Press Play
For the Good Times
It's the season of summer breaks, festivals, and holiday reads – and do we have some good ones for you! In this issue of BooksfromScotland, we have an outstanding array of the best fiction, non-fiction, and poetry to hit your shelves over the warm summer months. So sit back, relax, and press play.
Grayson Perry is one of the Britain’s most celebrated and beloved artists. In this remarkable new book, you can find the largest ever retrospective of his work including never-before-seen new and unpublished works. Catch a glimpse of just some of the wonders exclusively here at BooksfromScotland!
Grayson Perry: Smash Hits By Grayson Perry, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Patrick Elliot and Tor Scott Published by National Galleries of Scotland
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Even in summer, in Edinburgh you’re never far from a downpour. So it’s a good thing we have Mike MacEacheran on hand to help us out with a list of the best ways to spend a rainy day in Auld Reekie! Read on for just a few suggestions on how best to combat the capital’s unpredictable weather.
Rainy Day Edinburgh By Mike MacEacheran Published by Quadrille
Introduction
Densely packed with galleries, museums and world-class institutions, but also crowned by a skyline dominated by steampunk spires, steeples and the crags of a 340-million-year-old volcanic plug, Edinburgh is extraordinary whether you’re a first-timer or back for an extra helping. The setting itself is riddle-like, with a subterranean underbelly of webbed alleys and cobblestoned closes that zigzag through the Old Town like a giant game of snakes and ladders. Explore the wider cityscape ...
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
‘Little carnivals of the imagination. I love spotting them, sneaky & incongruous, catching the eye of their mystic jockeys —hauling us together’
So Many Lives and All of Them are Yours: A Q&A with Ron Butlin
‘Music helps me keep my life on track. It teaches me how to structure my work, to develop form and narrative. Above all, how to make every word count and to keep it true.’
‘The little black dress has become a constant in modern fashion’s complex histories. Its simple form offers a dark mirror in which contemporary debates around beauty, identity and culture find reflectio …
The Black Eden: A Q&A with Richard T. Kelly
‘What I love about real-life historical-political subject matter is that it’s full of dilemmas – situations where people have to confront a really tough, conflicting choice between options, where ther …
David Robinson interviews John Lister-Kaye
‘In Footprints in the Woods, he writes at length about stillness. We can’t do anything about our scent, he says, but animals know that humans are loud and move about, so if we don’t act like that we c …
‘Scotland is finally recognising Rose as a pioneer in women’s football. In 2007, she was inducted into the Scottish Sport Hall of Fame and was also the first female player inducted into the Scottish F …
‘Food is my constant life adventure. Between lovers and within family, it is interplay, bonding, enjoying the sweetness of familiarity brought by years.’
‘Friend, you have begun your journey into a vast and lonely space. Life is abundant. But intelligent life is rare. Your wanderings will be long. Travel quietly. The universe is an empty, and dangerous …
‘I’m losing my way, forgetting how to do things for myself. Sometimes I don’t have the motivation to even stare into space.’
‘My tutor opened for me daily the Book of Life and bid me peruse where I would in pursuit, not so much of answers – for answers are abundant as drones in a hive – but Questions. A good Question is the …
‘He bristled with anger. There was a time in his career when he could walk into the accountancy office and say something, and it was as solid and serious as if it were carved in stone. Now, despite al …
‘The latter half of the twentieth century began to see the dominance of women writers in the dystopian mode, something that should not surprise anyone, and that ascendency continues today.’
ALSO ON BOOKS FROM SCOTLAND
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Pink Camouflage by Gemma Morgan
‘I had to tell this story for the thousands of other women who have been harmed by the toxic culture …
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The Hollow Tree by Philip Miller
‘The man turned around. His hands were dark with blood.
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David Robinson Reviews: All Before Me by Esther Rutter
‘This then is a book about recovery, about regaining self-confidence and rediscovering joy.’
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QuickFire, Slow Burning by Janette Ayachi
‘Things are shed when people listen to poetry.’
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‘But best of all it is dead silent: no sound of greetin’ weans, no shouting staff, no screaming- dru …
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‘If readers enjoy what you’ve written, they’ll keep on coming back for more.’
FEATURED AUTHOR:
Leela Soma
Leela Soma was a Scottish-based writer who was born in Madras (former name for Chennai) in India, and now lives in Glasgow. She came to Glasgow in 1969 with her husband. She worked, until her retirement, as a teacher of Modern Studies. During this time …
FEATURED PUBLISHER:
Luath Press
Luath Press takes its name from Robert Burns, whose little collie Luath (Gael., swift or nimble) tripped up Jean Armour at a wedding and gave him the chance to speak to the woman who was to be his wife and the abiding love of his life. Burns called one …