Posts Tagged ‘books’
The Good Books, Sara Sheridan: ‘The trick is finding books that engage your brain. A good book is a brain workout’
Sara Sheridan on being inspired by Alasdair Gray, reading Wuthering Heights at just ten-years-old and why Lord Byron wasn’t a ‘romantic’. The first book I remember reading: I have little memory of my early childhood. I know I learned to read using the Janet and John books but I can’t remember the experience. However,…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Douglas Skelton: ‘Mystic River is masterful, I wish I could write like Dennis Lehane’
The Glasgow author on returning to the books he read as a youngster and the influence of Ed McBain on his writing. The first book I remember reading: It has to be Two Doggie Tales. It’s the only book by Enid Blyton I ever read – the Famous Five and Secret Seven seemed to…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Pauline Tait: ‘Nancy Drew got me hooked on mysteries and the love of them has stayed with me’
Author Pauline Tait on the influence of American writer Nora Roberts in helping her believe she could write in two very different genres. The first book I remember reading: As a young child, I remember reading The Princess and the Frog. It was often my bedtime read, and I still have my slightly tattered…
Read MoreAye Write: Glasgow book festival called off after event turned down for funding
It has been attended by some of the biggest authors in the country, from Ian Rankin to Val McDermid. But Glasgow’s long-running Aye Write book festival has been cancelled after the event was turned down for Creative Scotland funding. The event, which has been running since 2005, regularly attracts leading authors to the city to…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Jenny Colgan: ‘When I was six my parents found me reading a Dr Spock baby book’
The best selling rom-com author on reading parenting books as a child, why she recommends people read Middlemarch and her favourite books of the year. The first book I remember reading: Topsy and Tim. I wasn’t reading them, but apparently I’d learned them off by heart. My mum used to show off and pretend…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Neil Lancaster: ‘Ian Rankin is the master of Scottish fiction’
The retired Met police officer turned author on being inspired by Ian Rankin, John Niven’s heartbreaking memoir and Tony Kent as the British David Baldacci. The first book I remember reading: When I was about ten, my sister was doing her English O’Levels, and one of the books she was being forced to read…
Read MoreBoswell Book Festival: Rose Reilly, Jackie Kay, John Niven and Aasmah Mir all set to feature
Boswell Book Festival is back this year and features stories from two living legends of WW2, a Tik Tok sensation from the Hebrides and Ayrshire’s own world cup winner. Football legend Rose Reilly, who became the only Scottish person to have won a football world cup while playing for Italy in 1983, kicks off the…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Les Wilson: ‘I grew up reading Winnie-the-Pooh, I do a good Eeyore voice’
The former political journalist on being inspired by historian Jan Morris and shrinking time on CalMac ferries to Islay by reading. The first book I remember reading: The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne. My mother read it to me (using all sorts of wonderful character voices) and I watched her finger move…
Read MoreScottish muse: We speak to 13 authors about their favourite writing spots
Scotland has never been short of literary gems, whether authors were born, raised or immigrated here, this land has inspired and emboldened many to create. From past literary heroes like Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robbie Burns and Muriel Spark to prolific modern legends like Jackie Kay, Ian Rankin, Sir Alexander McCall Smith…
Read MoreWhat Colour Are Your Wellies? A new Hebridean children’s story
One year ago, two wildlife guides living on the Isle of Mull launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation of a children’s book celebrating the natural beauty of the Hebrides. They reached their funding goal in just 24 hours, doubled it before the end of the campaign, and their idea was picked up by…
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