A Conspiracy of Bones by Kathy Reichs is this weekend’s Irish Times Eason offer

A Conspiracy of Bones by Kathy Reichs is this weekend’s Irish Times Eason offer. You can buy a copy with your Irish Times in any branch tomorrow for €4.99, a saving of €5.

Tomorrow’s reviews are Patsy McGarry on Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future by Pope Francis; Mark Boyden on Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of a Common Fate by Mark Kurlansky; Joseph Woods on The Irish Buddhist: The Forgotten Monk who Faced Down the British Empire; Sara Keating on Why Visit America? by Matthew Baker; Mia Levitin on The Collected Stories of Shirley Hazzard; Catherine Toal on D: A Tale of Two Worlds by Michael Faber; Sarah Gilmartin on The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse; and Claire Hennessy on the best new YA fiction.

*

A Cork-based Limerick man who wrote about shenanigans at a petting zoo in Kerry is about to be published in an American short story anthology. Paul Cussen, who works for Cork City Council, is one of 27 finalists chosen from more than 1,000 entries and his story, General Unrest and Knockanee, will feature in Owl Canyon Press's annual short story collection in February.

The Irish Buddhist: A remarkable account of the elusive Dhammaloka

---

In Spanish Trenches: the Irish who fought for Republican Spain

---

This Land, The Story of a Movement by Owen Jones: Honest account of Corbyn’s failure

---

*

On Monday, December 21st, the John Hewitt Society will premiere a new poem written especially for it by Paul Muldoon. In May, the society launched an online initiative, Poetry Clips: An Archive of John Hewitt Society Contributors featuring short videos of poetry readings. Chairman Tony Kennedy said, "We are delighted to have this contribution from Pulitzer and TS Eliot Prize prize winning poet Paul Muldoon as our most recent addition."

*

Emergence is a new anthology of poetry and prose chosen by geriatricians to celebrate the wisdom and resilience of ageing and is a showcase of the very best literature on the subject. Edited by Shane O'Hanlon and Paul Finucane, it is designed to raise funds for age-related charities. You can buy it here.