Books
The Skinny book guide – bringing you book reviews, features, events, reviews and author interviews. Find previews and on the ground reporting from festivals of literature and poetry in Scotland and beyond.
-
Book ReviewsUniversality by Natasha Brown
In her follow-up to the acclaimed Assembly, Natasha Brown investigates the banal evil of modern British politics and the shaping of national discourse Read more »| 10 Mar 2025 -
Book ReviewsStag Dance by Torrey Peters
Torrey Peters returns with Stag Dance, another stunning, genre-defying exploration of the nuances and intimacies of trans identity Read more »| 10 Mar 2025 -
FeaturesXuanlin Tham on new book Revolutionary Desires
We chat with Edinburgh-based author and film curator Xuanlin Tham about their debut book, an incisive and intricate exploration of the politics of the sex scene Read more »| 03 Mar 2025 -
Book ReviewsThe Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Coates returns with a timely investigation into how stories – reporting, mythmaking and narrative – shape our understanding of the world Read more »| 03 Mar 2025 -
EventsScottish Books Events: March 2025
StAnza Poetry Festival returns to St Andrews this month, while there's plenty of book launches and poetry readings across Edinburgh and Glasgow Read more »| 28 Feb 2025 -
Book ReviewsCarrion Crow by Heather Parry
The new novel from acclaimed Glasgow-based author Heather Parry is a surreal Gothic exploration of marriage, class and sexuality Read more »| 21 Feb 2025
-
Book ReviewsDengue Boy by Michel Nieva
In this surrealist fable, a half-human, half-mosquito boy encapsulates themes of climate catastrophe, hybridity and transformation Read more »| 17 Feb 2025 -
Book ReviewsThe National Telepathy by Roque Larraquy
An Argentinian satirical science fiction novel unlike anything you’ve ever read, newly translated into English by Frank Wynne Read more »| 13 Feb 2025 -
Featureslayla-roxanne hill and Francesca Sobande on their book Look, Don't Touch
We chat with layla-roxanne hill and Francesca Sobande, the authors of Look, Don't Touch, about the politics of feeling in contemporary society Read more »| 12 Feb 2025 -
FeaturesMoshtari Hilal on her debut book Ugliness
We speak with Afghan-German writer Moshtari Hilal about her book Ugliness, and the politics of how beauty is constructed Read more »| 06 Feb 2025 -
EventsScottish Books Events: February 2025
There's lot of Scottish authors launching books this month, as well as open mic poetry nights and queer reading groups Read more »| 04 Feb 2025 -
Book ReviewsAsk Me Again by Clare Sestanovich
In Clare Sestanovich's debut novel Ask Me Again, tautological questions and half-answers lend a frustrating air to proceedings Read more »| 31 Jan 2025 -
Book ReviewsThe Lamb by Lucy Rose
In this mesmerising Gothic debut, a mother and daughter in the Cumbrian forest prey on strays that cross their path Read more »| 28 Jan 2025 -
Book ReviewsThe Book of George by Kate Greathead
Kate Greathead’s millennial campus novel is a well-written portrait of a slacker that can't help but grate Read more »| 28 Jan 2025 -
Book ReviewsConfessions by Catherine Airey
In Catherine Airey's debut, an epic family saga unfolds across generations and countries, capturing the entanglements of the Irish-American experience Read more »| 21 Jan 2025