We are all shaped by the world around us. In positive ways, negative ways and complicated ways. When you read a lot, words on pages help shape your thinking and experiences. Sometimes you understand why. Sometimes books affect you in ways you cannot fully explain or understand.
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“Maybe now it will actually begin to feel real. We actually did it.” I type, not for the first time. Clicking “send tweet” as the tears begin to fall. Opening Facebook, I type a similar message. The Kerry for Choice WhatsApp group is next, followed by an expletive laden text to P. My phone is buzzing so much it scares Arwen (the dog).
President Higgins signed the Thirty-Sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill into law. The Eighth Amendment has officially been Repealed. Yet, the joy I expect isn’t there. Relief and exhaustion are all I have. They are all I’ve had since May 25th.
Some Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) included. They are marked with an asterisk *. No affiliate links used. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
My reading has been sporadic recently so I have, once again, combined multiple months into one quick-fire reviews round-up. Here are the books I read during July and August.
“You left Dublin? That must have been some change for you?”
“Yeah, it took a while to get used to. I miss footpaths, street lights and living within the delivery zone of takeaways.”
I focus on the practical things because I’m afraid to admit the truth; it didn’t take me long to adapt to living in the country and, apart from friends and family, there is little about the city that feels like home. It stopped feeling like home while I was living there.
Some Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) included. They are marked with an asterisk *. No affiliate links used. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
Reading hasn’t been top of my agenda for the past few months, Repealing the Eighth was! As a result, I’ve combined my April, May and June reads into one quick-fire reviews blog post.
My Yes is for those who laid themselves bare by telling their stories. We owe you so much and we’ll never be able to repay your bravery.
My Yes is for those who haven’t shared their experiences and maybe never will.
We talk a lot about having conversations with regards to the upcoming referendum to remove the Eighth Amendment from the Constitution. We talk a lot about having conversations because we understand how important those conversations are. Speaking to people, be they family, friends or colleagues, listening to their concerns and discussing the wide-ranging impact the Eighth Amendment has on the lives of pregnant people in Ireland is crucial in the run up to May 25th. A few years ago, conversations like these changed my thinking and helped me fully understand the implications of the Eighth Amendment and why we must repeal it.
Some Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) included. They are marked with an *. No affiliate links used. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
March involved more than a few bouts of painsomnia, which meant late nights spent reading with crime fiction and non-fiction being flavour of the month.
The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams. Advance Reader Copy (ARC) from the publisher, Headline, included. No affiliate links used. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
Today’s 5 questions with… interview is a little different because my husband, Paul, asked the questions. Publication of Jen Williams’ books has either coincided with our wedding anniversary or Paul’s birthday, so they have always made up a part of my gifts to him. So when the opportunity arose to interview Jen as part of the blog tour for her latest novel The Bitter Twins, it seemed appropriate to hand the reins over to Paul.
Some Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) included. They are marked with an *. No affiliate links used. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
February unintentionally became a month where I only read non-fiction, which isn’t something I’m complaining about even though the books I read were pretty hit and miss.