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 Well by Catherine Chanter
The Well opens with a woman under house arrest. Ruth, our protagonist and narrator, is restricted to her farm in Wales. Named The Well, it is beautiful, lone... Read more »| 03 Mar 2015 -
Book ReviewsSigns Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera
This is a gorgeous, crisp little thing. And although Signs... is no epic – accounting for chapter breaks it clocks in at under 100 short pages&nbs... Read more »| 02 Mar 2015 -
Book ReviewsThe Adventure of the Busts of Eva Perón by Carlos Gamerro
Ernesto Marroné is a corporate warrior, a sales samurai who takes How to Win Friends and Influence People as his Bushido code. Even as his countrymen ... Read more »| 02 Mar 2015 -
Book Reviews
Ghettoside by Jill Leovy
Ghettoside, that wonderful neologism, forms the title of this dark and murderous LA noir. The only problem being that it’s 100% real. LA Times reporte... Read more »| 27 Feb 2015 -
News
Book News: Summerhall to host Writers Return event, Novella Award entries open
The line-up has been confirmed for this month’s Writers Return event at Summerhall in Edinburgh, with Alan Bissett and Anne Donovan among those set to ... Read more »| 19 Feb 2015 -
Music
Neu! Reekie! announce #UntitledLive line-up
Spoken word, music and poetry night Neu! Reekie! has announced details of one of its biggest shows to date, featuring Fini Tribe, Andrew Weatherall, and SAY ... Read more »| 13 Feb 2015
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Features
A Wordy, Weighty Challenge: How possible is 100 books in a year?
As we begin to regret those New Year resolutions of gyms and sobriety, spare a thought for Oliver Gaywood, who had aspirations of reading 100 books during 2014 as he travelled the world. Here he tells his tale and lays down the challenge to you. Read more »| 13 Feb 2015 -
Features
Station Approach: Jenn Ashworth and Richard Hirst on an interactive e-book inspired by Preston's Brutalist bus depot
As Jenn Ashworth releases her latest book, an interactive text co-written with collaborator Richard Hirst, The Skinny chats to the two authors about the notorious bus station behind its inspiration and why every story is unreliable Read more »| 10 Feb 2015 -
Book Reviews
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
There’s nothing vainglorious in this, the Pulitzer Prize winner’s latest. It's a very American thing: there’s Abby and Red Whitshank, ... Read more »| 03 Feb 2015 -
Book Reviews
The Longest Fight by Emily Bullock
Set against the backdrop of gritty post-war London, The Longest Fight tells the story of former boxer Jack Munday. As a teenager, Jack had no optio... Read more »| 02 Feb 2015 -
Book Reviews
My Dear Bessie by Chris Barker and Bessie Moore, edited by Simon Garfield
We’ve had a glimpse of this captivating love story before. A scant selection of the wartime letters between Chris Barker and Bessie Moore were interlea... Read more »| 02 Feb 2015 -
Books
Northwest Book Highlights – February 2015
The month of love ushers in some of the finest poetry around, the undisputed face of spoken word and a romantic literary walk, as musical and poetic rhythms join together Read more »| 02 Feb 2015 -
Book Reviews
The First Bad Man by Miranda July
Cheryl Glickman, lead lady in indie filmmaker Miranda July's debut novel, bumbles through life as a chaotic bundle of neurotic ticks and bad habits. A lot of... Read more »| 30 Jan 2015 -
Features
Criminal Enterprise: Helen Fitzgerald on her new novel The Exit
Helen Fitzgerald is no stranger to breaking taboos in her novels. She follows the infanticide of The Cry with equally sinister happenings in The Exit. She explains how these dark and provocative tales develop Read more »| 30 Jan 2015 -
Features
Poetry in Image: Jenni Fagan on taking The Panopticon to the screen
The Skinny speaks to Jenni Fagan in the pause between the 2013 publication of her outstanding and controversial debut novel and the release of its film adaptation - hopefully with controversy still to come. Read more »| 13 Jan 2015