Basil McBride's 'Word of the Week'

"We all have someone in our lives who will find huge pleasure in this collection. Nearly all are flash-length entries and arranged thematically; it is ideal to dip into daily and treat yourself to a word with your elevenses or a theme over lunch. It covers a range of life issues from the simple to the complex, in a tongue-in-cheek way (think old-style newspaper column, or Susie Dent with a dad-jokes filter switched on), referencing everything from the Shawshank Redemption to AI to the illusion of freedom in choosing a Netflix movie. The words themselves are often the entry point to fascinatingly quirky digressions - whether Jesus was in fact a ghost, the public bins in Athlone town, or the arrangement of pubs in Maynooth." - Gráinne Murphy, author of Winter People