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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FestivalsWords Per Minute, Tested
Words per Minute is the Glasgow-based event which focuses on spoken word, but also can include music, film and other types of performance. The trick is that ... Read more »| 25 Jul 2012 -
FestivalsUnbound 2012: The Events
Become Unbound every night from 12-27 August in The Guardian Spiegeltent in Charlotte Square Gardens, as part of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. A... Read more »| 24 Jul 2012 -
FestivalsKohl Publishing: At the Kohl-Face
New event, new publisher, new book... what's going on? Read more »| 09 Jul 2012 -
FestivalsEdinburgh International Book Festival 2012 – An Introduction
Last year at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, James Robertson aired his Megrahi conspiracy, former CIA officer Michael Scheuer was heckled by a pro... Read more »| 03 Jul 2012 -
Book Reviews
San Carlos by Neil Forsyth
Neil Forsyth’s sixth novel is set in 1989 – in the days of Wimpy, Teletext, Diana and Fergie. Initially San Carlos’ plot doesn’t quit... Read more »| 01 Jul 2012 -
Book Reviews
Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner
Is Adam Gordon a brilliant young poet, embracing the richness of a foreign culture and meditating on the profound experience of art? Or, is he a self-obsesse... Read more »| 01 Jul 2012
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Book Reviews
The Deadman's Pedal by Alan Warner
In The Deadman's Pedal Alan Warner returns to the Port, a fictionalised version of Oban and the setting of his acclaimed debut Morvern Callar. This new novel... Read more »| 01 Jul 2012 -
Book Reviews
Slinky Espadrilles by Ash Dickinson
Don’t be put off by the strange name – this is an extremely accessible, enjoyable collection of poetry. It’s the debut collection in print ... Read more »| 01 Jul 2012 -
Book Reviews
The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus
The Flame Alphabet’s dust jacket describes Marcus as the ‘most maniacally gifted writer of our generation’ (Hark! Hyperbole!) and is laden ... Read more »| 01 Jul 2012 -
Book Reviews
The Dream of the Celt by Mario Vargas Llosa
The Dream of the Celt is a re-imagining of the life of Irish nationalist Roger Casement. As a young man Roger believed in the ideals of the British Empire ... Read more »| 27 Jun 2012 -
Book Reviews
CLiNT #2.1 by Mark Millar, et al.
An early relaunch for the Mark Millar-produced comic anthology magazine CLiNT, tightening up here and there. Millar handles half of the writing in this issue... Read more »| 30 May 2012 -
Book Reviews
The Antidote by Oliver Burkeman
“Closure is bullshit,” said crime writer James Ellroy. This book would agree, although it puts it more politely. The Antidote looks at how variou... Read more »| 30 May 2012 -
Book Reviews
Harry Lipkin, P.I. by Barry Fantoni
Barry Fantoni is a veteran contributor to Private Eye (the magazine), and this book is about a Private Eye (the actual job). Harry Lipkin P.I is a detective ... Read more »| 29 May 2012 -
Book Reviews
Ninety Days by Bill Clegg
The drug addiction memoir has become quite a common form, but this is one of the better written ones. Bill Clegg is a literary agent, so knows somethin... Read more »| 24 May 2012 -
Book Reviews
I'm Never Coming Back by Julian Hanshaw
The genesis of Julian Hanshaw's latest graphic novel I'm Never Coming Back began with Sand Dunes and Sonic Booms, the 2008 winner of The Observer/C... Read more »| 07 May 2012