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Clare Champion, Friday, 10th October 2008
Birds of Ireland: Facts, Folklore
and History by Glynn Anderson
“Hearing the hoot of an owl is associated with bad luck. However, if you hear an owl, all is not lost: you must immediately take off your clothes, turn them inside out and put them back on. Luckily, most owls appear at night...”
This is just one of the many informative and entertaining facts contained within this attractive book on Irish birds. The book starts with an overview of the history and folklore of Irish birds. In Irish mythology, birds were sometimes seen as omens, and there were countless beliefs, proverbs and curses associated with them. The book tells us that birds inspired poets such as Hopkins, Yeats and Heaney and influenced place names in Ireland like the Curlew Mountain in Roscommon and Hawk’s Nest, County Antrim.
Physical descriptions and facts and figures on each species of birds found in Ireland is given together with the associated beliefs and traditions, proverbs and similes, curses and poetry, weather lore and culinary traditions.
So if you are trying to ensure your
husband’s fidelity, sew a swan’s feather into his pillow;
if you need a cure for baldness, burn a raven and boil its ashes with
mutton fat which then should be rubbed into the head; if you have jaundice,
fix your gaze on a Yellowhammer - the bird will die but you will be ok.
Creature of the Night
by Kate Thompson
When Bobby's mother moves the family from Dublin to a rented house in the country, she hopes they will escape the moneylenders who make her life hell and that a fresh start in the country will steer Bobby away from the undesirable habits and people he is involved with in the city.
But Bobby yearns for city life and getting back to what he does best; stealing from the crowded shopping streets and racing stolen cars at night.
Parallel stories running simultaneously in Thompson’s books are a regular feature of her writing and here again, the personal journey of Bobby is paralleled by the story of a previous tenant who once lived in their newly rented house and who mysteriously disappeared.
The longer Bobby spends in the old cottage, the more convinced he becomes that something very strange is going on there. Was there really a murder? And if so, was it the one he has been told about?
Thompson’s characters are, as always, well rounded and truly authentic. Combined with an excellent story line with a touch of fantasy, this book is an excellent read for older children and young teens.
Be a judge for the Costa Book Awards
Do you love books? Have a passion for reading? And like to express your opinions on both? Then the Costa Book Awards want to hear from you!
For the first time, Costa is offering one avid reader a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join the final judging panel of this year's Costa Book Awards and have a say in which book is named Costa Book of the Year 2008.
To enter write a 300 word piece telling what you believe to be the perfect book to read with a cup of coffee and why. Then in less than 500 words write about your relationship with books and reading and why you think you should join the final judging panel.
Closing date for submissions is 31st October 2008.
A shortlist of 12 entrants will be chosen and asked to come to London on Tuesday 25th November for a book review debate on 'Day' by A.L. Kennedy. The Costa Book Awards team and author Joanna Trollope will oversee the debate, as a result of which one winner will be selected. Standard-class travel expenses for the 12 shortlisted entrants will be reimbursed by the Costa Book Awards.
If you win, you will be required to read all five Costa Award-winning books. You'll then attend and participate in the final judging meeting to select the overall 2008 Costa Book of the Year. You'll also attend the Costa Book of the Year awards gala dinner and ceremony with a guest on the evening of Tuesday 27th January 2009. You and your guest will stay overnight in a central London hotel following the awards dinner and ceremony. And to top it all off, your winning book review will be published on the Costa Book Awards website. See www.costabookawards.com for further details. Good luck!
Team Player for Team Read
Clare Inter County hurler Tony Griffin met with young library members from all over Clare on Friday evening the 3rd of October at Clare County Council Headquarters, New Road, Ennis. Hundreds of children were present with their families to receive certificates of merit and spot prizes as a reward for taking part in the library’s annual summer reading scheme, Team Read. 2,500 books were borrowed from library branches and read during July and August by young book enthusiasts as a result of the scheme.
Clare County Library would like to extend its sincere thanks to Tony Griffin, the invited guest of honour for the evening, who not only presented certificates but signed autographs and posed for photographs with the many young hurling fans who attended.
Best-selling children’s and teenage author, Karen McCombie comes to Clare
A comprehensive reference library is
now available at the touch of a button from the comfort of your own home.
The Clare County Library website features a section called Online Resources
which offers instant links to over 70 national and international websites
offering free reference resources covering a multitude of popular topics.
Visit www.clarelibrary.ie and
click on Online
Resources for a wealth of information on the following:
Supplied by Clare County Library