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.
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Book ReviewsGreat Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Emily Henry's latest romance novel is her most ambitious yet, featuring interwoven timelines and narratives alongside the usual sizzling chemistry Read more »| 22 Apr 2025 -
Book ReviewsHappiness and Love by Zoe Dubno
The contemporary art scene of New York is skewered in this witty if somewhat surface level novel Read more »| 21 Apr 2025 -
FeaturesNiamh Ní Mhaoileoin on her debut novel Ordinary Saints
We chat with Edinburgh-based Irish author Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin about her debut novel Ordinary Saints, about a family who try to get their son canonised in the church Read more »| 10 Apr 2025 -
Book ReviewsOn the Calculation of Volume (Book I) by Solvej Balle
In Solvej Balle's beautiful mediation on love and loneliness, a woman comes unstuck in time and repeats the same day on loop Read more »| 09 Apr 2025 -
EventsScottish Books Events: April 2025
There's political book launches, poetry readings, and the return of Paisley Book Festival over in book world this month – here are our April highlights Read more »| 02 Apr 2025 -
Book ReviewsHoly Boys by Andrés N. Ordorica
Edinburgh-based poet Andrés N. Ordorica returns with his second poetry collection, an exploration of heritage told through lenses of queerness, liminality and desire Read more »| 31 Mar 2025
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Book ReviewsDysphoria Mundi by Paul B. Preciado
Acclaimed queer theorist Paul B. Preciado draws on the pandemic in his new book to explore intersecting forms of crisis Read more »| 18 Mar 2025 -
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