Sunday Snapshot is Back from Ireland

I'm baaaaaack! Ireland was awesome. If you like books, history, music, booze, food, and beautiful vistas, then Ireland is the island for you. The trip went by so fast, but in a way it felt a lot longer because of how deep Ireland got under my skin. I'm already craving Guinness and missing going to the pubs. I think I might be addicted to Ireland!

In lieu of my usual Sunday Snapshot format, this week I'm going to share a few pics and trip highlights.

Newgrange, a tomb older than the Pyramids at Giza that's aligned with the solstices.

The roofs of Belfast.

No Alibis, Belfast's (and possibly Ireland's) only crime fiction bookstore. Or so they say. To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the selection, the vast majority of which actually consisted of textbooks for Queen's College. But they gave me a free tote bag and three postcards with my purchase, so it's all good.

Giant's Causeway. We got there just as the sun was setting!

The ruins of Dunluce Castle.

Traditional Irish breakfast of poached eggs, bacon, ham, tomatoes, and black and white pudding.

The Beaghmore Stone Circles. I think I've finally got the whole stone circle thing out of my system. Problemaybe.

Inside Charlie Byrne's Bookshop, Galway, which is like an Irish version of Powell's Books.

A video posted by Tasha (@tashaheidenkind) on Oct 6, 2015 at 3:52pm PDT

A pub full of craic. Galway has the best pubs.

One of the coolest things I encountered on the trip: while the town walls of Cashel were being contructed in the 13th century, a family crypt was uncovered filled with four stone sarcophagi from the 11th-12th centuries. One of the effigies (right) was of a Templar knight with legs crossed and the feet turned inward, meaning he fought in the Crusades. But his sister (left) also has her legs crossed with feet turned inward, so they think she cut her hair to pass as a boy and followed her brother to Holy Land (!). 11th century feminism, ladies and gentlemen. All the effigies in the crypt were inserted into the wall and still frame the original town gates.

Cashel also has the super-awesome Bolton Library, which I'll write about in more depth for Book Riot. It's a must-visit!

Hangin' with Oscar and Eduard.

Boxty, which is a potato-based dough used to make fries, pancakes, bread, and dumplings. This dish, Gaelic Boxty, tasted similar to chicken-fried steak with white gravy, for you Americans out there.

Tasting whiskies at the Irish Whiskey Museum in Dublin.

Trinity College

The Long Room at Trinity College Library

Sunset at Killarney National Park

Interior of The Bank on College Green, a good place for lunch and a cocktail bar that receives my seal of approval.

Marsh's Library, a bit off the Dublin tourist track but well worth the walk. Super cool 18th-century public library that's still a working library. Past patrons included James Joyce, Bram Stoker, Jonathan Swift, and there are ton of awesome historical curiosities like cages readers would be locked into so they wouldn't steal the books. I'll be writing more about this library for Book Riot, as well.



That's just a small portion of the stuff we did, but I won't bore you with any more pictures (for now). I'll be back next week with our regularly scheduled programming.




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The Wild Irish Sea by Loucinda McGary

I liked Loucinda McGary's Treasures of Venice, so when Sourcebooks offered me an ARC of her next release, The Wild Irish Sea, I was happy to accept.  This is another fun, escapist read with a fabulous location that I enjoyed reading.  I think the plot and story are much improved in this book, as well, which leads me to suspect McGary might become an auto-buy for me if this trend continues.

Kevin Hennessy (two n's, two s's) is an alcoholic who no longer drinks and a cop who is taking an extended vacation--very extended--in the remote Irish fishing village of Donegal.  One dark and stormy night, some crazy American woman crashes into his solitary brooding, insisting that her brother is nearby and in danger.  Because he suffers from a hero complex, Kevin agrees to help, discovers the loopy American is telepathic and her brother really is in danger from nasty smugglers.

Here's what I loved about this book:  you know when it's so freaking hot you can barely stand it, and then you pick up a book and feel like you've been given a refrigeration device?  OH YEAH.  This is sooo like that.  I could practically feel the North Atlantic spray against my face and the cool sea breeze.  It was heavenly.  This is definitely pure, escapist, summer reading.

As for the rest of the book, it was pretty silly.  But it made perfect sense within the confines of the story.  In fact, this is the type of book I would really suggest you read in one sitting, because after you put it down, it's very hard to get back into the headspace of the novel.  Luckily, the book is quite short and a quick read, so it's something you could read in a day if you had the free time.

I really liked most of the characters, especially the younger ones--Conan, Ronan, and Meriol were delightful and added a lot of energy and spunk to the story.  The only character I didn't particularly like was the heroine, Amber.  She was just so fainty and panicky and clingy.  Not sure what Kevin finds attractive about her, either, but that's his problem.

This book isn't deep or challenging reading, but it does succeed in what it set out to be, which (have I mentioned this before?) is a light, fun, romantic adventure.  If you feel like you need a vacation from everyday life, I would unhesitatingly recommend this novel.

Strange aside:

This novel reminds me of the movie The Birds.  A lot.  No, there aren't any birds in it--just seals, and they're friendly--so I don't know why exactly it kept picturing Donegal as Bodega Bay, or Amber as Tippi Hedren, but I did.  Was it because animals with a freakish interest in humans creep me out, even if they are helping?  Who knows.

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