Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
IF YOU’RE HEADING out to do some Christmas shopping this year, you’ll probably have some books on your list.
But it can be hard to know what’s good and what’s not, so we’ve put together a list of the year’s best books – many of which are Irish – to show you what’s out there.
Why not put your recommendations in the comments?
Inspired by the young girls who flocked to Charles Manson’s cult, this book is by a young author who really gets inside the skin of what it is to be a young girl.
For those who love suspense, crime, and an exploration of class in Ireland.
Short but unforgettable, and almost painful to read in parts, this is one of the year’s best reads.
Inspired by the real-life story of Watson’s great-aunt, this brings us a young woman born with a disability in the early 19th century and shows us how she transcends the limits imposed by those around her to become her own person.
Ryan yet again proves he’s an Irish literary force with this, a sharp, moving and tough read about a woman who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant.
A mixture of fiction, non-fiction, photography and poetry, this annual of Irish writing from Kevin Barry and Olivia Smith is a real treat.
This follow-up to last year’s The Long Gaze Back is also a collection of stories by female writers – but this time, they’re from the North of Ireland. A great way to discover new – and old – writers..
Conor McGregor’s coach writes about the journey to training one of the world’s most famous athletes.
Photography that will make you think about how Ireland has evolved over the years.
A memoir in which Deeley remembers his father, a hurley maker, through snatches of his childhood. For fans of John McGahern.
For those with an interest in American society and how the poor survive.
A fascinating look at the cases that have gone through the Irish Supreme Court, and how they helped shape society here.
A look at what makes one of Ireland’s legendary rugby players do what he does.
A gorgeous illustrated follow-up to Irelandopedia, which brings children on a journey through Irish history.
Watkins’ first book stemmed from stories she’d tell her grandchildren – now it’s a bestseller.
Rudden so impressed his publisher that he got a three-book deal for this series about a boy with special powers.
For budding young feminists, pick up this tale of a young girl inspired by her suffragette sister.
A dark YA novel about a young girl who lives a troubled life.
Though not widely available, Griffin’s follow-up to her non-fiction essay collection Not Lost is one for young – and old – adults who like their writers to have a vivid imagination.
One for the healthy eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the audience.
You can’t go wrong with a Jamie Oliver book, and this one is specially geared towards families.
White combines memoir with recipes in this beautifully-designed book about food and family.
Isnt god wonderful….
No….The universe is wonderful.
Your obviously more religous than scientific otherwise you would know your so called God did not create the Universe. Or this World for that matter.
I think there was a slight hint of sarcasm in James’s comment which you all missed
Nice work putting the caption over the actual object in the image…
Erhhhhhh…….they didn’t. Its above the word “at” in the caption right on the edge of the outer ring.
Infinitesmily grand!
Is that we’re the little bo***x Fitzpatrick comes from????
The world is flat, one god created all this and we don’t know who created him/her/it?
I’ve got your ring and new moon right here.
God
Invisible pink unicorn
SCIENCE SHOWS THAT THE UNIVERSE CANNOT BE ETERNAL because it could not have sustained itself eternally due to the law of entropy (increasing net energy decay, even in an open system). Einstein showed that space, matter, and time all are physical and all had a beginning. Space even produces particles because it’s actually something, not nothing. Even time had a beginning! Time is not eternal.
The law of entropy doesn’t allow the universe to be eternal. If the universe were eternal, everything, including time (which modern science has shown is as physical as mass and space), would have become totally entropied by now and the entire universe would have ended in a uniform heat death a long, long time ago. The fact that this hasn’t happened already is powerful evidence for a beginning to the universe.
Popular atheistic scientist Stephen Hawking admits that the universe had a beginning and came from nothing but he believes that nothing became something by a natural process yet to be discovered. That’s not rational thinking at all, and it also would be making the effect greater than its cause to say that nothing created something. The beginning had to be of supernatural origin because natural laws and processes do not have the ability to bring something into existence from nothing. What about the Higgs boson (the so-called “God Particle”)? The Higgs boson does not create mass from nothing, but rather it converts energy into mass. Einstein showed that all matter is some form of energy.
The supernatural cannot be proved by science but science points to a supernatural intelligence and power for the origin and order of the universe. Where did God come from? Obviously, unlike the universe, God’s nature doesn’t require a beginning.
EXPLAINING HOW AN AIRPLANE WORKS doesn’t mean no one made the airplane. Explaining how life or the universe works doesn’t mean there was no Maker behind them. Natural laws may explain how the order in the universe works and operates, but mere undirected natural laws cannot explain the origin of that order. Once you have a complete and living cell then the genetic code and biological machinery exist to direct the formation of more cells, but how could life or the cell have naturally originated when no directing code and mechanisms existed in nature? Read my Internet article: HOW FORENSIC SCIENCE REFUTES ATHEISM.
WHAT IS SCIENCE? Science simply is knowledge based on observation. No one observed the universe coming by chance or by design, by creation or by evolution. These are positions of faith. The issue is which faith the scientific evidence best supports.
Some things don’t need experiment or scientific proof. In law there is a dictum called prima facie evidence. It means “evidence that speaks for itself.”
An example of a true prima facie would be if you discovered an elaborate sand castle on the beach. You don’t have to experiment to know that it came by design and not by the chance forces of wind and water.
If you discovered a romantic letter or message written in the sand, you don’t have to experiment to know that it was by design and not because a stick randomly carried by wind put it there. You naturally assume that an intelligent and rational being was responsible.
I encourage all to read my popular Internet articles: NATURAL LIMITS TO EVOLUTION and HOW FORENSIC SCIENCE REFUTES ATHEISM
Visit my newest Internet site: THE SCIENCE SUPPORTING CREATION
Babu G. Ranganathan*
(B.A. Bible/Biology)
Author of popular Internet article, TRADITIONAL DOCTRINE OF HELL EVOLVED FROM GREEK ROOTS
*I have given successful lectures (with question and answer period afterwards) defending creation before evolutionist science faculty and students at various colleges and universities. I’ve been privileged to be recognized in the 24th edition of Marquis “Who’s Who in The East” for my writings on religion and science.
Wake me up when you’ve finished the lecture. Time and place. This is neither.
There’s a spacecraft leaving tomorrow for it be on it the lot of you
have your say