Evermore - Alyson Noel

Evermore is one of a stream of young adult fantasy novels that are hitting the market at the moment. The flavour of Evermore is not vampires or werewolves, but instead Immortals.

Ever is an orphan, sole survivor of a car crash that killed her parents, sister and family dog. She is wracked with guilt following the collision and she is now living with her aunt. The difficulty of adapting to a new school and life is compounded by the fact that she acquired psychic abilities as a result of the crash. She spends her time in baggy jeans, baggy hoodies with iPod buds in her ears in an attempt to negate the pyschic noise that washes over her.

Her life gets even more complicated when Damen, an incredibly hot young man, enrols at her school and shows an interest in Ever. When she's with him, silence falls around her, and she is drawn deeply into him.

Alyson Noel weaves an interesting, intriguing and romantic first section to this story. It is sexy and alluring, but falls apart somewhat in the later section. Ever's dilly-dallying is a bit annoying and things never feel quite resolved enough to be truly satisfying. Despite all this, Evermore is going to be successful - Noel can really conjure up teenager romance. This will surely be a series to watch.

Viral Loop - Adam L. Penerberg

The internet has transformed how we communicate and it has given virality a whole new lease of life. In the past, word of mouth generated publicity for goods. Recommend a book to a friend and chances were that they might buy it too. However, with the advent of the internet, this effect has snowballed.

Virality is now an integral part of life, with events on the internet taking on a life of their own (recall how Obama's campaign used the internet and Twitter to groundbreaking effect). Penerberg has written a book which focuses on the viral effect used by sites such as hotornot.com and Facebook. In essence, what good is posting a video on YouTube if no one sees it. To grow, these sites have to get people to visit, connect and share. The author discusses the concept of the Viral Loop, or the point of referral which a website has to pass in order to become self-sustaining (i.e. have a viral coefficient greater than 1.0).

While the book claims to reveal the "Power of pass it on", it really is more a history of the most successful websites in recent years. It takes us through Ning, Hotornot, Facebook, Flickr and many more, but doesn't really reveal too much other than a potted series of anecdotes. Ultimately, while interesting, it's not very revealing.

Monty's of Rathgar

Monty's of Rathgar is one of those long-established Asian (Nepalese to be precise) restaurants in Dublin, along with its sister restaurant in Templebar. We'd never eaten there before despite being afficionados of all forms of Asian cooking, but we were finally lured in with their recent value menu. They offer 4 courses - vegetarian for E20 and meat for E21.

While we waited, we were given thin, crisp poppadoms and sauces to munch on. The starters were simple, but perfectly executed. He had delicately trimmed, spiced chicken wings cooked in a tandoor oven, while I had onion bhajee. The mains turned out to be truly excellent. My Masu Ra Cauli (lamb curry with cauliflower) had a rich, tomato based sauce, with a warming heat level that built up the more you ate. His Jhinga Pathia (prawn curry) was tangy, flavoured with lime. Rice or naan is included in this offer, as is the chef's dessert of the day. Dessert that evening turned out to be gajar halva, or a pudding made with carrot which has been cooked for hours. Served warm with a quinelle of vanilla ice-cream, it turned out to be naturally sweet and very pleasing as a cooling counterpoint to a spicy meal. Tea or coffee is also included in the offer.

I really enjoyed the meal at Monty's - it really was exceptional food. I hope that they rotate the dishes on offer on the value menu as this will give me another excuse to return.

Total cost, including two very nice glasses (a tempranillo and cabernet sauvignon) came to E53.90.

Monty's of Rathgar, 88 Rathgar Road, Dublin 6. 01-4920633

Sunday Lunch at Bijou, Rathgar

Late last Sunday, on a bitterly cold and wintery Sunday, we found ourselves in Bijou, Rathgar. We had been trying to get to Dundrum, but the lines of cars snaking into the centre from every direction meant that we gave up and headed back towards home instead.

Bijou is relaxed and elegant with striking glass chandeliers and impeccable service. As we defrosted, we browsed the menu. I chose the ribeye steak with bearnaise sauce and home fries (E21.95) while he chose the venison pie (E16.95). A perfectly cooked and seasoned steak was just gorgeous, while the addition of green peppercorns to the bearnaise sauce added a little something extra. The venison came softly cooked with winter veg and richly flavoured with juniper and other herbs. It was served in a little pastry dish topped with a little puff of pastry and served with mash. This was really warming winter food.

We shared an absolutely fantastic black forest gateau and two espressos to finsh the meal, bringing the bill to a total of E56. There is something so nice about a relaxed Sunday lunch, with no time pressures and rich, warm food. Bijou definitely delivers.

Bijou, 46/47 Highfield Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6. 01 - 496 1518

Ireland vs South Africa at Croke Park

I was lucky enough to get tickets to this potentially epic match at Croke Park last Saturday. Granted we were in Row Z of the Cusack Upper Stand, where you'd practically need oxygen masks, but the view was good, if more than a little arctic.

Le Cirk, Dame Street, Dublin 2

I've been meaning to try out Le Cirk for a while now, and we finally called in last Friday evening. We were in need of a quick bite to eat and Le Cirk's advertised offer of a bowl of Creole mussels and fries for E9 seemed very attractive.

Firstly, I really like the decor of Le Cirk. It's a welcome break from the ubiqituous dark-wood, pre-designed pub interior of the celtic tiger. The aluminium-edged tables and rugs on the floors are a welcome flash of individuality, delivering a Parisien-sense of chic to Dublin. Our mussels arrived, served in a bowl with a liqour made from white wine, garlic and paprika. Thick, fluffy home fries came separate. The mussels were fresh, plump and juicy and the broth was tasty. Overall, this was an excellent meal for E9. I'm looking forward to another visit.

Triumff - Dan Abnett

It's 2010, and Elizabeth XXX sits upon the throne of the Unity, the English and Spanish empire that rules the world. This is a wholly different England to the modern version, instead it is regressive and Magick is used in place of modern technology.

Sir Rupert Triumff is a swashbuckling explorer who has just returned from a voyage of exploration. He's a playboy, a drunk, an expert swordsman and mariner, and above all else, devoted to his queen. It quickly becomes apparent that a treacherous and devious plot is afoot, and Triumff is stuck bang square in the middle. Cue the rollicking adventures.

With this novel, Abnett has staked himself firmly as a successor to Pratchett. It is, in turns, adventurous, creative and inventive, and above all else, hilariously funny. Abnett holds a degree in English from Oxford and this is apparent in the quality of the writing. He's managed to fit in a lot of modern puns and jokes, merging them seamlessy with the Elizabethan London. The villains are bad, the heroes are good (if sometimes a little morally dubious) and it's a great read. I'm genuinely looking forward to picking up the next installment of Triuff, Her Majesty's Hero.