Burning Books Ireland

What books would you save if your house was on fire?

Patrick Freyne talks to Books Ireland editor Ruth McKee about comics, clutter, music and much more as he reveals what books he would save from the flames (and which he’d happily leave to burn). Patrick Freyne is a short story writer, essayist, and feature writer with The Irish Times. His latest book Ok, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea is published by Penguin. 

What books would you save if your house was on fire?

Books Ireland Editor Ruth McKee asks Jan Carson about growing up in Co. Antrim, religious hardwiring, magic realism and much more as she reveals the books she would pull from the flames—and the ones she’d leave behind. 

Jan Carson is the author of Malcom Orange Disappears, Children’s Children, Postcard Stories (The Emma Press) and The Fire Starters (Penguin) which won the European Prize for Literature. Her latest book The Last Resort has just been published with Doubleday Ireland. 

If your house was on fire, what books would you save from the flames?  The Books Ireland podcast features authors and well-known cultural figures discussing the titles that have formed the backdrop to their lives—their childhood memories perhaps, or books they fell in love with. Maybe there are authors they return to over and over, or novels which formed their world view—stories that shaped them or books which offered a refuge or a life raft. Editor Ruth McKee asks each guest which books they’d save, which they’d leave behind, and what other non-book treasure they would rescue from the flames.