illustration by Dom McKenzie
As per, I’ve been slack at putting my book reviews up on here. So here are the last six books I’ve reviewed for the Big Issue magazine:
Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien (Faber)
An Atlas of Countries that Don’t Exist by Nick Middleton (Macmillan)
No More Heroes by Stephen Thompson (Jacaranda)
The Last Tour of Archie Forbes by Victoria Hendry (Saraband)
Killing and Dying by Adrian Tomine (Faber)
Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume (Windmill)
Yeah, so apparently I’m going to be on Eggheads sometime in the new year, in a team with Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre and Martyn Waites. The team name is The Criminal Element. We’re filming in January, no idea when it’s going to run, but I’ll keep you posted. A Christmas of swotting up awaits!
Dx
Look what I found in a drawer in the loft…
…so it wasn’t just a hideous fever dream.
It has a really catchy title…
…and what a page turner…
…and check out the cheeky epigram, basically admitting I was at it!
Dx
Hey, The Jump made it on to a Books of the Year list over at Scots Whay Hae, alongside some great writers like Kirstin Innes, Janice Galloway and Stuart Cosgrove. Nice one, thanks Ali Braidwood!
So I’ve updated my Events page to include write-ups of all my Book Week Scotland gigs from last week. They were a mixed bag, as per usual. All very interesting, though, and definitely worth doing.
I’ve also added my last gig of the year, which is at Perth Prison in a couple of weeks. Not open to the public, obviously. I’ve done prison events before and they’re always very interesting.
Dx
I’m off on tour! The week after next is the Scottish Book Trust’s Book Week Scotland, and I have five gigs on five nights around Scotland. Come see me in the flesh and ask me an embarrassing question. The dates are:
23rd November, Stewart’s Melville College, Edinburgh, 7.30pm
With Christopher Brookmyre, Alex Gray and Sara Sheridan.
24th November, Highland Literary Salon, Glen Mhor Hotel, Inverness, 7.30pm
25th November, Cardonald Library, Glasgow, 7.30pm
26th November, Alexandria Library, 7.30pm
27th November, Readers’ Dinner, Fife College, Kirkcaldy, 6.30pm
With Maggie Craig, Douglas Jackson, Linda Cracknell, Rosie Wallace and Sue Peebles.
See yeh down the front for the crowdsurfing.
illustration by Dom McKenzie
Here’s my Big Issue review of William Gay’s Little Sister Death (Faber) and A Mile Down (William Heinemann) by David Vann. Both cracking.
What do James M Cain and George Mackay Brown have in common? They’re both mentioned in this penetrating Q&A I did with the inimitable Karen Sullivan over at Orenda Books, that’s what. I did some deep digging for this one, folks!
Doug Johnstone 