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 Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
The Master and Margarita, once banned by the Soviets, is now regarded as a classic of Russian Literature. Its plot, concerning what happens when Sata... Read more »| 04 Jan 2010 -
FeaturesThe State of Books to Come
What's happening in the literary scene in 2010? Let's have a look... Read more »| 29 Dec 2009 -
Book ReviewsFootnotes In Gaza by Joe Sacco
Joe Sacco’s graphic journalism manages to convey very, very complex situations with surprising ease. It isn’t simply the form, but the sh... Read more »| 16 Dec 2009 -
Features
A Bookish Christmas Gift Guide
Stuck for something to buy a friend for Christmas? Info-packed, entertaining, and easy to get hold of, you can hardly go wrong with a book. Here are some possible choices, all fresh and on the shelves of your local vendor now! Read more »| 02 Dec 2009 -
Book Reviews
David Eagleman in Conversation
The minutiae of life can be boxed down to a list of statistics; 30 years tucked up in bed, 200 days in the shower, five months reading dog-eared magazines on... Read more »| 15 Nov 2009 -
Book Reviews
Heads on Pillows by Joan Campbell
Given their significant role in Scotland’s hospitality sector – they were ‘traditional’ well before anyone realised just how ... Read more »| 08 Nov 2009
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Book ReviewsThe Country Diaries, edited by Alan Taylor
Alan Taylor’s earlier anthology (with Irene Taylor) The Assassin’s Cloak was a wide ranging anthology of great diary writing, with the en... Read more »| 02 Nov 2009 -
Book Reviews
Rock and Roll Tourist by Graham Forbes
The entertainment pedigree of booking a train ticket online can hardly compete with a stadium gig by U2. It's lucky, then, that the great strength of this se... Read more »| 30 Oct 2009 -
Features
Please Praise Gray's Plays...
The Skinny is helping to launch an Alasdair Gray Book - want to come? Read more »| 28 Oct 2009 -
Book Reviews
Warrior Daughter by Janet Paisley
If you had to categorise Warrior Daughter, it would definitely fall into the historical/fantasy/porno genre. Paisley’s latest novel is set in a... Read more »| 26 Oct 2009 -
Features
Cargo Publishing: A Young Upstart
Mark Buckland set up Cargo Publishing this August with the goal of "putting a firework up the arse of Scottish literature". No small feat for a 22 year old. How did he do it? Read on. Read more »| 26 Oct 2009 -
Book Reviews
Magazine: The Biography by Helen Chase
“Magazine were always a connoisseur's choice”, claims guitarist John McGeoch in this vigorous account of their short bittersweet career. As the l... Read more »| 20 Oct 2009 -
Book Reviews
Grandville by Bryan Talbot
Bryan Talbot’s last graphic novel (if it should be called that) was the phenomenal Alice in Sunderland, a multi-layered exploration of the history of S... Read more »| 12 Oct 2009 -
Book Reviews
Simon's Cat by Simon Tofield
Simon’s Cat started off life as an internet animation that developed a cult following. The short films featuring a hungry cat on Youtube gained enough ... Read more »| 29 Sep 2009 -
Features
Gutter Press
The newly launched Gutter magazine already looks like being a promising step for Scottish writing as a whole. Here's why. Read more »| 28 Sep 2009