Books
Campaign bids to get all of Scotland talking
Val McDermid, patron of Scottish Book Trust and award-winning crime writer, has today launched the search for real-life stories from the people of Scotland. The Blether campaign seeks submissions from all backgrounds and experiences, whether in written, audio or video form. Scottish Book Trust, the national charity changing lives through reading and writing, is searching…
Read MoreAn insight into the lives of our working dogs
Given his 40 years of experience as a gamekeeper in Scotland, John Cowan is ideally placed to provide an informative account of the strengths and weaknesses of the different breeds of working dogs. He systematically describes their respective traits and passes on his extensive knowledge on how to train dogs for their working life on…
Read MoreA thriller that will grab you from the word go
Scots writer Catherine Deveney grabs you from the first sentence of The Chrysalis. This gripping novel, as the title suggests, tackles issues of transformation. The protagonist is Marianne, an elderly woman living in a care home. With her failing health she feels let down by her ageing body and mind. This decline has led Marianne…
Read MoreFinding the soul of Scotland’s religious faith
The Soul of Scotland by Harry Reid is very much a personal take on what has shaped Scotland’s relationship with Christianity through the ages. Politics, places and people are randomly arranged in this collection of ‘meditations and essays’ from the former Herald editor. His personal view of the subject matter makes this more a book…
Read MoreThe Scotswoman who was a fantastic fly tyer
Born in the Highlands in 1915, by the age of 20, Megan Boyd had established herself as one of the most skilled salmon fly tyers of all time. Her cottage in Brora became a Mecca for fly fishermen from across the globe. This is an affectionate and personal account of Megan’s remarkable talent by friend…
Read MorePicture perfect book that’s all write
Over thirty years on, photographer Angela Catlin has updated her first collection of striking black and white portraits of Scotland’s finest writers, each accompanied by examples of their work. Among the 49 snapped for posterity are writers Alasdair Gray, A L Kennedy, Ian Rankin, James Robertson and Ali Smith, poets Ron Butlin, Jen Hadfield and…
Read MoreThe island with a whisky for every palate
Whisky has been distilled on the windswept Hebridean island of Islay since the 18th century. The Queen of the Hebrides currently has eight distilleries producing some of the best quality whisky on the market. Rintoul documents in fascinating detail how each whisky is produced in this glossy, informative book. There’s also one of her poems…
Read MoreWho is Nan Shepherd, the woman on the £5 note?
Two important days occurred this month: World Book Day and International Women’s Day. As I left my desk in the office to answer the horn of the coffee van, I pulled a £5 note out of my pocket. Looking at it, I saw a woman gazing strongly to the left of the note – an…
Read MoreTV stars among the guests at Boswell Book Festival
The 9th Boswell Book Festival, the world’s only book festival dedicated to biographies and memoirs held in honour of James Boswell, will run from 10-12 May 2019. The Festival will, as ever, bring together a range of writers from around the world to the renowned Dumfries House in Ayrshire with a weekend of discussion and…
Read MoreA real treasure trove of holy hideaways
Dixe Wills’ latest quirky travel guide chronicles 60 of Britain’s smallest churches. One chapel halfway down a remote Pembrokeshire cliff is so tiny that the congregation has to sit outside for the annual service. Scottish gems include the frescoed apse in Hoselaw Chapel, Croick Church in Ardgay with its moving messages scratched on the windows…
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