Our Favourite Things
The Best of 2021
EXPLORE ISSUES
What a year for reading! The books of 2021 have been full of thrills, spills, beauty, bold thinking, delights and surprises. So, at BooksfromScotland we wanted to round off the year with a reminder of some of the highlights from our website this year as well as celebrate some excellent titles for Christmas - it is the gift giving season after all!
Who doesn’t love getting books for Christmas? They’re the perfect gift, and easy to wrap too! If you’re still having trouble deciding what to get your friends and family, here are some recommendations from us. . .
A Laddie Cawed Christmas By Matt Haig, translated by Matthew Fitt
Published by Itchy Coo
Now in Scots for the first time, A Laddie Cawed Christmas is Matt Haig’s wonderful tale of ...
Angela Hughes’s first book tells us of priceless gifts. My Heart’s Content is a deeply moving memoir, and here, for BooksfromScotland, she tells us of her story.
My Heart’s Content By Angela Hughes Published by Liminal Ink
It’s here again, that bells a-jingling, chestnuts a-roasting, snow a-falling, consumers a-spending, debts a-rising time of year. And I love it. Always have. Not the full on, shop-til-you-drop approach, but that feeling of optimism, of togetherness. Of peace and goodwill to all. The Dickens’ effect, or in my case the muppets’ interpretation of Dickens.
As a child Christmas was Top-of-the-Pops, new pyjamas, an array of grandparents, selection boxes and party games. Sleep became a bargaining tool, carrots reindeer fodder and tangerines appeared in the toe of my dad’s work socks. And then there were books, filled with worlds in whic...
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
‘She herself would argue that she still sees her work as figurative – even if the human figure is no longer in it.’
The Snow and the Works on the Northern Line
‘I probably file mannerisms and conversational tics away without even being particularly conscious of it.’
The Book . . . According to Jenni Fagan
‘Luckenbooth is a love letter to Edinburgh.’
‘She looked so sorrowful and so strong. She would stand up for herself, so she would. She wouldn’t take any insults from people. I could see from her eyes that she was a fighter.’
‘Ah can jist see it noo … ma designer Arran cardigans wid be aw the rage.’
‘I want you to love me, if I’m being honest. That’s why I start so gently, in the garden, in the present tense.’
Edge of the Grave: A Q & A with Robbie Morrison
‘Glasgow in this era, in the grip of the Great Depression, was a raucous, lawless city, with poverty, corruption, unemployment, extremist politics, sectarianism and the streets terrorised by razor gan …
Jeda Pearl Interviews: T. L. Huchu
‘In fact, I would argue a single, unitary Edinburgh doesn’t exist. What you have are multiple Edinburghs, grosstopically linked (to use a China Mieville formulation), different cities existing within …
Bhavika Govil Interviews: Sean Wai Keung
‘One of my very first memories is of being held in my mum’s arms and having rice in front of me.’
‘But over time, species accrue, bed down. And now, the bings come to act almost as an archive of biodiversity for the local area.’
‘I would like the reader to join me in my growing sense of wonder.’
Eat Bike Cook: Food Stories and Recipes from Female Cyclists
‘There is no cream in a classic carbonara but its addition is merited by any cycling cook looking to add ultra-richness to this delicious comfort food.’
The Fairy Song: Interview with Illustrator Ruchi Mhasane
‘There was a wealth of work to be inspired by, and yet I think the true inspiration was the real Scottish wilderness.’
Hushabye Lullabye: Goodnight Dreams
Watch Sacha Kyle read from Hushabye Lullabye, a TV tie-in board book accompanying the successful CBeebies animated series.
‘Growing up where ah’m fae oor social status wis based upon how well you could fight or kick a baw. No exactly the criteria fur becomin the nixt Prime Minister or CEO ae a fortune five hunner company, …
‘Some bizzum’s been sittin in ma chair.’
The Everliving Memory of John Valentine
‘Just as memories in your head can change over time, the technology begins to change.’
Break in Case of Silence: New Writing Scotland
‘You’re the new and improved You. Sure, you’ve started eating meat again, but don’t tell her that. Just pretend you don’t, and we’ll deal with it after.’
The Puffin Portal: An Interview with Vashti Hardy
‘I like to ground my fantasy worlds with nods to our own world. That way they feel familiar yet other-worldly with their own rules and inventions.’
The Book … According to Graeme Macrae Burnet
‘I recognise a lot of myself in the behaviours he describes.’
‘Astrid shutdarkens her eyes and holds the device to her chest, as if breathing was lifting Orcadia to the surface.’
‘Work up an appetite with a 3km jog around the mega roast chicken. It would just about fit in Central Park.’
‘‘When we merfolk realised we could live forever, we wondered what we should do with our time. We chose to live our lives caring for the creatures of the shore and the sea.’’
ALSO ON BOOKS FROM SCOTLAND
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‘She is still walking but he has stopped. She turns to find that he is waiting for a response to som …
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David Robinson Reviews: Upon a White Horse by Peter Ross
‘Ross is always lucid, almost reverent, about the whole process of archaeological discovery.’
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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.”‘
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Food, Whisky, Life by Ghillie BaŞan
‘Pastries filled with ground nuts, baked fruit or creamy, semolina mixtures, and bathed in honey or …
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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.’
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‘The pleasures of the unexamined life and all that. Dan had read somewhere that the lower classes – …
FEATURED AUTHOR:
David Alston
David Alston is a Historian and Independent Researcher. He is the author of Ross & Cromarty: A Historical Guide (1997) and My Little Town of Cromarty: The History of a Northern Scottish Town (2006). He was a Highland Councillor and from 1991–2003 w …
FEATURED PUBLISHER:
NMS Enterprises Limited – Publishing
NMS Enterprises Limited – Publishing is the publishing division of National Museums Scotland. We produce lavishly illustrated catalogues for Museum exhibitions such as Catherine the Great: An Enlightened Empress and, in 2008, Silver: Made in Scotland, …