Skip the Pub Crawl and Read One of These Books on St. Patrick's Day

You've probably never heard of Maeve Brennan, but we're here to tell you she's about to become your next literary and style muse. Back in her days writing at the New Yorker, she wore high heels, dressed in all black with a fresh white rose pinned to her lapel, and wore red lipstick — but her style was no match for her finesse with the written word.

The Springs of Affection tells the story of the Ireland Brennan had left behind when she moved to New York City at the age of 17. Recently rediscovered as one of Ireland's great writers, she paints a vivid, beautiful, and stark portrait of a country through the eyes of three middle-class Dublin families.