Posts Tagged ‘The Good Books’
The Good Books, Margaret McDonald: ‘Jackie Kay is my absolute idol’
Margaret McDonald on her love of The Hunger Games, her favourite books of the year so far, and falling in love with Jackie Kay. The first book I remember reading: Probably not the first books I ever read in my life, but it has to be Mates Dates by Cathy Hopkins. That entire series had me in…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Lydia Travers: ‘Agatha Christie and anyone from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an inspiration’
Lydia Travers on her love of historical novels, her favourite books of the year so far, and being inspired by Agatha Christie. The first book I remember reading: It would have been an Enid Blyton. She was hugely popular then. I can’t remember which was the first of hers I read, but I do…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Daniel Aubrey: ‘I started writing crime fiction because of Harlan Coben. Damn, that man can write a plot twist’
Daniel Aubrey has been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize with his crime fiction novel, Dark Island. The first book I remember reading: It was a book called Time Rope. I must have been about eight or nine at the time, and I was absolutely hooked. It was a trilogy, I think, but…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Heather Critchlow: ‘The moment I learnt to read still seems magical’
Heather Critchlow on learning to read as a child, reading until she falls asleep and the book she recommends to everyone. The first book I remember reading: Little Bear Stories – I still remember the first two lines (It is cold. Look at the snow.) Every morning when I was learning to read, I’d…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Helen Graham: I’ve read and loved all of Maggie O’Farrell novels, sometimes being moved to tears’
Helen Graham on being inspired by Maggie O’Farrell, her favourite books of the year, and her fascination with the world of plants and their healing properties. The first book I remember reading: I can still feel the heft of a hardback copy of Alice in Wonderland I was given when I was about six.…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Allan Gaw: ‘I was forced to read Shane by Jack Schaeferto at school, to this day I still can’t abide westerns’
Allan Gaw has been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize with his crime fiction novel, The Silent House of Sleep. The first book I remember reading: I remember it was hard backed and easy to hold, and it had come from the magical folding bookcase in our infant school classroom. There were words…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Martin Stewart: ‘Being a pre-screen child meant devouring words and language’
The former English teacher and lecturer on the comfort of reading non-fiction and his childhood love of Roald Dahl. The first book I remember reading: Spot the Dog, that feeling of Spot being famous, a recognised thing to which I was being given access. After that, reading independently came very naturally. Being a pre-screen child…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Suzy Aspley: ‘I curl up in the dark with a great book and read until I can’t keep my eyes open
Suzy Aspley has been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize with her crime fiction novel, Crow Moon. The first book I remember reading: Three Ponies and Shannan, by Diana Pullein-Thompson. As a pony mad kid who pined for a horse of my own (which was totally out of reach growing up in a…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Doug Sinclair: ‘The Life Changing Magic Of Not Giving A F***’ changed my life
Doug Sinclair on his favourite books of the year, his favourite place to read and the books of his childhood. The first book I remember reading: It was a children’s book about a boy who befriends a Romany girl when her family stops at his town. She lived in a charming old wooden caravan…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Jane Flett: ‘Marcy Dermansky writes my favourite female characters ever’
Jane Flett on reading in the bath, being inspired by The Hungry Caterpillar and her favourite books of the year. The first book I remember reading: The Very Hungry Caterpillar. A brilliant meditation on what it is to want too much and the transformative power of desire, which has inspired me ever since. How I…
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