A Cup O' Kindness - Books from Scotland

2022 is the Year of Stories, a year dedicated to Scotland's stories through the themes of Iconic Stories and Storytellers, New Stories, Scotland's People and Places, Local Tales and Legends and Inspired by Nature. And now we come to a time of celebration, of gathering together and enjoying the shared pleasure of gift giving. In this bumper festive issue we have many, many, many reading and gifting recommendations, and we hope you'll find a lot to inspire your own festivities as we end this year of Scotland's stories. We raise a glass to you all and wish you happy reading!

The Golden Treasury of Scottish Verse

Creative Response by Titilayo Farukuoye

As part of the Year of Scotland’s Stories, we are running a series of Responses on BooksfromScotland, commissioning writers to respond to books from the publishing membership, engaging with work in different ways. For November, and to close the series, Edwin Morgan Poetry Award-winner Titilayo Farukuoye considers The Golden Treasury of Scottish Verse, on the past, present and future of Scottish poetry.  

The Golden Treasury of Scottish Verse By Edited by Kathleen Jamie, Don Paterson & Peter Mackay Published by Canongate Books

Confession: l have only been claiming the title poet for a season now. I maybe toyed with it, and definitely aspired to it before, but there is something about claiming an official label to one’s name that sometimes requires the force of Edwin Morgan, and a nod from an entire selection committee of well admired writers, to claw back layers upon layers of rejection, imposter syndrome, self-doubt and ‘don’t take yourself so seriously-s’, that encourage us to step into our truths.

And frankly, as a Black (dyslexic) poet of a different birth tongue, excelling in the literary world, in a foreign language, was not, shall we say, anticipated of me.

To think, that I would even put the word poet into my mouth just as I am getting ready to mention so many of our national icons featured in the collection – The...

The Hebridean Baker’s Scottish Island Kitchen

As the year draws to a close, it’s time to get cosy and treat yourself to the perfect wintery treat. Read an exclusive recipe below on Books from Scotland by the Hebridean Baker, taken from his new cookbook, for the perfect hot toddy bundt cake.

  The Hebridean Baker: My Sco...

Eastgate: An Interview with JD Kirk

‘It’s like a sweary, psychotic, Scottish Die Hard.’

Auld Aquaintance

‘Nothing goes ahead as planned on this island, does it?’

Nasim Asl Interviews: Sophia Gravia

‘I just don’t have a filter. It’s all genuinely the way I talk in everyday life.’

Carrie Kills a Man: A Q & A With Carrie Marshall

‘Most of all, I hope people will understand that we’re not an issue, an ideology or a fad; we’re just ordinary people who’d really appreciate decent healthcare and snacks. ‘

Pheobe Anne Traquair

‘Traquair was now seeking to represent a wholeness of life.’

Dashboard Elvis is Dead: Extra Features

‘Mr Mayor, leave their neighborhood intact. Remove your cruel objections.’

Supper: A Recipe from Flora Sneddon

‘This recipe is also delicious served with a dry white wine, but then again so is everything … ‘

Gingerbread Men

‘The entrancing woman stood by the mulled wine hut with a small, triumphant smile.’

Stick Mannie

‘Stick Mannie bides in the faimly tree Wi his Stick Wifie Love and their stick bairnies three.’

The Book…According to Ever Dundas

‘I want readers to be swept up in the story, so I hope I’ve achieved that.’

David Robinson Reviews: The Heart of Things

‘I wish there could be more books like this, more personal, well thought-out and beautifully written anthologies, though that may well be another way of saying I wish there could be more people like R …

Holy Waters

‘I once conducted a tongue-very-much-in-cheek ‘guided tasting’ that involved Scotsmac, Buckfast Tonic Wine, Irn Bru and English St George’s Whisky. It’s fair to say that the audience left discombobula …

Local Hero

‘Bill Forsyth may have spent months of his life trying to perfect the Local Hero script, but one of the most memorable scenes was improvised on the day by star Peter Riegert.’

Early Golf: A Q & A with Neil S. Millar

‘It’s true that there is a single contemporary historical document claiming that Mary acted inappropriately by playing golf shortly after the murder of her husband. However, this is a document that wa …

In Public / In Private

‘when we are alone / you underestimate us / but together we take up the pavement / cemented / and you feel threatened / my girls’

nobody remembers the birdman

‘And I will crouch in the heather, heart skittering, a midnight hare. My long ears twitching in the wind, as a flea bites my shank.’

The Wee Kirkcudbright Centipede

‘She was ever so proud of every one of her hundred feet.’

Shadows and Light: The Extraordinary Life of James McBey

‘ McBey – an international Scot par excellence who lived in London, the US and Morocco – largely shunned the Establishment, and lived according to his own rules.’

War of the Wind

‘This book has been the culmination of my life experiences so far, but like my readers, I hope I never stop learning from the experiences of others and developing my capacity for empathy.’

Labyrinth

‘I am a good hunter, one of the best in the tribe.’

The Fabulous Flotilla

‘To say that Burma is a land of rivers is an understatement.’

David Robinson Reviews: Upon a White Horse by Peter Ross

‘Ross is always lucid, almost reverent, about the whole process of archaeological discovery.’
Abdullah’s Bear Needs a Name! by Yasmin Hanif

‘”Why don’t you guess?” said Abba. “You’ll know in your heart when you’ve found the right one.”‘
Food, Whisky, Life by Ghillie BaŞan

‘Pastries filled with ground nuts, baked fruit or creamy, semolina mixtures, and bathed in honey or …
A Chaos of Light: New Writing Scotland

‘The attic lowed like a crystal haal, last I saa her – / dark-eyed and ready tae furgit me.’
The Fathers by John Niven

‘The pleasures of the unexamined life and all that. Dan had read somewhere that the lower classes – …
Mrs Burke & Mrs Hare by Michelle Sloan

‘If you rip these bodies from the place that’s been blessed as their final place of peace, where fam …