Autumn reads from Sinead and Rick

Eason has announced the latest selection of Sinéad and Rick’s Must Reads, a series of eight carefully selected titles that are perfect to cosy up with this autumn. 

Broadcaster and book-lover Rick O’Shea and best-selling author Sinéad Moriarty have teamed up to curate an exciting selection of fiction and non-fiction books, showcasing the best of new Irish and international talent. 

Featured in the autumn selection of Sinéad and Rick’s Must Reads is ‘Girl’, the critically acclaimed new novel from renowned Irish author Edna O’Brien, and ‘Skin’, the second novel from rising Irish talent E.M Reapy. 

Each season, Sinéad and Rick select eight titles, ranging from the thrilling to the hilarious, with something suitable for every taste. This season’s titles include tales of overcoming, strength, tragedy, love and friendship. 

Ahead of the launch of autumn Must Reads, Group Head of Marketing at Eason, Brendan Corbett explained “Eason is excited to reveal Sinéad and Rick’s selection of Must Read books for autumn. We know how much our customers await the selection, which showcases some great home-grown talent this season.”

Sinéad Moriarty said: “My autumn Eason Must Reads choices are a very special range of books. From the inspirational Vicky Phelan’s ‘Overcoming’ which I read in one sitting, to the modern-day Romeo and Juliet ‘Ask Again Yes’ by Mary Beth Keane, there truly is something for all tastes and moods.”

Broadcaster Rick O’Shea added; “I am thrilled each season when I get to share my new Eason Must Reads titles with the nation. The books I’ve chosen for autumn give readers the perfect reason to get lost in a story as the nights begin to close in. I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I have.” 

The eight titles selected as ‘Sinead and Rick’s Must Reads’ for autumn feature enthralling, jaw-dropping and heart-warming titles with a range of Irish and international authors including:

Overcoming by Vicky Phelan
CervicalCheck campaigner Vicky Phelan shares the story of her life, which has been full of tragedy, uphill battles, illness, pain and challenges from a very young age. This inspirational memoir will move you to tears many times over, and you will be blown away by her courage, grit and determination. 

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
Inspired by the true story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of the people of Russia with the publication of ‘Doctor Zhivago’, this astonishing debut novel has everything – intrigue, tension, love, passion, grief, loss, politics, and much more. It transported me back in time and kept me utterly gripped from beginning to end. 

Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Set in New York, this tells the story of Toby, a doctor in his forties who is undergoing a bitter divorce from his wife, Rachel.  Meanwhile, Rachel has abandoned Toby and their two kids and vanished to a retreat. As the book unfolds, we realise that there is far more to Rachel’s disappearance than Toby first realises. Witty and thought provoking, this is a cracking read. 

Ask Again Yes by Mary Beth Keane
A beautifully told story of two families who live next door to each other in a suburban town outside New York. While they appear similar, the lives behind each family’s front door are very different. A kind of modern-day Romeo and Juliet, ‘Ask Again Yes’ is one of those quiet books that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading it. 

Skin by E.M Reapy
Natalie flees to Bali to escape a bad relationship and a job she doesn’t belong in. As we follow her journey via New Zealand, Australia and Holland, we gradually come to the realisation that what she’s trying to escape is mainly her own body and just how uncomfortable she is with it. A brilliant novel firmly that firmly establishes E.M. Reapy as one of Irish writing’s brightest stars. 
I Love the Bones of You by Christopher Eccleston
An honest, unflinching and uncompromising memoir from the actor Christopher Eccleston, in which he unpicks his complex relationship with his father both while he is growing up in working class Salford, and then in later life as his father slides into dementia. I couldn’t take my eyes off it, just like the author’s on-screen performances. 

This is Happiness by Niall Williams
17-year-old Noel is back in the village of Faha, having made a bad hand of trying to become a priest. At the same time, Christy arrives, bringing the epoch-changing wonder of rural electrification whilst also wanting to revisit his own past, and set some things right. Faha will never be the same small spot on the map again. An immaculate, beautiful and often very funny novel. 

Girl by Edna O’Brien
A harrowing novel about one of the schoolgirls who were kidnapped and enslaved by the Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria in 2014.  Edna O’Brien has put a face on the horrific reality of a global story that we all were aware of, but probably found hard to imagine in reality. Compelling.