‘The Oh My God Delusion’, Ross O’Carroll Kelly, tops Eason’s book poll as the nation’s favourite read
Wednesday 21st December: Dublin 4’s best-loved resident Ross O’ Carroll-Kelly has certainly captured the heart of the nation as ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ from the series written by author Paul Howard has been crowned Ireland’s Favourite Book.
As part of their 125th anniversary celebrations, Eason, Ireland’s leading retailer of book stationery, magazines and much more launched a search to find the nation’s favourite read as voted by the people of Ireland. For weeks, thousands have been casting their vote via Eason’s new look website, www.easons.com, from a list of 125 top titles but it was Ross O’Carroll Kelly’s ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ that came out on top, competing with classics as such James Joyce ‘Ulysses’, Oscar Wilde’s ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’ and childhood favourites such as Roald Dahl’s ‘BFG’.
Speaking about Eason’s search to find Ireland’s favourite book, Maria Dickenson, Head of Book Purchasing at Eason said “What a diverse bunch of readers we are in Ireland! Thanks to everyone who voted, it’s been incredibly interesting to watch the votes coming in and gaining an insight into what makes us tick when it comes to reading – we each take away something unique from each book we read. Ross O’Carroll Kelly was a certainly a strong contender throughout and we’re delighted to have an Irish book come out on top. Congratulations to Paul for a great win and we trust Ross will be occupying our book shelves for years to come!”
Commenting on his prestigious win on Newstalk’s Tom Dunne show, Paul Howard, author of the Ross O’Carroll Kelly series said, “I am thrilled that ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ has topped Eason’s poll to find the nation’s favourite book. I’ve been writing Ross O’Carroll-Kelly books for 13 years now and it’s very gratifying that readers still find the books relevant and funny. ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ is the tenth novel in the series, which I began writing as a way of poking fun at middle class rugby culture but which became a means of satirising Celtic Tiger Ireland.
“This book was the first recession era book, tracing the descent of Ross and his circle of friends from affluence to penury. It’s great that readers have stuck with the story and are still laughing. And God knows we need a laugh in these grim times! I’d like to say a very special thanks to Eason, who have huge supporters of Ross since the very first book, and everyone who voted”, continued Paul.
The top ten books included:
1. Ross O'Carroll-Kelly: THE OH MY GOD DELUSION, author Paul Howard
2. To Kill a Mocking Bird, author Harper Lee
3. Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
4. Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, author John Boyne
6. PS I Love You, author Cecelia Ahern
7. Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini
8. Room, author Emma Donoghue
9. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
10. Catch 22, author Joseph Heller
Individual Counties’ Favourite Book:
Carlow (tied first)
Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard
Cavan
Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien
Clare (all tied first)
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
PS I Love You, author Cecelia Ahern
Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini
Cork To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee
Donegal (all tied first)
Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown
Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, author John Boyne
Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard
Dublin
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard
Galway (tied first)
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
Kerry (all tied first)
Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown
PS I Love You, author Cecelia Ahern
Kildare
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard
Kilkenny
My Sister’s Keeper, author Jodi Picoult
Laois
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard
Limerick (tied first)
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
Longford (tied first)
Time Travellers Wife, author Audrey Niffenegger
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, author Susan Clark
Louth (all tied first)
Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien
Circle of Friends, author Maeve Binchy
Handmaids Tale, author Margaret Atwood
Life of Pi, author Yann Martel
Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
Mayo (all tied first)
Catch 22, author Joseph Heller
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown
The Notebook, author Nicholas Sparks
We need to Talk About Kevin, author Lionel Shriver
Meath
Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, author John Boyne
Monaghan
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
Offaly
The Alchemist, author Paulo Coelho
Roscommon (tied first)
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee
Tipperary (all tied first)
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard
Waterford
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
Westmeath
Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, author John Boyne Boyne
Wexford (tied first)
Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard
Wicklow
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard