Last week’s trip to Ireland was my third in two years (yes, Ireland really is that good!) I was first introduced to the intoxicating Emerald Isle in April of 2006. To commemorate that momentous occasion I wrote a thirteen page journal entitled Ireland – Quest For the Perfect Pint.

While enduring another shocking delay yesterday courtesy of Delta – the reason for the delay this time had something to do with drunken pilots unable to find Cincinnati – I wandered into Borders bookstore to find a new book to kill some abundant time. Sadly, I’ve already read almost all the popular books they offer, so I went to the travel section. I’ve read almost everything there too, but one book caught my eye.

The cover design, all black with a one inch ‘head’ of foam, was all too familiar after my most recent Irish rehab stint. Hmm… how interesting! What could this book be? A history of Guinness? No. The book was Evan McHugh’s blatant ripoff of my journal, entitled Pint Sized Ireland – In Search of the Perfect Guinness.

Bastard! I should sue him!

Instead I bought the book, and by the time I landed in Milwaukee, I read half of it. I learned a few things from his book.

1 – McHugh had a better time in Ireland than I did on my first trip, possibly because he made his trip with Michelle, otherwise known in his book as Twidkiwodm (The-woman-I-didn’t-know-I-would-one-day-marry) and I made my first trip with Abi (a.k.a. A-boring-individual)

2 – My ‘perfect pint’ conclusion was different from his, but since Evan is Australian, my conclusion was right.

3 – Though Pint Sized Ireland’s first printing in the US was in 2007, a full year after my journal was written, the book’s first Australian printing was waaay back in in 2001, so technically he could sue me I guess.

4 – This book is a great read, and I highly recommend it. I’d also highly recommend my book, if I ever come up with an original topic and actually write one.

Author: frenchy