#WWWWEDNESDAY – 29 MARCH 2023 #ReadingIrelandMonth23 #WilliamTrevor2023

It’s WWW Wednesday!

WWWWednesdays meme, formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm, has been revived and is now hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

What are you currently reading?

I’m just about to start this beauty. Crossing Over by Ann Morgan published published by Renard Books.

Crossing Over by Ann Morgan for an amazing blog tour from the wonderful Renard Books – my post will be on 15 April.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Dressmaker’s Child By William Trevor (this link will take you to the William Trevor page of The New Yorker where you can find a link to this story should you wish to read it).

This is my small contribution to A Year With William Trevor as well as being part of Reading Ireland Month ‘23.

A Year with William Trevor hosted by @kimbofo at Reading Matters.

The Bell by Iris Murdoch

Imber Court is a quiet haven for lost souls, a utopia for those who can neither live in the world, nor out of it. But beneath the gentle daily routines of this community run currents of supressed desire, religious yearning and a legend of disastrous love. Charming, indolent Dora arrives in their midst, and half-unwittingly conjures these submerged things to the surface.

Author: Iris Murdoch was born in Dublin in 1919. She read Classics at Somerville College, Oxford, and after working in the Treasury and abroad, was awarded a research studentship in Philosophy at Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1948 she returned to Oxford as fellow and tutor at St Anne’s College and later taught at the Royal College of Art. Until her death in 1999, she lived in Oxford with her husband, the academic and critic John Bayley. She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1987 and in the 1997 PEN Awards received the Gold Pen for Distinguished Service to Literature.

The Dead by James Joyce

Reproduced, see picture above, in this beautiful Día De Los Muertos edition and published by Fahrenheit Press “just because we can”.

The Dead details a New Year’s Eve gathering in Dublin that is so evocative and beautiful it prompts the protagonist’s wife to make a shocking revelation to her husband that reveals an emotionally powerful epiphany regarding the intersections between life and death.

This story first appeared in Joyce’s collection The Dubliners, published in 1914, and is now widely considered one of the best short stories in modern literature.

Author: James Joyce was an Irish novelist, short story writer, poet, teacher, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century. Joyce is best known for Ulysses (1922), a landmark work in which the episodes of Homer’s Odyssey are paralleled in a variety of literary styles, most famously stream of consciousness. Other well-known works are the short-story collection Dubliners (1914), and the novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) and Finnegans Wake (1939). His other writings include three books of poetry, a play, his published letters and occasional journalism.

All were read for Reading Ireland Month 2023. Reviews are to come and then I’ll do a roundup of Reading Ireland Month 2023.

Reading Ireland month, or The Begorrathon as it is affectionately known, returned for the seventh year between Wednesday 1 and Friday 31 March 2023. You can find out all about it from the host Cathy on 746books.

What do you think you’ll read next?

These wonderful BlogTours are happening in April/May. I shall be reading and sharing my thoughts as indicated:

THE ACAPULCO by Simone Buchholz (translated by Rachel Ward) from Random Things Tours and publishers Orenda Books – my post will be on 19 April

Skin Deep by Antonia Lassa (translated by Dr Jacky Collins) published by Corylus Books – I’ll be posting on 1st May.

Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Masden (translated by Megan Turney) published by Orenda Books – posting on 11th May.

This meme is a great way to keep my reading organised and share a regular weekly post with you. I hope that you enjoy it too. Do share your thoughts on this post and the books featured above by leaving a comment below. It’s always good to read what you think.