Books Book review: Matt Cooper exposes foundations of housing crisisSobering, insightful and comprehensive study of Ireland’s imploding property landscape argues that the solution lies with maverick thinkers, rather than politicians and planners
Books Review: Sharp, insightful but sketchy memoir of the late Marian FinucaneDon’t expect any RTÉ-related gossip or revelations in her widower John Clarke’s vivid, intelligent, unflinching portrait of the maverick broadcaster
Books Book review: Dirty Linen is a harrowing read about the toll of the Troubles on one small townMartin Doyle’s book is mainly a series of anguished conversations with Tullylish residents left to pick up the pieces after their loved ones’ killings
Books Book review: An Eye on Ireland offers astute snapshots of a chronicle of change in IrelandThis wide-ranging anthology of Justine McCarthy’s journalism is imbued with a deep sense of patriotism and written from a strongly feminist and social perspective
LIFE & ARTS Book review: Terry Prone’s memoir is a smart and honest story of a PR legendCaution To The Wind details her lack of humility from a young age – but political enthusiasts will have to wait for the next book
Books Book review: Julia is a more human retelling of Orwell’s masterpieceIn this feminist reimagining of Nineteen Eighty-Four, women are fleshed out from the mere symbols Orwell created
Books Book review: The Glutton explores a visceral hunger to connectAward-winning author AK Blakemore’s second novel, based on a real historical figure, is gripping, empathetic and startling in its immediacy
Books Book review: Space is a celebration of those who boldly go where precious few have gone beforeWritten by astronaut Tim Peake, this marvellous account conveys the thrill of one of our species’ most noble endeavours
Books Book review: Safiya Sinclair memoir casts shadows in Jamaican sun Poet’s piercing book can be a tough read, like a Rastafarian Angela’s Ashes, but it shines a light on a culture that’s little understood in the West
Books Book review: Family Meal offers bitter aftertaste of lost loveBryan Washington tells a story of grief and self-destruction through three protagonists, all gay lovers
Books Book review: Boxing memoir packs a glorious punchHorslips drummer and journalist Eamon Carr brings to vivid life the blood, sweat and tears inherent in one of the world’s toughest sports
Books Book review: John Hume biography worthy of its heavyweight subjectThe Nobel laureate has already inspired several books, but this one by a veteran BBC journalist is the most comprehensive
Books Book review: Asylum an insightful look into the good and bad of a place hidden in plain sightProfessor Brendan Kelly’s excellent new book about the Grangegorman psychiatric facility is full of humanity and brings the life stories of individual patients from different periods into focus
LIFE & ARTS Book review: A Lethal Legacy uses murder as a gateway to historyPodcaster Fin Dwyer uses incidents from a case of cannibalism in 1890s Kilkenny to a priest shooting his sweetheart in Cincinnati to explore faultlines in Irish society
Books Book review: Luke O’Neill goes wild on wondrous history of scienceOur Bray-born version of Doctor Who whips us through tens of thousands of years of exploration of the universe without and within
Books Book review: JM Coetzee’s light undimmed in face of mortalityIn The Pole and Other Stories, the Nobel laureate faces the physical actuality of life and death with such rigour that he touches the mystical
Books Book review: Harrowing account of rape and repeated trauma at the hands of the IRA Cahill’s uncompromising account of her abuse should make any Sinn Féin supporter feel deeply uncomfortable
Books Book review: Shadowing Elon Musk may have softened biographer’s viewpointAt times a note of admiration creeps into Walter Isaacson’s book, but it’s by no means a hagiography – and feathers do fly in the chapters covering Twitter
Books Book review: How Irish in Britain struck a blow for independenceConflict, Diaspora and Empire focuses on those caught in the dichotomy of fighting to bring down an empire where they themselves lived
Books Book review: Michael Palin takes us on sobering journey of a life cut short by warPalin’s skill as a storyteller lifts the unremarkable story of his great-uncle Harry into a moving tribute to all soldiers lost in World War I
