Lit memories of All-Ireland Sundays

The real gift of this book is tucked away on a flap at the back: a CD of radio versions of the pieces

Horslips: back in the days of Dearg Doom

A new account of the band, full of personal recollections, gives a peek at Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s

Frank McGuinness: master of a novel form

A substantial and intriguing book to contemplate and to remember

Refusing to go quietly into that good night

But the tenth and final volume of Tony Benn’s diaries is more a lap of honour than a great work of politics or literature

Wreaking havoc from the skies over Europe

A damning account of the terrible civilian toll and military ineffectiveness of second World War bombing in Europe will trigger debate

A memoir steeped in empathy

Author reflects on a year spent coping with breast cancer, the end of a relationship, her mother’s Alzheimer’s and a residency at the Library of Water in Iceland

Bishop’s Move, by Colm Keena

Meet The Beatles

Nobody comes close to Mark Lewisohn as a scholar of the Fab Four. The extended special edition of his biography of the band is an epic on an unprecedented scale

Knights, chivalry and a ring of Tolkien

The epic author’s influence is apparent, but not overpowering, in this fast-moving adventure

Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland: A shameful part of our troubled history

A powerful study by Anne Cadwallader of security forces collusion with loyalist paramilitaries underlines the need to deal with its legacy

Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father, by Alysia Abbott