What is "100 books with a Difference" all about?

Cavan County Council’s Library Service wants to bring people together and get our community thinking and talking about difference, through reading. That’s because we believe that great books don’t just echo, vindicate and validate our own experience. They also take us to places we hadn’t imagined but which, once seen, we never forget and those places could involve more equality, tolerance and understanding.

We know that when literature is working really well it can bridge gaps between intolerance and understanding, apathy and passion, and cultural and economic disparity. The right book in the right hands is a powerful tool that can change lives and communities for the better.

Through our “100 Books with a Difference” readers will explore the truth of living with prejudice and discrimination; learn that the shared experience of difference is what in fact unites us; and discover the wisdom of celebrating difference. 

Irish equality law prohibits discrimination on nine grounds: Age, Civil Status, Disability, Family Status, Gender, Race, Religion, Sexual Orientation and Membership of the Traveller Community. We have chosen 10 great books that offer real insight under each of these grounds. We have also added a 10th theme: Peace Building in Northern Ireland.

How were the “100 Books with a Difference” chosen? 

The “100 Books with a Difference” is the best choice of Cavan librarians who are passionate about literature and about equality. We did not have any critics helping us spot oversights. Guiding people to great reads is our daily task and one that we take very seriously. A truly international flavour sees 41 Irish writers sitting side by side with English, American, African and Asian writers. Award-winners stand with titles that are not at all well-known. All are gifts to the reader, relate to and illuminate the various aspects of difference covered by legislation, and deserve to be shared. We fully accept that people will have other opinions and we welcome the public’s choices of which books should have been included or excluded.