Some Scottish authors and their works I have read...

This blog post today takes a look at some of the Scottish books I have ever read.


1: Trumpet (1998) by Jackie Kay.

I have mentioned this novel before, which I have read. This novel by Scottish author Jackie Kay examines the life of black Scottish jazz trumpet player who was secretly transgender. To everyone around him he was just a man and had always been a boy, then a man. Apart from his wife, no one knew, not even his son. This novel reveals the reactions from those who knew him and those who did not know him in the aftermath of his death. It is a beautiful novel which I have reviewed so you can find it on my blog.





2: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I have a vague recollection of reading a shortened version of this book at primary school when I was either in year five or six. I have not yet read it since though. It is of course a mystery tale if that is your thing.


3: Shuggie Bain (2020) by Douglas Stuart.

After wanting to read this Booker-winning debut novel for ages, I finally read the novel last year. It took me a longer than planned but I still read it all. The novel follows the life of Shuggie Bain who grows up in the 1980s, in Scotland as a gay boy whose mother is struggling with alcoholism. His mother Agnes has not had an easy time which various people in his life, have not helped at all. It is honest, heartbreaking at times and makes you think I guess...





4: Various poetry by Carol Ann Duffy.

In the past I have read some poems from Carol Ann Duffy. Part of this was at school but I did not stop there. She became more well known after writing a poem, 'Rings' for the wedding of Prince William and Princess Kate.


5: Treasure Island (1883) and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Last month I read this novel by Robert Louis Stevenson as he was author of the month. Full of piracy, deception and greed Treasure Island  is an adventure novel for anyone who loves frightening tension! Whereas The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) dives more in the scientific and horrific realms. It is a wicked novella that explores double identity. Creepy!





6: Don Paterson!

He is currently author of the month so I have been reading his stuff... I hope you find them useful and/or interesting.

Here are some Scottish authors with stuff of theirs I have read before.


Until next time,


Thomas.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bookshops I have visited - 3: Oxfam Bookshop, Coventry.

Image
Welcome back to my blog everyone. It is that time of the month where I give you the ins and outs to another bookshop that I have recently been to. This time, it is the Oxfam Bookshop in Coventry city centre. When I was on my travels, I found myself in Coventry. Now having lived and studied in the West Midlands, I knew about this bookshop. Funnily enough this was not my first visit here. Just as I remembered, they have a nice range of books and music despite being on the slightly smaller side. I noticed they still had a little collection of Doctor Who stuff! I am a big Doctor Who fan. Anyway, as I went nosing around, there was one book that caught my eye. It was this book: Sculpted: Poetry of the North West  (2013) edited by Lindsey Holland and Angela Topping. There is an introduction by David Morley who I have read before as a poet, teacher and editor. The important thing here though is that I picked up a poetry book and April (in case you were unaware) is National Poetry Month! I ...
Read more

Bookshop visit 11: Lions Charity Bookshop, Hailsham.

Hi! Sorry for the delay in the blog post, the internet keeps playing up for me so I could not post yesterday when I planned to. For my blog post I am off on another bookshop visit. This time I found myself in the East Sussex of Hailsham where down Market Street in Hailsham. It is near North Street and High Street which is good for people visiting by bus or catching a train and then a bus to Hailsham as it has no train station itself. When you enter the bookshop it can come across as quite small. Despite this, I see the bookshop as small and mighty. You never know what you are going to get and that is what I like in a bookshop. Normally, it is fiction that I go for though they have some other stuff as well. I will say that if you want something specific then you cannot guarantee to get, though that often goes with a lot of second-hand bookshops. I must point as well that paperback books are priced at £1.20 which to me is a steal! Can you imagine wanting to get some Margaret Atwood books...
Read more

Fictional book review: Cat's Eye (1988) by Margaret Atwood.

Image
It's me again... Your favourite book reviewer back with another Margaret Atwood book to review. This time I thought I would tuck into Atwood's 1988 novel Cat's Eye . This novel is gripped with spectral memories of the narrator's past, it is a bildungsroman. A bildungsroman is just a novel that goes through a character's life, from being a child, to growing up as a young person to becoming an adult. Great Expectations  (1861) by Charles Dickens is another example. Anyway, the narrator, Elaine is haunted by Cordelia who I will not give too much about her away. This novel threw me, many times. We had Elaine and her various friends. First we were introduced to Carol, then Grace and finally Cordelia. But it is Cordelia, who's presence is felt throughout the novel. The thing is, I cannot understand why. Without giving too much away, Cordelia was hardly being nice to Elaine and I just expected that as Elaine grew up that she would move on; that she would not have Corde...
Read more