Books
Bloody Scotland was another crime success story
The Bloody Scotland crime writing festival had an attendance of over 10,000 for the first time. McIlvanney Prize winner, Manda Scott, set the tone for the weekend when she announced that in the spirit of cooperation reflected by the climate protests she wished to abandon rivalry and share the prize with her fellow finalists –…
Read MoreA chance for Scots writers to fire up their career
Scottish Book Trust, the national charity transforming lives through reading and writing, has announced that applications are open for the Ignite Fellowship. Now in its second year, the Ignite Fellowship recognises the achievements of professional writers and will offer tailored, practical and financial support to help writers find time and space to fire up their…
Read MoreCelebrating Scotland through some hearty eats
I like this book, despite its deeply dodgy design and layout and despite the fact that much of the photography looks dated. I can look past this because it is a book filled with the wonderful celebrations which take place around Scotland and some great recipes to see you through a year of feasting and…
Read MoreStirling’s secrets are revealed in a new book
Stirling is Scotland’s smallest Royal City, and also one of its newest. But, strangely, it’s also the ancient capital and one of the most important locations in all of Scottish history. On Monday 30 September, Extremis Publishing is releasing a new book by Murray Cook. With full-colour illustrations, Digging into Stirling’s Past: Uncovering the Secrets…
Read MoreA cracking psychological thriller
In this psychological thriller, Breakers, 17-year-old Tyler is the glue that is holding his family together – just. Living in a deprived Edinburgh tower block, with drug addict mum and little sister, Tyler is coerced into a life of crime by his older half-brother, Barry. In a botched-up job, Barry stabs the wife of a…
Read MoreMacCrimmon pipes up for a fun children’s book
Young MacCrimmon and the Silver Chanter is a comical children’s story tells the story of a piping school and the struggle of a young pupil, Donald MacCrimmon, to master the instrument. When a Fairy Queen steps into help, she does so with a warning, presenting Donald with a life changing dilemma. Based on the tales…
Read MoreA passionate affair in The Sound of the Hours
Occupation during the Second World War in Barga, Tuscany, turns plans for the future of 17-year-old Vita on their head, in The Sound of the Hours by Karen Campbell. The arrival of Frank Chapel, a young black US soldier, finds the Scottish-Italian heroine falling deeply in love. The vividly portrayed characters embark on a passionate…
Read MoreWhat has made Room 101 and Big Brother normal
Author Dorian Lynskey believes that every generation finds aspects of George Orwell’s 1984 that resonate with their own political times. Today we have the normalisation of lies and what the Trump administration has called ‘alternative facts’. Another major issue anticipated by the book, published in 1949 and now in its 70th anniversary year, is the…
Read MoreYou can have your Cake – and read it
Refrigerator Cake is an enjoyable, humorous and contemporary collection of short stories from young Falkirk-based author, Dickson Telfer. With subject matter which guides the reader through subjects as diverse as teaching the class from hell to a 92-year-old man’s quest for peace, this is not one for the fainthearted, but Telfer’s humour will resonate with…
Read MoreA fascinating artistic trail on European travels
Renowned Edinburgh-based artist and gallery director Richard Demarco takes us on the road to nowhere in his tales and accompanying sketches detailing his travels around Europe. Complete with a full Italian translation, this book is an insight into how ‘the road’ has inspired his work throughout the years and how a journey can be central…
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