Posts Tagged ‘books’
The Good Books, JD Kirk: ‘If a book hasn’t grabbed me by 100 pages, I ditch it’
Barry Hutchison, aka JD Kirk, on falling in love with Terry Pratchett’s work aged 11, being inspired by Neil Gaiman and why he ditches a book if he’s not grabbed after 100 pages. The first book I remember reading: Wagstaffe the Wind-Up Boy by Jan Needle. I had mostly read comics until that point,…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Alison Murray: ‘I keep trying to read in bed but it doesn’t work for me, I just fall asleep’
Children’s author Alison Murray on falling in love with dogs after reading A Hundred and One Dalmatians, her passion for essays and why she can’t read in bed. The first book I remember reading: A very scarily illustrated compendium of fairy stories that was read to me at bedtime and would give me nightmares.…
Read MoreEdinburgh Book Festival: Salman Rushdie, Alan Cumming, Richard Osman, Dolly Alderton and Matt Haig lead line-up
Salman Rushdie, Alan Cumming, Forbes Masson, Richard Osman, Dolly Alderton and Matt Haig will star at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival. New festival director, Jenny Niven, revealed her plans for a reboot of the literary festival, with a series of 1000-capacity interviews at Edinburgh University’s McEwan Hall. It comes following a new partnership with…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Mike Billett: ‘As a child I loved reading books about animals’
Whisky connoisseur, Mike Billett on reading at The National Library of Scotland, growing up on Winnie The Pooh and why Moby-Dick is a book that has ‘everything’. The first book I remember reading: As a child I loved reading books about animals, and surely the first was Winnie The Pooh by A.A. Milne. A chilled-out bear…
Read MoreThe 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…
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