THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

The world would be a better place if we all took a little more time to make each other laugh. This pithy little collection of jokes is the perfect way to get that started, or to carry on the good work. Collected from the readers of The Herald newspaper, there’s something here to amuse everyone and to tickle the funny bone of even the most sombre among us. There are jokes, observations and an abundance of silliness in these pages, so let’s get laughing and be just a bit nicer to each other.Here’s a taste of just how silly people can be:BREAKING NEWS. Reader Dorothy Fowler informs us Donald Trump’s library burned down. Both books were destroyed, and tragically, he hadn’t finished colouring the second one.Curious about all things culinary, reader Paula Clark is eager to learn how to make ice-cream. “I’ve decided to go to sundae school,” she says.”What prize do you give someone who hasn’t moved in a year?” asks Sue McGivern. “A trophy.”Globetrotting gadabout Pete McNeill recalls a memorable visit to the UK capital. “I shared a London taxi with a group of spotty youths,” he says. “Must have been an acne carriage.””I’m invited to a hair-washing party,” says reader Sarah Winston. “Now I can’t think of a reason not to go.””If a Tyrannosaurus Rex got a job manning a market stall,” muses reader Tim Croft, “would that make it a small arms dealer?”And well-travelled reader Sue Neely says Hawaiian people don’t laugh loudly. “It’s just a low ha,” she explains.So whether you prefer to laugh out loud or you’re from Hawaii, there’s something for everyone in Laughter Lines.

Waters of life. Distilled spirits of all kinds have borne that name, in various tongues, since time immemorial. Aqua vita. Eau de vie. Uisge Beatha.Tom Morton has travelled the world in search of the finest drams the planet has to offer. His journeys reveal the links between faith and alcohol, between spirits and the spiritual. From Christianity’s Holy Communion to the temple libations of Japan, through the rum concoctions of Haitian Voodoo to the monastic producers of every liquid from beer to “tonic” wine. And of course Tom’s beloved whisky, brewed in many corners of the world.Holy Waters is Tom’s journey to the spiritual heart of whisky, sake, rum, Champagne, beer, mead and a variety of wines. With great insight, humour and for the most part sobriety, he traces the links between brewing, winemaking, distilling and worship, from ancient pagan rites to the most modern Trappist technology. He revels in the lore and mysteries of craft production, the elemental, magical love stories, the passionate relationships between human and landscape, grain and pure water, grape and fire. And he does so on a motorcycle which, to his astonishment, runs very well on cask-strength Islay single malt. This book is a celebration of cultures and artisan craft, a book for food and drink, travel and history lovers.

‘Immensely exciting and atmospheric’ ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH’Move over Rebus’ Daily Mail’Exciting, pacy, authentic’ ANGELA MARSONS____________Everyone’s favourite Scottish detective is back with a brand new case – one that takes him out of Glasgow and into the wilds of the Scottish highlands.Glencoe, in the heart of the Scottish Highlands – a place of dramatic mountains, rare beauty a haunting history, and brooding atmosphere. Every year climbers come from all over the world to experience the mountains, and every year some fall to their death.Lorimer, still Head of MIT, takes Zimbabwean former policeman and refugee Daniel Kohi hill climbing there, to Buchail Etive Mhor where they find the body of a climber. Another climbing accident ? But then other bodies are discovered, first in the nearby old Ballachullish Slate Quarry, and then in a remote mountain bothy – and a murder investigation is underway.____________WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT ALEX GRAY”I have read every book in the Lorimer series and each one has been a pleasure” *****”Alex Gray is a master storyteller” *****”She never disappoints” *****”I cannot wait for the next book” *****”Her writing always keeps me engrossed” *****

London, 1943.Across the city prominent figures in science and the military are bursting into flame and being incinerated. Convinced that the Germans have deployed a new terror weapon, a desperate government turns to the one man who can track down the source of this dreadful menace – Sherlock Holmes.The quest for a solution drives Holmes into an uneasy alliance with the country’s most brilliant scientific genius, Professor James Moriarty. Only Holmes knows that, behind his facade of respectability, Moriarty is the mastermind behind a vast criminal empire. As they pursue the trail of incendiary murders, Holmes is quite sure that the professor is playing a double game and that there lies ahead a duel to the death which they cannot both survive.A tribute to the classic Universal Pictures Sherlock Holmes film series starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.

David Keenan’s cult classic novel, available in audiobook for the first time – read by the author.A Telegraph and Rough Trade Book of the Year, and shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize.

* PRE-ORDER THE GRIPPING NEW NOVEL IN QUINTIN JARDINE’S BOB SKINNER SERIES.*

* PRE-ORDER THE GRIPPING NEW NOVEL IN QUINTIN JARDINE’S BOB SKINNER SERIES.*

Carrie Kills A Man* is about growing up in a world that doesn’t want you, and about how it feels to throw a hand grenade into a perfect life. It’s the story of how a tattooed transgender rock singer killed a depressed suburban dad, and of the lessons you learn when you renounce all your privilege and power.When more people think they’ve seen a ghost than met a trans person, it’s easy for bad actors to exploit that – and they do, as you can see from the headlines and online. But here’s the reality, from someone who’s living it. From coming out and navigating trans parenthood to the thrills of gender-bending pop stars, fashion disasters and looking like Velma Dinkley, this is a tale of ripping it up and starting again: Carrie’s story in all its fearless, frank and funny glory.*”Spoiler: That man was me.” – Carrie

‘Fair fa yer honest sonsie faceGreat chieftain o the pudding race’Marking the 20th anniversary of Itchy Coo, this beautifully illustrated collection of Scotland’s best loved poetry is back in the form of the extremely popular lift-the-flap book, to inspire even the youngest budding poet in a simple, entertaining and colourful way.Kids will delight in the hidden surprises within the pages, lifting the flaps to reveal where the moose is hiding and what the haggis has on its head, while singing along with parents and teachers to favourite Scottish tunes such as ‘Red Red Rose’ with Rabbie travelling alongside them through the story, ending up in a marvellous Burns Supper rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

*Preorder the brand new book in the globally bestselling series*Unwrap this gorgeous gift of a book for an escape to the snow-peaked caps of the Scottish Highlands and a romance that will melt your heart…Izzy McBride had never in a million years expected to inherit an actual castle from her great uncle Bill but here she was, in the run up to Christmas, Monarch of her own Glen – a very rundown glen in need of a lot of TLC if her dream of turning it into a boutique bed and breakfast was to come true.But when Izzy’s eccentric mother rents a room to enigmatic thriller author Ross Adair and the Scottish snow starts to settle like the frosting on a Christmas cake, it’s a race to get the castle ready before they’re all snowed in for the holidays.Praise for Julie Caplin:’One unputdownable story’ Katie Fforde’An irresistible slice of escapism’ Phillipa Ashley’Five big fat stars’ Sue Moorcroft

Dusty Bluebells Scots Edition is an Ulster Scots, gothic adaptation of Dusty Bluebells, a family mystery set in an Irish seaside town. Maisie pictured Sally’s thick, long hair meandering down her back as she tippa-rippa-rappered on the shoulder of the girl in front. She recalled singing and dancing and playing at the corner for hours on end between factory bells, school bells and dusty bluebells. But all is far from idyllic in the tight-knit community surrounding the factory and secrets that should be held for generations will break free to bind their keepers. The language of this book evokes a time not so far distant and the journey Maisie has to make reflects one so many families had to embark on. A magical masterpiece of cultural history and family drama.

Why does Scotch whisky taste as it does? Where do the flavours come from? How might they have changed over the years? The flavour of Scotch whisky is as much influenced by history, craft and tradition as it is by science. Whiskypedia explores these influences. Introductory sections provide an historical overview, and an explanation of the contribution made by each stage of the production process.Each entry provides a brief account of the distillery’s history and curiosities, lists the bottlings which are currently available, details how the whisky is made, and explores the flavour and character of each make.Fully revised and updated edition with new entries on the latest distilleries at Ardross, Bonnington, Burnobennie, The Cair, Falkirk, Holyrood Park and Lagg.

Majestic River: Mungo Park and the Exploration of the Niger is about geography, exploration, and a 2000-year-old geographical mystery. By the eighteenth century, the river Niger was to Europeans a source of wonder, potential wealth, and a two-part problem. The first would be solved by Mungo Park in 1796. Park’s death in 1806 in failing to solve the second prompted other expeditions which sought to determine the cause of his death and to trace the Niger’s course.This book offers the first full length biography of Mungo Park for over forty years. It traces the expeditions who followed him. It documents for the first time Park’s afterlife – how and why he was commemorated long after his death. The book shows how the Niger was slowly ‘revealed,’ in texts, maps and through indigenous knowledge. The Niger problem was finally solved by exploration in 1830. But years before, it had already been solved by ‘armchair geographers’ who never set foot in Africa and who, unlike Park, did not die trying.Park remains today one of Britains best known explorers and his classic Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa both became a bestseller and has remained in print for over 200 years. The mystery of Park’s death and the ongoing fascination with the Niger problem prompted expedition after expedition well into the 19th century. This is not simply one of the great stories of world exploration but a rich and varied account of Africa and its cultures at the time.’Punchy, eloquent, and infused with forensic research …This book is in all senses a geographical epic’ – Nicholas Crane, writer and presenter, BBC Two’s Coast and author of The Making of the British Landscape

In This Day and Age is a major new project by artist-photographer partnership John Kippin and Nicola Neate. For the last three years Kippin and Neate have been living in North Uist, one of a remote group of six islands that form part of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Living in North Uist has allowed Kippin and Neate to closely research and document – through photography – what it means to be part of island life, how this is changing, and the ecological impact of increasing tourism, migration and militarism, alongside reflecting upon the nature of traditional island stories and their representation.

Although there had been experiments with the use of a new form of transport – the trackless tram’ (better known as the trolleybus) – during the first decade of the 20th century, it was in June 1911 that Bradford and Leeds became the country’s pioneering operators of trolleybuses. Some of the earliest operators were in Lancashire, northern England and Scotland; indeed Scotland can lay claim to having both the first system in Britain to close – Dundee in 1914 – and the last to open – Glasgow in 1949. This volume – one of four that examines the history of all trolleybus operators in the British Isles – focuses on Lancashire, Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

A charming gift book of pleas, put downs, misplaced career guidance and character assessments collected from the school reports and memoirs of celebrities and ordinary people from across the UK and Ireland.Featuring household names such as Benedict Cumberbatch, David Bowie, Sandi Toksvig, Sir Billy Connolly, and even members of the Royal family, this collection will have readers laughing and digging out their own school reports.

Should auld acquaintance be forgotAnd never brought to mind?Millie Partridge desperately needs a party. So, when her (handsome and charming) ex-colleague Nick invites her to a Hebridean Island for New Year’s Eve, she books her ticket North.But things go wrong the moment the ferry drops her off. The stately home is more down at heel than Downton Abbey. Nick hasn’t arrived yet. And the other revellers? Politely, they aren’t exactly who she would have pictured Nick would be friends with.Worse still, an old acquaintance from Millie’s past has been invited, too. Penny Maybury. Millie and Nick’s old colleague. Somebody Millie would rather have forgotten about. Somebody, in fact, that Millie has been trying very hard to forget.Waking up on New Year’s Eve, Penny is missing. A tragic accident? Or something more sinister? With a storm washing in from the Atlantic, nobody will be able reach the group before they find out.One thing is for sure – they’re going to see in the new year with a bang.Tense, moody and claustrophobic, Auld Acquaintance is the unputdownable debut by Sofia Slater.

Richard Holloway is one of our most beloved public thinkers. Throughout his life he has turned to poets and writers to help answer the big questions, and for solace and guidance in the face of life’s challenges. Now he shares those poems and words which have been his own guide, offered in the hope they will help us too.This is a book to turn to for inspiration, guidance and comfort. It offers lessons from those who, in Richard’s words, ‘know best how to listen and teach us to listen’, all united by ‘the sensual appeal of words, the pain and pleasure they impart’. It is a book to treasure.

Emerging from their smoke-filled rooms at 21B Baker Street, Holmes and Watson grapple with the forces of crime that stalk the streets of London. From the first story, ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’ where Holmes is foiled by the quick-thinking of ‘the woman’, Irene Adler, to what was presumed to be the last, ‘The Final Problem’ where Holmes at last comes face to face with the diabolical Professor Moriarty, this selection is presents the very best of Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective.

The Edinburgh Companion to the Essay distinguishes itself by the wide range and scope of its themes, voices and approaches. Thirty-five leading essayists, literary critics and writing instructors explore the essay from multiple perspectives, including its theories, forms and histories as well as its cultural, political and pedagogical contexts. In particular, the volume extends the theory of the essay by addressing topics such as the construction of an essayistic self and the political dimensions of essaying. It further explores the relationship between the essay and other forms, such as philosophical writing, the column, science writing, the novel, the lyric and the advert as well as the essay in digital spaces. The book includes interviews with eight renowned contemporary writers (Robert Atwan, Brian Dillon, Kaitlyn Greenidge, Leslie Jamison, Jamaica Kincaid, Claudia Rankine, David Shields and Rebecca Solnit) who offer insights into their own essays as well as their views on the contemporary essay.