Books
Get ready for the Granite Noir crime fiction festival
The best home grown and international crime fiction is being celebrated in Aberdeen this weekend. Now in its fourth year, Granite Noir is inspired by the Granite city – its history, its atmosphere and its strong sense of place – and events run from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 February in interesting, quirky and unusual…
Read MoreSecond series for the Big Scottish Book Club
BBC Scotland’s The Big Scottish Book Club is getting bigger in 2020. The series had a debut run on the channel in late 2019 with four episodes. IWC, a Banijay Group company, has now been commissioned to make another eight hour-long episodes for a second series of the arts show, The Big Scottish Book Club,…
Read MoreThe biggest secrets of the Cairngorms revealed
I defy anyone to look at the front cover of the beautiful The Secret Life of the Cairngorms and not have a wee smile on their face. Illustrated with a stunning selection of Andy Howard’s photographs, the book celebrates the wildlife and landscape of the Cairngorms National Park in all its glory. Anyone who has visited…
Read MoreNew exhibition marks women and their crimes
From the written confession used in evidence at a 16th century witch trial to early 20th century mugshots of a pair of Birmingham’s female felons, a new exhibition in Aberdeen showcases women criminals across the centuries. Drawn from original records found in Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives, Outcasts: Women, Crime and Society examines how women…
Read MoreCelebrating the capital in words and pictures
Edinburgh means different things to many people. In this book, the product of a collaboration between photographer Allan Wright and poet Gerda Stevenson, the interaction of their dual perspectives on the capital makes for a different take on the traditional Edinburgh coffee table book. Eighty-seven photographs are accompanied by 22 new poems, some in Scots,…
Read MoreA handy guide to the Battle of Bannockburn
Battle Story: Bannockburn 1314 is a handy sized guide to one of the most significant battles between Scotland and England. Maps, images and time lines help to make this an extremely accessible read, while the profiles of leaders make an interesting addition to the story of the battle. A great account of the events of…
Read MoreMarking Scottish Opera’s first half century
50 Years of Scottish Opera: A Celebration is a hefty but well put together coffee table book spanning half a century of Scottish Opera. The book is, as you would expect, packed with fabulous photographs of the productions that have been put on over these five decades. These are punctuated by quotes, anecdotes, memories and…
Read MoreHow Scotland spread out to influence the world
Scotland’s Global Empire is a well-written and impeccably researched guide to some fascinating and lesser known characters and their magnificent achievements. I found the lack of images and the sheer weight of words within this chronicle a problem, making it difficult to get started on and impossible to pick up and devour in small chunks,…
Read MoreAn in-depth look at Britain’s worst rail disaster
The Quintinshill Conspiracy, subtitled ‘The Shocking True Story Behind Britain’s Worst Rail Disaster’, is a comprehensive in-depth look into the horrendous 1915 crash involving five trains that took place at an isolated signal box on the West Coast main line from London to Glasgow, half a mile north-west of Gretna. At this time the railways…
Read MoreA laugh out loud read of history through Scots eyes
I literally laughed out loud at this hilarious wee book, If History Was Scottish. These are choice quotes from the biggest players, spoken at the most important moments in history. The twist is that they have been changed to reflect what a Scot would have said at that time and place. I can just imagine…
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