The dying gasp of the millennium seems to have triggered a spate of books, mainly memoirs from all parts of this State, some good, some bad and some downright terrible.
However, an offering from Co Offaly-born Tom Murray, who is 72 and had a triple bypass operation in 1996, is a wonderful documentary of rural life in the 1930s.
Tom, who lives in Raheny, Dublin, spent four years researching The Young Haymakers, A Mid- land Boyhood, which was recently launched by the president of the Irish Farmers' Association, Mr Tom Parlon, in Tullamore.
When Tom's father died in 1934 near Killeigh, the seven-year-old had to help his mother and uncle run the 80-acre farm.
His book describes in great detail the lifestyle of the people of the time, the machinery they used, and how they predicted the weather. It is rich in detail, with special attention to the area's place names. A sales executive who retired in 1992, Tom has had one of his poems included in Out The Clara Road, the Offaly anthology of verse which was published this year.
Also included in that anthology were some poems from Birr-based writer and journalist Derek Fanning, whose latest book, Soul Sickness was published recently. The author said the book arose out a contemplation of existence.
Soul Sickness examines what is wrong with the world through a series of short stories set in the present, through six fairy tales for adults, five stories from the distant past and two stories from the ancient past.
Soul Sickness can be obtained by calling Derek at 0509-21818 or 0509-20003.
Tom Murray's book is published by Kimleigh Books, Raheny, Dublin, retail price £6.99p.