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 Promised Party by Jennifer Clement
Jennifer Clement follows up Widow Basquiat with another perfect time capsule Read more »| 16 Jan 2024 -
Book ReviewsThe History of My Sexuality by Tobi Lakmaker
This sharp and beguiling debut novel by Dutch author Tobi Lakmaker explores ideas of gender and sexuality with a frank and clear-eyed gaze Read more »| 15 Jan 2024 -
Book ReviewsYou Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue
Álvaro Enrigue's latest novel is a hallucinatory reimagining of fateful violent events in colonial Mexico Read more »| 11 Jan 2024 -
EventsScottish Books Events: January 2024
This January, you'll find books launches from Ali Millar, Max Turner and Hisham Matar, plus a chance to dive into the Glasgow Women's Library archive Read more »| 08 Jan 2024 -
FeaturesBrothers-in-Arms: Hisham Matar on My Friends
We chat with Booker-shortlisted, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hisham Matar on his newest novel My Friends Read more »| 08 Jan 2024 -
FeaturesOur favourite Scottish bookshops (and their favourite books)
We chat with some of our favourite bookshops about their books of the year, and give an overview of Scotland's independent bookshop scene where you can buy them Read more »| 14 Dec 2023
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MusicCold Turkey's Festive Frolic @ Summerhall, Edinburgh, 8 Dec
Cold Turkey's Festive Frolic is a celebration of friendship, channelling love and loss into art with more than a dose of good fun and festive cheer Read more »| 11 Dec 2023 -
Book ReviewsPorn: An Oral History by Polly Barton
Polly Barton's Porn: An Oral History assembles a series of intimate interviews to trace the history and sociology of pornography Read more »| 29 Nov 2023 -
Book ReviewsGrimmish by Michael Winkler
A metatextual, experimental novel about the life and legend of Italian-American boxer Joe Grim, Michael Winkler's Grimmish is a paean to pain in all its forms Read more »| 29 Nov 2023 -
EventsScottish Books Events: December 2023
A bit of a quiet one on the books front this month, but there's plenty of cosy launches and readings to help add to your holiday reading list Read more »| 28 Nov 2023 -
FeaturesThe (Un)Holy Land: Adania Shibli's Minor Detail
In its recent deplatforming at Frankfurt Book Festival, Adania Shibli's Minor Detail has come to represent many of the contradictions of Western attitudes to the Middle East. We revisit the book in the wake of the bombardment of Gaza Read more »| 27 Nov 2023 -
Book ReviewsWifedom by Anna Funder
Anna Funder's Wifedom explores the woman behind George Orwell's life and works, his wife Eileen O’Shaughnessy, offering a lucid interrogation of misogyny and what it means to write ‘truth’ Read more »| 24 Nov 2023 -
Book ReviewsMrs S by K Patrick
K Patrick's runaway hit Mrs S explores gender and queerness during a simmering summer at an all-girls boarding school Read more »| 24 Nov 2023 -
Book ReviewsCurious Affinities by Sophie Chauhan
Sophie Chauhan's Curious Affinities is a lyrical exploration of the personal and political residues of intimacy, and what happens when the borders of things meet Read more »| 20 Nov 2023 -
FeaturesWord Soup: Sean Wai-Keung on Dumpling Poetry
We chat with food-poet Sean Wai-Keung about his Push The Boat Out event Dumpling Poetry, and the community spirit inherent to both cooking and performance Read more »| 17 Nov 2023