Sinead Keegan

Even if it's not yours. Have we all forgotten what we learned in playschool/Montessori/kindergarten? If you haven't anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all Be a good sport Be a good friend Sound simple? I reckon so too. So then why do people in the literary world seem so intent on ripping one another to pieces? Any success in art is a success for all artists. Art is a struggle for anyone in a time of drastic budget cuts across the world. We are facing a time when children are being taught fewer art classes and have less time to spend on figuring out who they are as individuals, never mind how to express that artistically. I think we should be cheering the latest book release, the latest prize winner, the latest success of any description. Last summer Tea Obreht was named the most recent winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction . Instead of  rejoicing at the success of a woman who was born in the strife of the war in the Balkans, the literary world tu...

It's no secret that I'm a bit book crazy. My parents said they could bring me anywhere as a child and not worry because I'd always find something to read; books, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, instruction manuals. If it had words, you could guarantee I'd read it. My favourite gifts have always been books (and cuddly toys, but that's another post). This past Christmas the husband and I had a bit of a disagreement about the appropriateness of books as gifts for kids. Our little niece is four-years-old, very bright and loves stories. We have to travel a fair distance to see them, so I thought that books would be an excellent gift. She likes them, they're easy to transport and if we get her one she already has, it's easy for Mum to re-gift. Vetoed. My other half - who is, I should say, also a reader - maintained that there's nothing like a gift. "A proper gift" he called it. As in a toy, not a boring book. Well I want to say that a book is bet...