Books
New fundraiser launched by the Scottish Book Trust
National charity Scottish Book Trust has today launched a major fundraising campaign to ensure everyone has access to books. The campaign, backed by The Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler, wants to ensure that no one misses out on the many lifelong benefits this brings. Since the pandemic, the charity has been overwhelmed…
Read MoreThis book is a joyous journey of discovery
Ever felt that your life is unfulfilled? Well, so does Carole Gunn. Everyday Magic focuses on Carole, the Scottish mother to a teenage daughter and a wife to a distant husband who spends the majority of his time in New York. Carole feels that she is stuck with mediocrity. Fed up with daily life and…
Read MoreTry wild swimming to mark this Halloween
Over the past 12 months, wild swimming has enjoyed a near 300% surge in popularity as waves of new swimmers take the plunge. This Sunday, October 31, novice and experienced swimmers alike are being invited to give their costumes a creepy makeover and dress up for a spooktacular dip at Portobello Beach, with prizes up…
Read MoreSpooky 19th century tales from a Scots writer
As Halloween approaches, we all like a little bit of a scare. Despite being a household name during the latter half of the 19th century, few today are aware of the thrilling tales of Margaret Oliphant, and yet they are ripe for rediscovery. From suspenseful hauntings to strange tales of afterlife and the emotional echoes…
Read MoreThe amazing inside story of an extreme climber
This is the impressive autobiography of Jules Lines, Britain’s best solo free climber. Lines was born in Lisburn, near Belfast in Northern Ireland. When he was a year old his family moved to York, and he spent six or seven years at prep school in North Yorkshire, when he discovered the Yorkshire Dales. From there,…
Read MoreShort story collection is a great little read
Edinburgh Shorts is a collection of 16 short stories set in the city of contrasts that is Edinburgh. The characters and their lives are as varied as the setting and the versatility of the stories holds the interest of the reader with ease. The charm of this book is that the stories are short enough…
Read MoreDocumentary charts the rise of Scottish crime fiction
A new short film charts the rise of Scottish crime fiction and sheds new light on the success of the UK’s bestselling genre. Including never before seen interviews with some of the biggest names in crime writing, it traces the origins of one of key influences on all of their work. Produced by Publishing Scotland…
Read MoreAnother fascinating case for Dr Will Raven
A Corruption of Blood is another hit novel from the Ambrose Parry series. Dr Will Raven is understandably horrifi ed when a package containing the head and torso of a child washes up at the Port of Leith. What’s more perplexing is when a man who is facing the noose and whom Raven hates with…
Read MoreA biography of the Scot who created Armistice Day
This biography gives long overdue credit to Scotsman Rosslyn Wemyss and his creation of Armistice Day. From when he first joined the navy in 1877 at the young and inexperienced age of 13, it follows his path through military service all the way to becoming one of the most important senior naval officers in WWI…
Read MoreThe Stillman is a novel packed with dark humour
The Stillman is Tom McCulloch’s first novel and the characterisation of protagonist Jim Drever surely draws on the author’s upbringing in the Highlands. We’re in 2010, the worst winter in years, and Jim, stillman at a Highland distillery, has just turned 50. His obsessions are his comfortingly predictable job, and the movies, full of fictional…
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