Stuart