Here we are at the end of another March, with most of the month’s books provided by Irish scribes. Out like a lamb? It’s definitely calmer today than last night’s tornado-watch storms. Made for a noisy evening, but one custom-made for reading.

Here are the books I read in March:

Book 1: Singing My Him Song by Malachy McCourt

Even though he was born in New York, Malachy McCourt grew up in Limerick, Ireland so we’ll count him as one of our Irish scribes.

Malachy had the very devil in him early on, with the drinking and the womanizing. In this second memoir (I preferred this to A Monk Swimming), he fesses up to his poor behavior and the many struggles he went through to settle down into a life worth living.

There’s a Forrest Gumpian thread to Malachy’s many tales, as he interacts with some famous folk. Most impressive, though, is how he finally came to terms with his childhood of abject poverty – and worked to put an end to the generational harm it caused.

Book 2: Malachy McCourt’s History of Ireland

I admit to thinking this would be another book of rollicking good fun from Malachy. But given the topic, that was asking too much. Ireland’s history is tough stuff.

This is, however, an engaging, casual reference book. Tracing the history of Ireland from ancient legends until modern times, Malachy tells it as he knows it.

Book 3: Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

If you like reading true crime and want to learn more about “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland, this book will take you a long way.

The book starts with the murder of a widowed mother in Northern Ireland and weaves a tangled web through years of spying, bombings, imprisonments, and – finally – answers.

Book 4: Mother Ireland by Edna O’Brien

Another of Ireland’s authors, born the same year as my mom, Edna O’Brien started her writing career with great scandal. The Country Girls was confiscated, banned, and even burned by a priest.

Mother Ireland did not receive nearly so much scorn. A collection of essays about her life in Ireland and eventually leaving for England, this memoir is lyrical yet not sugar-coated.

Books 5 & 6: Cozy murders by Carlene O’Connor

Have you heard of the relatively new genre of “cozy mysteries”? Apparently these stories tend to be written in series, following the Murder, She Wrote model. Nothing wrong with that, but once you’ve been enchanted by Agatha Christie’s masterpieces, you’re spoiled for life.

These two “Irish Village Mysteries” were gifts from dear Gary, so I gave them a try. Good palate cleansers, they were, given the madness going on in the U.S right now. But when I finally looked up a recipe for the oft-eaten and oft-mentioned Black and White Pudding, I needed a palate cleanser of a different kind!

Book 7: Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams

With the release of Careless People mid-month, I steered away from Irish scribes and went with a New Zealander.

Sarah Wynn-Williams was legally prevented from promoting this memoir of her years working at Facebook and so the Streisand Effect kicked in, making it an instant best-seller.

The book’s subtitle is A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism. Had I not already closed all my Meta accounts, Careless People would have done the trick.

Book 8: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Reading this series again after 55 years, it’s nice to discover the Chronicles of Narnia are still quite familiar to me.

The initials C.S., by the way, stand for Clive Staples. He was born in Belfast in 1898.

Book 9: Born A Crime by Trevor Noah

Veered away from Irish scribes for the final book this month.

Comedian Trevor Noah was born a few years before the official end of apartheid. His “Stories from a South African Childhood” is a primer on what life was like growing up with a Black mother and white father. The stories about his mom are simply outstanding.

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