Happy first week of the Irish Readathon! I kicked things off this week reading 3 books. I started one of them in February but I really want to share it with you all. It’s something every person who identifies as female or has a vulva would find a lot of value in. There’s always value in learning though so really it’s for everyone.
After finishing that, I picked up a memoir from one of the most inspirational women in Ireland and an article collection from a satire site. Pretty different genres but I like to have variety in my reading. I’ve been on a bit of a non-fiction kick recently so this suits my mood.
The collection is from Waterford Whispers News, an Irish satire news site like The Onion. The site shot to fame a few years ago after some of their articles were mistaken for fact. This is something that seems to happen to them every now and then. The one I remember this happening with is when they posted about North Korea sending a man to the sun. It sounds totally insane but it’s not unbelievable that North Korea would make such a claim. Kim Jong-un says he doesn’t poop and that he could drive a car by age 3 so yeah…
The memoir is from Ireland’s 7th president Mary Robinson. She was the first female president and is a founder and chairwoman of The Elders among other things. She is an avid human rights and climate change activist and co-hosts the podcast Mothers of Invention with Meave Higgins.
The readathon has been a lot of fun so far. I love seeing everyone’s updates on Instagram and YouTube (friendly reminder, you should check out my Insta and YouTube 😉). It’s great seeing the variety of books people are reading but it’s safe to say Marian Keyes and Graham Norton are pretty popular. They are both hilarious and charismatic so it’s easy to see why.
My vlog for the first week of the readathon is pretty relaxed. I recorded my updates in the morning around breakfast time. Breakfast is my favourite meal since we started our healthy lifestyle plan in January. As you’ll see in the video, I have pretty much the same thing every day but it’s comforting and relaxes me before I start the day. I hope you enjoy the vlog and I’ll have another update next week.
Happy reading 📚📖
Part memoir, part practical guide to the vagina, this indispensable book sifts through myths and misinformation with the aim of empowering women with vital knowledge about their own bodies.
For centuries, the vagina has been made mysterious, neglected, mutilated or mocked, and as a consequence few people know much about it. In Vagina: A Re-Education, acclaimed journalist Lynn Enright charts the story of this crucial organ, encompassing fertility and hormones, pain and arousal, sex education and more, with the goal of empowering women with vital knowledge about their bodies.
As women all over the world join together in conversations about consent and power, this investigation into the history, biology and politics of the vagina will be a valuable and urgent addition to the discussion.
Everybody Matters by Mary Robinson
One of the most inspiring women of our age, Mary Robinson has spent her life in pursuit of a fairer world, becoming a powerful and influential voice for human rights around the globe. Displaying a gift for storytelling and remembrance, Robinson reveals, in Everybody Matters, what lies behind the vision, strength, and determination that made her path to prominence as compelling as any of her achievements.
Born in 1944 into a deeply Catholic family-the only girl among five childrenshe was poised to become a nun before finding her own true voice.Ever since, she has challenged convention in pursuit of fairness-whether in the Church, in government and politics, or in her own family.
As an activist lawyer, she won landmark cases advancing the causes of women and marginalized people against the prejudices of the day, and in her twenty years in the Irish Senate she promoted progressive legislation, including the legalizing of contraception. She shocked the political system by winning election as Irelands first woman president in l990, redefining the role and putting Ireland firmly on the international stage. Her role as UN high commissioner for human rights, beginning in 1997, was to prove an even bigger challenge; she won acclaim for bringing attention to victims worldwide but was often frustrated both by the bureaucracy and by the willingness to compromise on principle, which reveal the deep and inherent barriers to changing the status quo. Now back in Ireland and heading her Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice, she has found the independence she needs to work effectively on behalf of the millions of poor around the world most affected by climate change.
Told with the same calm conviction and modest pride that has guided her life, Everybody Matters will inspire anyone who reads it with the belief that each of us can, in our own way, help to change the world for the better.
Waterford Whispers News by Colm Williamson
Waterford Whispers News is Ireland’s leading online satirical site – Ireland’s answer to The Onion. The site shot to notoriety in January 2014 when it ran a spoof story about North Korea sending a rocket to the sun. The story went viral and was picked up as genuine by a number of mainstream media outlets.
Since then Waterford Whispers News has been unstoppable, with headlines such as ‘Hundreds of Englishmen hospitalised after trying to play hurling’, Emigration will be offered as a Leaving Cert subject in 2015’ and ‘Garda whistleblower not invited out with the lads from work this weekend’.
From politics, to celebrity news and lifestyle, the Waterford Whispers annual brings together the best of the brilliant and original stories that have run on the site, including what Michelle Obama had to say about the Irish people, how Kim Kardashian got on during her Cork honeymoon, and the real story behind the Garda tapes scandal.
Hilarious, acerbic and witty, this is Irish humour at its brilliant best! Includes brand new material, including insights and predictions and for 2015
The Irish Readathon Reading Vlog @elainehowlin_
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Four Favourite Things
I mentioned recently that I haven’t been posting because of illness but I was feeling better and was about to start posting again… Well, a few days after posting that I got Covid and was right back in bed. I’m not going to even try to catch up with my usual posting schedule now. We’re … Continue reading Four Favourite Things
Thank you, Mary. I’m feeling a lot better now.
I’m really sorry to hear you have Covid now, Elaine. Get lots of rest, and feel better soon!
Thank you, Cheri.
I hope the rest of your summer goes better than the beginning and you continue to feel better.
I hope you enjoy the duology as much as I did 🙂
Elaine Howlin 
Lovely, lovely photos!
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Thank you Jules ☺️
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I’d love to read these books, but I’m currently on a trip to the sun. I’ll catch up on my reading when I get back.
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Enjoy your trip! I would love to be going to the sunshine now.
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I’ll take a picture for you.
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