Books
A complete guide to discovering the true Scotland
Scotland the Best is described as the ‘true insider’s guide to Scotland’. Author Peter Irvine has composed everything that a Scots traveller ought to know, from the best artisan cafes and restaurants to hidden gems, secret waterfalls and country walks. This is the perfect guide to Scotland for tourists planning a trip to the country…
Read MoreDiscovering the secret of Thunder Bay
Reporter Rebecca Connolly – who lives on the fictional Scottish island of Stoirm – senses a story coming on when Roddie Drummond returns to the island. Fifteen years, previously, he he was charged with the murder of his lover, Mhairi. Returning for his mother’s funeral, Roddie’s whereabouts have remained a mystery since he was last…
Read MoreYour chance to add some colour to Scottish icons
Exploding onto the hobby and leisure scene recently, the popularity of adult colouring shows no sign of abating. Here, illustrator Laura Henderson, a graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, takes us on a colouring journey across Scotland. Covering the country’s most iconic subjects, from castles and stately homes to feats of engineering, myths and…
Read MoreChildren’s author produces second edition of novel
An acclaimed Scottish children’s author has had to produce a second edition of her popular adventure story. It comes after releasing what is believed to be the first novel study pack specially tailored to Scotland’s current Curriculum for Excellence. Launched earlier in the year, the magical pack has already been officially adopted and endorsed by…
Read MoreLook to the skies in a striking art collection
Scott Naismith believes that the primary purpose of an artist is to encourage others to look at the world differently. This is something he certainly achieves with Scottish Skies, a striking collection of work which depicts the colourful, atmospheric and ever-changing skies over Scotland’s coastlines, lowlands, highlands and islands. With notes divulging the thought process…
Read MoreA nuclear-charged thriller set in the Highlands
Conspiracies surrounding illegal radioactive convoys heading for the nuclear plant at Dounreay in the Highlands leads to tense relations between Westminster and Holyrood, in Deadly Secrecy, by Andrew Scott. After the death of anti-nuclear activist Angus McBain, journalist Willie Morton investigates as suspicions rise that campaigner McBain’s death was no accident. Scott cleverly weaves this…
Read MoreAn entertaining read to put spring in your step
The Nature of Spring, by Jim Crumley, one of Scotland’s foremost wildlife writers, sees him continue his seasonal writing series with the addition of spring. This thought-inducing paean to nature brings the issues of the natural world to the forefront, reminding us of global warming and the threat it brings to Scottish species such as…
Read MorePutting the fun back into foraging for food
The Forager’s Calendar is a marvelous tome, as John Wright wears his learning lightly as his detailed account of foraging reveals not only his vast knowledge of wild food. There’s also a wry humour and huge array of endearing anecdotes which combine to make this a compelling read. Month by month, the former forager at…
Read MoreScots history is reimagined to celebrate women
Where are the Women? by Sara Sheridan reimagines a Scottish history as one in which men are no longer disproportionately commemorated and women’s triumphs are lauded. In Sheridan’s world, Arthur’s Seat is renamed in honour of early Christian St Triduana, while the cave at Staff a references Malvina, not Fingal. The author asks readers to imagine…
Read MoreThe historic links between the Scots and the Flemish
Alexander Fleming has produced a fascinating and informative yet academic account of the key role that Flemish immigrants have played in Scottish history. The incomers who arrived from Flanders in the centuries after the Norman Invasion were soldiers, settlers, traders, tradesmen, diplomats and dynasts who all shared a creative outlook which helped them to adapt…
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