Books
Three contend 2020 Scottish Teenage Book Prize
The Scottish Book Trust has revealed today the shortlist for the 2020 Scottish Teenage Book Prize. In the first year that comics and graphic novels have been eligible for the Scottish Teenage Book Prize, Rok of the Reds by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Dan Cornwell has been shortlisted. Joining the comic book on the…
Read MoreThe Tobermory Cat is a fun story for children
The Tobermory Cat is the enduring tale of one feline’s quest to fill his empty stomach. Illustration is vivid, with a charming rusticity and acres of pastel illustrations. Besides its educational value, which will help younger readers to become more familiar with counting from one to ten, Gliori’s story is faithful to her setting: full…
Read MoreFrom the slums of Glasgow to ruling the music world
The Youngs is an unconventional profile of the highly idiosyncratic Young brothers, who were the heart of the band AC/DC. Author Jesse Fink attempts to explain how Malcolm and Angus Young, two brothers who grew up in the Gorbals in Glasgow came to sell 200 million albums and become one of the best-selling bands of…
Read MoreA cookbook interspersed with classic comics
The Sunday Post’s favourite matriarch, Maw Broon, brings us a pleasing compilation of family-orientated bakes to suit any occasion. Interspersed with favourite comic scenes from 10 Glebe Street, these recipes are perfect for those wanting to master the basics and reacquaint themselves with enduring Scottish classics like the delicious Selkirk Bannock or Empire Biscuit. Bake With Maw Broon, published by DC Thomson, £14.99. [review rating=”3″ align…
Read MoreAn analysis of the 2014 independence referendum
This is a close commentary on the Scottish Independence referendum from widely acclaimed journalist and Alex Salmond biographer David Torrance. The diary provides an inside perspective on the fraught 100 days leading up to 18 September 2014. As Torrance bikes around Edinburgh on his beloved bike he interviews politicians and ordinary voters. It’s all in…
Read MoreRetired GP’s debut novel coming to Bloody Scotland
A Scots writer, who has written a 1960s set novel, is to read from it as a Crime Spotlight Author at Bloody Scotland this year. Written by Anne Pettigrew, Not The Life Imagined is published by non-profit Glasgow publisher Ringwood and was runner-up in the SAW Constable Silver Stag Award 2018. Author Simon Brett, 2014…
Read MoreA handy guide to Scotland’s spiritual background
The Traveller’s Guide to Sacred Scotland is a user-friendly guide to early Scottish settlements: from the Neolithic Age of cupmarked stones to the tired remains of the 16th century, when religious institutions fell victim to the violent throes of the Reformation. Marianna Lines also examines Scotland’s geographical idiosyncrasies in the context of inherited folk tales…
Read MoreBig names will come to the 21st Wigtown Book Festival
The 21st annual Wigtown Book Festival is set to welcome a rich variety of writers, broadcasters and others – and is unveiling new attractions like the Wigtown Feasts. Among those taking part this year in Scotland’s book town are Kirsty Wark, Arabella Weir, Kerry Hudson, Sinead Gleeson, Kathleen Jamie, Doddie Weir, Carol Drinkwater, Nathan Filer,…
Read MoreThere’s been a murder – on the very first page
Murder on Page One lives up to its title. Straightaway the reader is engulfed in a bloody murder, as Lorraine McNeill, a literary agent is found dead. A serial killer is on the loose. Short scenes are interspersed with some feisty badinage between DI Noel Osborne, a piggish throwback heading towards an early retirement, and…
Read MoreThe life of the fox – and its loss of solitude
Jim Crumley’s search for solitude and silence is as alien to us as it is a luxury. In today’s world where traffic always hums and urbanisation burrows deeper and deeper into the landscape, solitude has become an endangered species, only occasionally found in dark and rural moments of brilliance. In this edition of Crumley’s Encounters…
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