The Small-leaved Shamrock summer reading challenge!

Ireland has a long tradition of literature, both in the Irish and English languages. In fact, after Greek and Latin, the Irish language itself has the oldest literature in Europe. The land is known for both its ancient bards and its more modern poetry and epic works of fiction. Today there are also innumerable non-fiction books touching on subjects related to Irish history and culture.

In the hope that you have some time on your hands this summer to do a little reading, here is a challenge for you:

Read a book of Irish fiction, a selection of Irish poetry or a work of non-fiction about Irish history and/or culture, and share it with us for the 7th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture. Submissions are due Friday, July 25. The carnival will be published Monday, July 28. (This is a slight change from the original deadline.)

If you don't have a blog of your own, read along with us and share your "book reviews" by leaving a comment here.

Hope you'll join us! Better get off to the bookstore or the library and make your summer reading selections right away!

Speaking of reading, if you haven't yet done so check out the 6th edition of the carnival: The many faces of Irish identity. Scroll down to the end to find a summary of the carnival's previous editions. Happy reading!