Posts Tagged ‘The Good Books’
The Good Books, Claire Wilson: ‘I learned my craft reading Stephen King from an early age’
Claire Wilson on the books of her childhood and how Stephen King and Val McDermid inspired her writing. The first book I remember reading: James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. Maybe in primary three? My mum took me and my brothers to the library every weekend, where I then read everything he…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Marisa Haetzman: ‘Denise Mina is one of Scotland’s great writers, I’m looking forward to her next book’
Dr Marisa Haetzman is a former consultant anaesthetist and together with her husband Chris Brookmyre, she writes under the joint pen name Ambrose Parry. The pair will be appearing at Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival in Stirling 12-14 September. For tickets and further information go to www.bloodyscotland.com The first book I remember reading: I don’t…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart: ‘Keeping readers enthralled as to what might happen next should be the focus of any storyteller’
Dugald Bruce-Lockhart on not reading War and Peace, his love of Mick Herron’s Slow Horses and the books of his childhood. The first book I remember reading: Other than the Ladybird book of dinosaurs, the first proper story I remember reading was Shadow the Sheepdog, by Enid Blyton. Along with Gerald Durrell’s novels, my…
Read MoreLife With Linwood Barclay: ‘Sir Ian Rankin took me for a drink at The Oxford Bar, it was special’
Author Linwood Barclay on being take to The Oxford Bar with Ian Rankin, the books he always recommends and his time in Scotland. I was born in Darien, Connecticut, but my parents moved north to the suburbs of Toronto, in Canada, just before I turned four years old. And when it was time to…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Andrew Meehan: ‘I don’t think I go a day without thinking about Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout’
Andrew Meehan on the influence of Elizabeth Strout, the book he’s most looking forward to this year, and how love in later life is complicated. The first book I remember reading: I’ll swerve Enid Blyton to tell the story of the time one of my older brothers, Niall, now a designer, bought one of the…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Mairi Kidd: ‘I didn’t finish Terry Pratchett’s last book, I couldn’t bear the thought there would be no more’
Author and Director of The Saltire Society Mairi Kidd on the best book she’s read this year, her childhood memories of reading and the authors who inspired her. The first book I remember reading: I remember reading a Topsy and Tim book in church – I imagine the idea was to keep me quiet.…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Eliza Chan: ‘Fantasy can mean so much more than what’s on the surface’
Eliza Chan on the best book she has read this year, why she could never finish Ulysses and her writing inspirations. The first book I remember reading: Probably not the first books I read, but I remember getting a set of children’s classics for Christmas when I was in primary school and they were…
Read MoreThe Good Books, AndrĂ©s N. Ordorica: ‘I have held onto The Wind in the Willows since I was a child, it’s a magical reading experience’
AndrĂ©s N. Ordorica on love, poetry and how James Baldwin continues to inspire him. The first book I remember reading: I don’t quite think it was the first book I read, but definitely one that has stayed with me from a young age: The Wind in the Willows. When I was quite young, my…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Gordon J. Brown: ‘Stephen King nearly got me fired from my job as a bar man because I couldn’t put his books down’
Founder of crime writing festival Bloody Scotland, Gordon J. Brown, talks about his love of Stephen King, why he could never finish Lord of the Rings, and the latest book from Denzil Meyrick after his death. The first book I remember reading: Although I read The Famous Five and The Secret Seven when I…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Rosie Walker: ‘I’m absolutely in awe of Taylor Jenkins Reid, her novels are incredibly well-researched’
Rosie Walker on her love of Taylor Jenkins Reid novels, the books she is most looking forward to this year, and what she read as a child. The first book I remember reading: My parents read a lot with me as a child and I loved books from a really young age. I remember…
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