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, England and beyond.
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Book ReviewsIf Cats Disappeared From the World by Genki Kawamura
When a young man learns of a limited prognosis, he doesn’t get very far into his bucket list before the devil appears to offer a trade: get rid of one thing from the world per day for an extra day of life Read more »| 02 Oct 2018 -
NewsRoald Dahl’s Matilda turns 30
And to mark the occasion, the great Quentin Blake has drawn new illustrations imagining Matilda as an adult Read more »| 01 Oct 2018 -
FeaturesHanif Abdurraqib on They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us
They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us uses music and culture as a lens through which to view the world. As the book publishes in the UK, we talk to Hanif Abdurraqib about his incredible collection of essays Read more »| 01 Oct 2018 -
FeaturesWant more poetry in your life? Introducing Speculative Books
Speculative Books are the new kids on the indie publishing block and they have a poetry subscription service just for you Read more »| 01 Oct 2018 -
Book ReviewsXX by Angela Chadwick
This is Chadwick’s true strength: the ability to distil the human experience and reproduce it in print. Topical, probing and quietly intense – XX is a phenomenal debut. Read more »| 28 Sep 2018 -
Book ReviewsMelmoth by Sarah Perry
Melmoth is a delicious, melancholic and complex kind of darkness which pervades throughout and makes for a gripping read Read more »| 25 Sep 2018
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FeaturesJohn Niven on his new book Kill 'Em All
A decade on, John Niven has returned to character Steven Stelfox and ahead of his UK book tour, we caught up with him to chat about how his protagonist copes in the world of Trump and Brexit Read more »| 20 Sep 2018 -
Book ReviewsThe Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry
Chris Brookmyre and Dr. Marisa Haetzman join forces on their debut novel under their Ambrose Parry moniker Read more »| 07 Sep 2018 -
EventsFive events to catch at Bloody Scotland 2018
Scotland's premier crime festival returns to Stirling across 21-23 September. If you're not sure where to start, we've picked a few programme highlights Read more »| 06 Sep 2018 -
Book ReviewsBrothers in Blood by Amer Anwar
Amer Anwar's debut novel is an intelligent and deft thriller set in West London's Sikh community Read more »| 06 Sep 2018 -
NewsScottish Poetry News – September 2018
September's spoken word calendar sees Wigtown and Islay host their festivals, and a bumper crop of new poetry collections to enjoy at home Read more »| 05 Sep 2018 -
Book ReviewsRunning Upon The Wires by Kate Tempest
Kate Tempest's new poetry collection plots the universal map of heartbreak, and the eventual optimism of new love Read more »| 05 Sep 2018 -
Book ReviewsNormal People by Sally Rooney
Sally Rooney's second novel is a devastating love story that elevates the mundane to the magnificent Read more »| 03 Sep 2018 -
FeaturesTomi Adeyemi on Children of Blood and Bone
Tomi Adeyemi has created a new world through her young adult fantasy novel, Children of Blood and Bone. Six months on from its publication, she pauses to take stock and talk more about her story Read more »| 03 Sep 2018 -
MusicNeil Hilborn @ Summerhall, Edinburgh, 23 Aug
Neil Hilborn delivers a lacklustre performance of poems without all of the passion and peculiar ticks that first endeared him to the audience Read more »| 03 Sep 2018