Scotsman.com - Books Feed

Book reviews: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:13:56 GMT

REVIEWS of Neil Gaiman’s latest, and The Attacking Ocean by Brian Fagan

Edinburgh Film Festival: The story of ‘Dummy Jim’

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:35:15 GMT

In 1951 a deaf factory worker from Aberdeenshire embarked on a solo cycling trip from his home to the Arctic Circle – 3000 miles away. Now the story of his remarkable journey has been made into a film set for its UK premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival tomorrow.

Iain Gray: Iain Banks a writer of the first rank

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:48:06 GMT

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

Iain Banks’s ‘bucket list’ wish for final book

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:16:54 GMT

THE Quarry may have been Iain Banks’s last novel, but there could be one more book to come from the late writer – a collection of poetry.

Scotland on Sunday coined ‘dad dancing’ now in OED

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:09:18 GMT

GO ON dads. Go out and dad-dance today. The most effective way for fathers to embarrass their children has now been given the ultimate seal of approval by being included as a new word in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Book review: Meet Me In Gaza, by Louise B Waugh

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:05:29 GMT

Intrepid Louisa Waugh discovers friendship and fascination in the ‘world’s largest open-air prison’, writes David Robinson

Book reviews: Sisterland, by Curtis Sittenfeld

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:03:23 GMT

CURTIS Sittenfeld came to prominence on both sides of the Atlantic with her daring and provocative 2008 novel American Wife, which was loosely based on the life of Laura Bush but was really a study of the marriage of opposites.

Book review: Here And Now: Letters 2008-2011, by Paul Auster and JM Coetzee

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:46:35 GMT

THIS could have been, and at times very nearly is, a most touching book: a correspondence between two men, one in his sixties, the other turning 70, both highly regarded novelists (one having won the ultimate accolade, the Nobel Prize), striking sparks off each other, shedding light on their work and becoming friends in the process.

Book review: Investment in Blood: The True Costs Of Britain’s Afghan War, by Frank Ledwidge

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:44:41 GMT

BY THE time British troops start coming home for good some time towards the end of next year, the 12-year campaign in Afghanistan will have cost UK taxpayers at least £40 billion – probably more.

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.