Amanda Dunne
@amandadunne.bsky.social
PhD researcher at TCD in early adolescent books (young teen). British Book Awards Individual Bookseller of the Year 2024. Reader, compulsive book recommender.
With Mr. Crow they were truly the fab 4 - Wanderly Wagon meant the weekend had finally arrived! #SpeirGorm #Spéirgorm
November 7, 2025 at 8:16 PM
With Mr. Crow they were truly the fab 4 - Wanderly Wagon meant the weekend had finally arrived! #SpeirGorm #Spéirgorm
Regulation of familiars made cats compulsory.
October 27, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Regulation of familiars made cats compulsory.
Thank you for the really lovely words, Trish - I’ve loved being a children’s bookseller so this is a most likely a hiatus, recommending books is a compulsion! For now it’s back to chapter 1, the thesis is stubbornly refusing to write itself!
September 17, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Thank you for the really lovely words, Trish - I’ve loved being a children’s bookseller so this is a most likely a hiatus, recommending books is a compulsion! For now it’s back to chapter 1, the thesis is stubbornly refusing to write itself!
You won’t regret it, it is wisdom and profundity wrapped in humour and humanity.
August 7, 2025 at 12:45 PM
You won’t regret it, it is wisdom and profundity wrapped in humour and humanity.
I have to jump in here and say Nation should be read by absolutely everyone. One of his best.
August 7, 2025 at 7:12 AM
I have to jump in here and say Nation should be read by absolutely everyone. One of his best.
Children’s books always count! There’s a bit of a road trip in The Bookshop on the Quay as well.
August 2, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Children’s books always count! There’s a bit of a road trip in The Bookshop on the Quay as well.
Classics for a reason! He had a gift for writing suspense.
August 2, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Classics for a reason! He had a gift for writing suspense.
I remember being completely invested in the Doves making it to their Granny’s house, such an engrossing novel!
August 2, 2025 at 9:34 PM
I remember being completely invested in the Doves making it to their Granny’s house, such an engrossing novel!
I think it possibly depends on what you consider a road trip book but I’d suggest Walter Macken’s Flight of the Doves? Boat, train, bus and a lot of tense moments!
August 2, 2025 at 7:50 PM
I think it possibly depends on what you consider a road trip book but I’d suggest Walter Macken’s Flight of the Doves? Boat, train, bus and a lot of tense moments!
Thy will be done. Comprehensively. 🏆
July 27, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Thy will be done. Comprehensively. 🏆
Hi Helen, lovely to ‘see’ you here!
June 17, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Hi Helen, lovely to ‘see’ you here!
🎉 I can’t wait to read it (as long as I’m not alone in the house 😱) - exciting news!
May 30, 2025 at 5:39 PM
🎉 I can’t wait to read it (as long as I’m not alone in the house 😱) - exciting news!
I’ll pop that in my calendar - quite a few of my regulars are fans of a fictional festive homicide (as am I!) and you never fail to deliver a twisty thriller!
May 22, 2025 at 9:04 AM
I’ll pop that in my calendar - quite a few of my regulars are fans of a fictional festive homicide (as am I!) and you never fail to deliver a twisty thriller!
Excellent points! Some truly awful cover choices come to mind - one recent one which would totally put a whole segment of readers off, doing the book no justice at all.
May 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Excellent points! Some truly awful cover choices come to mind - one recent one which would totally put a whole segment of readers off, doing the book no justice at all.
Why thank you! It helps that yours are so easy to sell!
May 14, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Why thank you! It helps that yours are so easy to sell!
Great points, Sinéad! I’d just like to piggyback on the marketing point - if you don’t send reading copies to indies, we can’t read the book! We work hard for books we love and books we know our customers will love - we *will* help books find their readers.
May 14, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Great points, Sinéad! I’d just like to piggyback on the marketing point - if you don’t send reading copies to indies, we can’t read the book! We work hard for books we love and books we know our customers will love - we *will* help books find their readers.
So much! It’s my first time to encounter ‘borked’ in a novel which is so spot-on for anyone who knows nerdy kids! I also felt very seen - I have a blazer that whenever child the 1st saw me wear it, he’d nod and say ‘someone’s about to regret seeing you today!’
May 14, 2025 at 10:51 AM
So much! It’s my first time to encounter ‘borked’ in a novel which is so spot-on for anyone who knows nerdy kids! I also felt very seen - I have a blazer that whenever child the 1st saw me wear it, he’d nod and say ‘someone’s about to regret seeing you today!’
Correction to the above, Conn of the Dead is in fact published by Gill Books, another super Irish publisher!
May 13, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Correction to the above, Conn of the Dead is in fact published by Gill Books, another super Irish publisher!
I’m mortified! My apologies Little Island (and #gillbooks!) I’m getting carried away with the fabulousness of new Irish releases! I don’t have an image of The Brightest Star but I can say that it is a gorgeous new verse novel (and sequel to The Deepest Breath) from @littleislandbooks.bsky.social.
May 13, 2025 at 6:53 PM
I’m mortified! My apologies Little Island (and #gillbooks!) I’m getting carried away with the fabulousness of new Irish releases! I don’t have an image of The Brightest Star but I can say that it is a gorgeous new verse novel (and sequel to The Deepest Breath) from @littleislandbooks.bsky.social.
New from @theobrienpress.bsky.social by #paddydonnelly - so good it cheered up a teenager facing state exams! It’s a celebration of creativity and kindness, packed with visual jokes. You don’t have to be Irish or a badger to enjoy it!
May 13, 2025 at 12:15 PM
New from @theobrienpress.bsky.social by #paddydonnelly - so good it cheered up a teenager facing state exams! It’s a celebration of creativity and kindness, packed with visual jokes. You don’t have to be Irish or a badger to enjoy it!
New from @littleislandbooks.bsky.social by @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social - a bit scary, a lot funny, handy phonetic hints for pronouncing the undead evil’s name - worth the effort for the thrills! You don’t have to be Irish (or even know an Irish person although we’re EVERYWHERE!) to enjoy it!
May 13, 2025 at 12:07 PM
New from @littleislandbooks.bsky.social by @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social - a bit scary, a lot funny, handy phonetic hints for pronouncing the undead evil’s name - worth the effort for the thrills! You don’t have to be Irish (or even know an Irish person although we’re EVERYWHERE!) to enjoy it!
There are a gazillion people of Irish descent in the UK, offer Irish published children’s books in the UK market? While I love selling them to visiting cousins etc, more revenue to our indigenous publishers like @theobrienpress.bsky.social, @littleislandbooks.bsky.social means more brilliant books!
May 13, 2025 at 11:43 AM
There are a gazillion people of Irish descent in the UK, offer Irish published children’s books in the UK market? While I love selling them to visiting cousins etc, more revenue to our indigenous publishers like @theobrienpress.bsky.social, @littleislandbooks.bsky.social means more brilliant books!
A really basic thing - if you want to make children’s books more accessible, no hardbacks. There are brilliant books I would love to sell to the right reader but they can’t afford £14.99 or £16.99 (in euro prices that’s 😱). It discriminates against lower income readers who want to own a book.
May 13, 2025 at 11:30 AM
A really basic thing - if you want to make children’s books more accessible, no hardbacks. There are brilliant books I would love to sell to the right reader but they can’t afford £14.99 or £16.99 (in euro prices that’s 😱). It discriminates against lower income readers who want to own a book.
What a gorgeous gesture - sharing the joy! Congratulations, Helen, such a deserving winner!
May 13, 2025 at 10:48 AM
What a gorgeous gesture - sharing the joy! Congratulations, Helen, such a deserving winner!