Read Into It

As the National Year of Reading continues to promote spending time with books, BooksfromScotland heartily concur with the campaign's motto 'If you're into it, read into it'. In this issue, we have books that cover a wide range of interests, from cosy crime, fantasy and escapist romance, to celebrating the natural world, and exploring Scotland's history and society, as well as enjoying sumptious food, and pausing with meditative poetry. So, enjoy these book recommendations - there's something for every kind of reader to get into and lots of great new releases coming our way!

David Robinson Interviews Olga Wojtas

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues

David Robinson speaks to Olga Wojtas about her new novel, Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues, the latest in her comic cosy crime series starring her wonderful time-travelling librarian Shona McMonagle.

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues By Olga Wojtas Published by Saraband

‘Which writers do you find funny?’ I ask Olga Wojtas, almost apologetically because it’s such an  obvious question for a comic novelist, one I’m sure she must have been asked at every book festival she’s ever been to. She has the grace to pause and at least pretend to think.

‘The odd thing,’ she replies, ‘is that they’re virtually all from a very long time ago. James Thurber, Saki, Jerome K. Jerome, EF Benson. The most modern one is  probably Terry Pratchett. It’s really strange, because obviously there are more recent humorists, but sometimes they can have quite a cruel edge to them. And what I’m trying to do is to write something that’s completely escapist, where there is no jeopardy, and you know everything is going to be alright even though it’s all undermined by absurdity.’

But while that would indeed be an accurate summary of the first five books in her Miss Blaine’s Prefect series of novels featuring her time-travelling Morningside librarian protagonist Shona McMonagle – all are absurd, escapist, and very definitely funny – there’s something extra about her sixth. In Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues...

Something Like Happiness by Tom Newlands

Tom Newland’s latest novel is an involving, heartfelt tale of Frazer and Caitlin and their struggles through parenthood, grief and new beginnings. Below is an extract which sees Frazer visit a potential new house for his young family.

Something Like Happiness By Tom Newlands Published by Pheonix

Being a parent had altered Frazer in all sorts of ways. Every Saturday morning, growing up, Jamie would sit with his dad and the two of them would pick a spot in the Apex for their game. Frazer would start the same way each time, taking his son’s small hand and letting the boy feel the warmth of his palm. It was always important to let Jamie know what was going to happen, so Frazer would say, ‘Now, what we’re going to do next is sit together and play Two Taps!’

Caitlin would be at ...

My Name is Zayn by Fidan Meikle

‘That was my plan. Stay out of trouble and get my refugee status. Then I’d travel to every city in the UK if I had to and knock on every hotel and foster-home door until I found Samim.’

Shorelines: A Q & A with Alycia Pirmohamed

‘I think at its heart, Shorelines is about re-arrival, about what it means to return and, consequently, what it means to change over time.’

A Year in the Water by Beth McDonough

‘Only a moment ago, dolphins flicked / from this firth’s surface, grace-danced air.’

The Book … According to Lin Anderson

‘I always wanted to give him his own series and now I have.’

Newes of Witches by Mairi Kidd

‘Bad witches speak to our fears – the darkness inside ourselves included – and their good sisters to the powers of intuition, inherited wisdom and connection to nature’s cycles.’

Josephine Jay Reviews: The Shape of Monsters by C. L. Hellison

‘Hellisen’s world is one that ponders the driving forces of fate against personal agency – asking what it means to be human and fallible against the titanic forces of magic and monsters.’

With My Own Hand: A Q & A with Ashley Douglas

‘Marie lived more than 400 years ago, at the time of Mary, Queen of Scots and John Knox, and yet a twist of fate meant that she got to lead a unique life as a meaningfully independent woman.’

Author Profile: Catherine Simpson

‘I’ve always been a writer – making up stories and plays as a child and writing my own magazines and newspapers.’

Chantelle Streete Reviews: Stars and Swipes by Sophia Gravia

‘More than anything, it is a story about opportunity.’

Seasonal Snacks by Gabriella English

‘The height of summer is the only time to buy peaches, so I eat them whenever I can.’

Black Lives in Scotland: A Q & A with Jeanette R. Davidson

‘The past is not dead. It does not disappear. It continues through the living, the real people who carry on their daily lives in Scotland.’

Even The Trees by Roshni Gallagher

‘To teach myself belonging / I try to find the name / of the blossom tree darkening / by the window.’

Walking with History: The Autobiography of Jimmy Reid

‘He called me, behind my back, the Brylcreemed Bolshevik. Despite this, I liked and respected him.’

The Sound of a Smile by Louise Greig

‘I hope that readers finish the book thinking not only about hearing loss but about connection and the many different ways we can understand one another.’

Crossing the Sound by Peter Irvine

‘He brightened up when he saw Eliot come in. The boy was wearing another worn-out T-shirt – obviously clothes didn’t matter.’

A Wee Bit Zen by Alan Spence

If only I could / make you hear it – / sound of the snow falling

Author Profile: Christopher Rush

‘After a lifetime of hill-running and marathons, my favourite exercise is now reaching for the nearest glass.’

On the Bodies of Strangers by Hannah Stevens

‘Across the road, a flash of colour catches Valeria’s eye.’

Pretty Valuable Things by A. J. Leslie

Harper considered Charles for a few moments, lit a cigarette, then said ‘we are treating it as murde …
Shadow of Madness: A Q & A with D. V. Bishop

‘Yet a great novel of historical fiction also has us escape the here and now by immersing us in the …
Author Profile: Jenni Daiches

‘I don’t think I decided to become a writer. I just was.’
Lessons From Scottish Schools: A Q & A with Lindsay Paterson

Ten years will not be enough to restore Scotland to where it was in the past…
Saltwater: A Midsummer Ghost Story by Elaine Thomson

‘The very thought of those grey faces made my skin grow cold.’
‘An Odious Campaign’ by Rob McInroy – Why a 1936 By-Election Still Resonates

‘This enraged the locals and he came close to being run out of town on several occasions.’