Books
Lifting the lid on the very best of Tartan Noir
What is Tartan Noir? Which authors belong to this global crime fiction phenomenon? Which books should you read first, next, again, or not at all? Len Wanner investigates the genre’s four main sub-genres – the detective, the police, the serial killer, and the noir novel. Covering four decades of literary history, he provides close readings…
Read MoreGranite Noir announces its first two guests
Granite Noir, Aberdeen’s international crime writing Festival, returns in February 2020 with an exciting line-up of Scottish, UK and International authors. While the full programme won’t be announced until early December, organisers have released the names of two headline speakers as part of an early-bird booking package. Sara Paretsky is the award-winning American author who…
Read MoreThe Big Scottish Book Club discusses memoir
The second meeting of the Big Scottish Book Club is taking place this weekend. The Big Scottish Book Club is a new four-part TV show, with the second episode due to be shown on Sunday, 17 November, and hosted by writer Damian Barr Each week, Damian interviews the biggest names in fiction, non-fiction and poetry…
Read MoreA celebration of Scotland’s diesel trains in print
Colin J. Howat’s latest book on trains is a broad look at first generation diesel multiple units throughout Scotland. First Generations Scottish DMUs covers virtually the entirety of Scotland and encompasses locations from Arbroath to Carlisle. With lots of detail and a mixture of black-and-white and colour photographs dating from 1976, this will be a…
Read MoreA guide to Scotland’s wonderful railways
Renewing Britain’s Railways: Scotland by Gordon D. Webster is a highly-illustrated overview of Scotland’s railways. Scotland boasts some of the most scenic railways in the world. From the Glenfinnan Viaduct made famous by the Harry Potter films, to the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is the Forth Rail Bridge, we know how to travel from…
Read MoreA Scottish family bus business that grew and fell
The McKindless Group by David Devoy is the story of a family business which got out of its depth. The McKindless bus company started off as a small operation of a few buses, a lorry and two coaches in 1987. After providing mostly school contracts and private hires, the company began to venture into local…
Read MoreThe rise and sad fall of the Strathtay Bus Group
Strathtay Scottish Buses by David Devoy is an interesting tale of expansion, contraction, and ultimately the oblivion of the group. Strathtay Scottish was a product of the state-owned Scottish Bus Group’s attempts to prepare for deregulation and possible privatisation in the mid-1980s. Eventually, after being taken over by several different entities which culminated in the…
Read MoreAn educational history of Edinburgh’s Trams
The once controversial Edinburgh trams have now become part of the city’s furniture. In this informative guide featuring previously unpublished images of the city’s trams network, Kenneth Williamson charts the history of the system from the horse-drawn trams which ran from Haymarket to Leith in 1871, to the first electric trams which started to operate…
Read MoreEnjoy the cakes from Jenny Colgan’s books
Critically acclaimed Scots romantic comedy and science fiction novelist Jenny Colgan is one of the writers taking part in Book Week Scotland events this year. She will visit Forfar Library as part of Book Week Scotland 2019 on Thursday 21 November, 7pm – 8.30pm. Book Week Scotland is a national celebration of reading and writing…
Read MoreScottish history – without the boring bits
Presented as a chronicle of the curious, the eccentric, the atrocious and the unlikely, Scottish History Without the Boring Bits is a unique historical account of Scotland’s past offers a colourful melange of the episodes and characters that have spattered the pages of our nation’s story. From the War of the One-Eyed Woman to the…
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