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 ReviewsThe Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian
Chris Adrian's second novel, The Children's Hospital, has been published for the first time in the UK some years after its debut in the states. This is presu... Read more »| 25 Sep 2012 -
Book Reviews
The Heart Broke In by James Meek
Ritchie Shepherd is a middle-aged television producer, threatened by catastrophic gossip: an ill-thought out affair threatens to destroy everything he cla... Read more »| 25 Sep 2012 -
Book ReviewsAll The Little Animals by Walker Hamilton
All The Little Animals was first published in 1968, and is something of a forgotten classic. Alan Warner’s introduction to this reissue gives a summary... Read more »| 10 Sep 2012 -
Book Reviews
The Dark Knight Rises by Greg Cox
Novelisations of blockbuster movies are always going to suffer in comparison to the finished product. The Dark Knight Rises suffers especially, because it ca... Read more »| 10 Sep 2012 -
Book ReviewsKick Ass 2 by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.
It’s highly anticipated, but Kick-Ass 2 is something of a downer. After the events of the first volume, Kick-Ass, now basically just Dave Lizewski, is ... Read more »| 10 Sep 2012 -
Book Reviews
The Fall of the Stone City by Ismail Kadare
There’s an old Albanian folk tale at the heart of The Fall of The Stone City where a dead man responds to a dinner invitation. The book’s plot re... Read more »| 10 Sep 2012
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Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Irvine Welsh
When Doug Johnstone opened Irvine Welsh's talk he acknowledged the difficulty of introducing an author that needs no introduction. And he doesn't - whil... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Paxman is like the teacher you didn’t want to mess with at school. His audience sat up straight and paid attention as he delivered a lesson on t... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Carol Ann Duffy
Amid soggy cagoules and banjaxed brollies, Carol Ann Duffy warmed up a driech morning in Auld Reekie. The event began with music from John Sampson, who perfo... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: James Kelman with Liz Lochhead
At times, James Kelman and Liz Lochead’s contribution at the Book Festival wasn’t so much a performance as a fireside chat. Kelman read a mesmeri... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: A National Literature?
Outside, the rain was hammering onto the big tent; inside, things were getting pretty stormy too. The theme was national literature, and Irvine Welsh kicked ... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Stuart McHardy and Gary West
When two authors are billed together there is, generally speaking, an obvious common factor in their work. Stuart McHardy's The Pagan Symbols of the Picts an... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
FestivalsEdinburgh International Book Festival: Claire Tomalin
Claire Tomalin’s work has kept the lives of many of the greatest writers in the public eye of the contemporary world. Her bestseller status is unusual ... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
Festivals
Edinburgh International Book Festival: John Burnside
John Burnside's appearance at The Edinburgh International Book Festival was instantly noteworthy for the fact that he was not here to discuss new or pas... Read more »| 30 Aug 2012 -
Book Reviews
The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne
Solicitor Daniel Hunter is defending Sebastian Croll, an eleven-year old accused of murdering his eight-year old neighbour – a case with deliberate ech... Read more »| 24 Aug 2012