Scotsman.com - Books Feed

Iain Gray: Writer of the first rank

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:48:06 GMT

I was deeply saddened at news of Iain Banks’s death.

Neil Gaiman on why Scotland is his second home

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 13:46:53 GMT

A shy child with his nose permanently stuck in a book, Neil Gaiman grew up to become a publishing phenomenon writing scripts, graphic novels and fiction. He talks about Dr Who, his personal new novel and living on Skye

Book review: The Quarry by Iain Banks

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:21:48 GMT

Death hovers over Iain Banks’s last novel but that doesn’t stop it being wonderfully exuberant, says Allan Massie

Book review: Alexandria: The Last Nights Of Cleopatra by Peter Stothard

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:19:45 GMT

An eighth try at a life of the Queen of the Nile brilliantly mixes history and autobiography

Interview: Joe Hill is a modest heir to King’s fame

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:29:38 GMT

Joe Hill has built a fanbase without cashing in on his father’s name. Stephen McGinty meets him

Poem of the week: Rob A Mackenzie - Locus-a-Non

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:29:33 GMT

A few centuries ago, according to notes at the back of Rob A Mackenzie’s new collection The Good News (Salt, £12.99), street sweepers gathered in the main squares of certain European cities to receive tips.

Book reviews: NW by Zadie Smith | An English Affair by Rupert Davenport-Hines | Higher Gossip by John Updike

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:29:31 GMT

Lots of us have heard the story of the Profumo scandal. Half a century ago, the Minister of War was connected, through an exotic dancer, to a Soviet naval attaché; later, there was a show trial, a high-profile death and gossip that lasted for decades.

Fiona McCade: Pooh to revamp of children’s classics

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:08:42 GMT

Here are abridged versions of some much-loved children’s books. Can you guess which ones? 1) Rabbit gets chased, escapes, goes to bed. 2) Pilot meets boy, boy meets lots of people, boy dies. 3) Bear hangs out with friends, sings, eats honey. Gold stars for everybody who got The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Little Prince and Winnie the Pooh.

Iain Banks: ‘I used anger at death in final book’

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:43:55 GMT

WRITER Iain Banks poured his “darkest thoughts” into his final book after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he said in his last television interview to be broadcast tonight.

Edinburgh book festival announces Iain Banks event

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:00:27 GMT

ORGANISERS of the Edinburgh International Book Festival have unveiled plans for a special event in honour of Iain Banks.

Iain Banks: A legacy to treasure

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 22:44:02 GMT

WE ALL knew that it was inevitable, but when the news of the death of Iain Banks actually arrived it was still more than a surprise. It was an unmitigated shock.

Scottish author Iain Banks dies aged 59

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 15:10:51 GMT

HE WAS one of Scotland’s seminal modern authors, whose work straddled genres, and was adapted to stage, radio and both the big and small screens.

Are celebrity kids’ books bad for literature?

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:55:47 GMT

CHELSEA footballer Frank Lampard is the latest celebrity to publish a children’s book. But is the trend doing long-term damage to the quality of children’s literature, asks Fiona MacGregor

Gordon Brown reveals ‘petty criminal’ past

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:31:08 GMT

FORMER Prime Minister Gordon Brown has admitted dabbling in “petty crime” as a youngster - to get more books from his local library.

Borders Book Festival celebrates tenth year in style

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:30:59 GMT

DO you think you could stop telling me what great sessions Norman Davies, Willie Dalrymple and Allan Massie have done?” I was amazed. Walking down Melrose High Street in June 2004 to do the last session of the first Borders Book Festival, Melvyn Bragg was nervous.

Book review: The Road to Le Tholonet: A French Garden Journey by Monty Don

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:25:51 GMT

SINCE Monty Don returned to Gardeners’ World in 2011, it’s been the only television programme all sensible people take care, in season, never to miss. He is simply the most likeable of all presenters – even without the assistance of his adorable retriever, Nigel.

Book review: Jacob’s Folly by Rebecca Miller

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:22:42 GMT

REBECCA Miller cut her literary teeth focusing on women’s lives, and some subversive women’s lives, too. Her short story collection, Personal Velocity, featured women on the run, women who had suffered long-term abuse, women who choose ambition over their marriage and so on.

Book review: Every Promise by Andrea Bajani

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:20:42 GMT

EVERY Promise is a slow burner of a novel. I can imagine readers being irked and bored by the first pages, and giving up on the book.

Book review: Edmund Burke: Philosopher, Politician, Prophet by Jesse Norman

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:18:44 GMT

ANYONE writing about Edmund Burke (1723-92) has to deal with the problem of his famous soubriquet, “the father of conservatism”.

Book review: Alexander Wilson by Edward Burtt and William Davis Jr

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:15:13 GMT

ASK Americans who was the father of ornithology in their country and most will reply “John James Audubon”, the artist whose The Birds Of America is one of the most beautiful (and expensive) books in the world.