Failte! Welcome 👋🏻
Welcome to Leabhar Linn 📚, the Irish-language book club, where I will let you know of Irish language books available for you to read!
"Leabhar Linn" is an Irish language pun. "Labhair" is the verb to speak, so "Labhair linn" means "Speak to us", while the word Leabharlann usually means Library. Get it?! I'm pretty proud of that one! 😂
📖 Book 1 - Heartstopper by Alice Osema, translated by Eoin Mc Evoy
The first book I want to recommend is the Irish-language translation of the graphic novel, 'Heartstopper', the story the Netflix TV show of the same name is based on.
The story is about two young boys who fall in love. As a graphic novel, the story is very easy to follow with very accessible Irish. The few words I had to look up were good additions to my lexicon! A nice, easy and enjoyable start to my campaign to read more books as Gaeilge!
I actually read this book in the hospital before and after my c-section and I found it very easy to read and hard to put down. Burned through it in a matter of hours.
Get the book from An Siopa Leabhar here.
Disclosure: N/A. I bought a copy of the book. The above link is not an affiliate link.
📖 Book 2 - Tír Bheag by Gaël Faye, translated by Antain Mac Lachlainn
The debut novel of Gaël Faye is a coming-of-age story based in a time of civil war. Set in 1992, it follows 10-year-old Gabriel as his life changes forever.
Tír Bheag is coming out on October 11th 2024. It has been translated into Irish from the original French by Antain Mac Lachlainn.
Get the book from Easons here.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book from publisher Barzaz. The above link is not an affiliate link.
📖 Book 3 - Madame Lazare (Audiobook) by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin
My next book is an audiobook narrated by the author, Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin. Closleabhar is the Irish word for audiobook! (Listen book 😊) It is available on Spotify.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of the audiobook from publisher Barzaz. The below link is not an affiliate link.
SiopaLeabhair.ie blurb:
Winner – An Post Irish Language Book of the Year 2021
Nominated – Gradam Uí Shúilleabháin Book of the Year, Oireachtas na Gaeilge 2021
Nominated – European Union Prize for Literature 2022
Levana has always been proud of her Jewish heritage and the generations of Jewish women who went before her. One of those women is her grandmother, Hana Lazare, who raised Levana in a traditional Jewish community in Paris. Hana’s story is one of struggle: as a child, she fled the Nazi invasion of her Northern European homeland and made her way to London. She was the only member of her family that survived the Shoah. She has never spoken a word about that other life to Levana.
But as Hana succumbs to old age and her mind becomes increasingly confused, fragments of memory emerge that surprise Levana. And as Hana unknowingly reveals more of her past, Levana finds herself questioning everything her grandmother has ever told her. The trail leads from Paris to Brussels to the Atlantic coast of Ireland, and as it does so Levana closes in on the true story of Madame Lazare’s past and the event that changed forever the course of her life.
📖 Book 4 - An Mac Tíre Deireanach
The first Reading Challenge I tried with Listen Up Irish is An Mac Tíre Deireanach, 'The Last Wolf'.
Listen Up Irish is a listening and reading challenge for adult learners and An Mac Tíre Deireanach is the challenge suitable for beginner to intermediate learners.
🎧 Train your ear with audiobook chapters read by a native Irish speaker
📧 Understand what you're reading with English language chapter translations!
📆 Develop an enjoyable and convenient learning routine, commiting to 15-20 minutes of reading a day
💻 Weekly Checkins present an opportunity to practice your Irish and to discuss the book!
💚 Feel more connected to Irish language and culture — in just three weeks 🐾
Use code CLISARE when signing up to get 10% off.
Disclosure: The code CLISARE is an affiliate code.
📖 Book 5 - Ó Am go hAm
The second Reading Challenge I've attempted with Listen Up Irish is Ó Am go hAm, 'From Time to Time'.
Listen Up Irish is a listening and reading challenge for adult learners and Ó Am go hAm is the challenge suitable for beginner to intermediate learners.
Ó Am go hAm is set during a Viking raid on an Irish monastery in the 8th century — a world of monks, manuscripts, and invasion.
As you read, you’ll explore early Irish Christianity, Viking raids, and Ireland’s manuscript tradition — all through authentic Irish used in context.
With guided recordings, focused vocabulary support, and clear structure, you’ll experience real storytelling — not textbook Irish, but living language on the page.
🎧 Train your ear with audiobook chapters read by a native Irish speaker
📧 Understand what you're reading with English language chapter translations!
📆 Develop an enjoyable and convenient learning routine, commiting to 15-20 minutes of reading a day
💻 Weekly Checkins present an opportunity to practice your Irish and to discuss the book!
💚 Feel more connected to Irish language and culture — in just three weeks 🐾
Use code CLISARE when signing up to get 10% off.
Disclosure: The code CLISARE is an affiliate code.
📖 Book 6 - Bódléar
The next Reading Challenge I'm doing with Listen Up Irish is Bódléar. Bódléar was the very first course from Listen Up Irish, combining an award-winning novel with guided listening to help you build a sustainable habit and gain real understanding of native Irish — in just 15 minutes every other day.
Listen Up Irish is a unique learning method for Irish learners that uses real, authentic Irish literature, paired with native audio recordings and bilingual support materials.
🎧 Train your ear with audiobook chapters read by a native Irish speaker
📧 Understand what you're reading with English language chapter translations!
📆 Develop an enjoyable and convenient learning routine, commiting to 15-20 minutes of reading a day
💻 Weekly Checkins present an opportunity to practice your Irish and to discuss the book!
💚 Feel more connected to Irish language and culture — in just three weeks 🐾
Use code CLISARE when signing up to get 10% off.
Disclosure: The code CLISARE is an affiliate code.