Next Thursday 23rd April is World Book Night, and as part of the National Year of Reading, The Reading Agency are uniting adults across the UK with reading, by encouraging everyone to join in the #ReadingHour from 7-8pm. Whether you dedicate time to reading alone, having a book club meeting, listening to an audiobook, or reading to children at bedtime, take some time to spend with a book that evening.
We want to offer some reading suggestions for World Book Night, focusing on short books that it might be possible to read in an evening. Click on each of the book covers to find out more details!
Benbecula by Booker-prize shortlisted Graeme Macrae Burnet is the latest in our acclaimed Darkland Tales series of novels by some of Scotland’s most exciting authors, retelling key moments from Scotland’s history and legend. Benbecula tells the chilling story of a brutal triple murder on the eponymous Hebridean island in 1857, proving Macrae Burnet’s mastery of psychological thrillers, and we are proud that his book has already been recognised in the Walter Scott Prize shortlist and the CWA Historical Daggers longlist.
Three queer women navigate unrequited desire, wealth inequality and
secret relationships in this wry debut from a fresh literary voice, perfect
for fans of Sally Rooney and Julia Armfield. It’s a hot Edinburgh summer, and Roisin’s life is stagnating. She spends her days cancelling plans, skipping work and drinking lukewarm wine in the bathtub with her best friend Eve. When their wealthy mutual friend Claire offers Roisin a significant amount of money under the guise of ‘freelance work,’ Roisin thinks her luck might finally be changing.
Just shortlisted for the prestigious Jhalak Poetry Prize for writers of colour, Holy Boys byAndrés N. Ordorica is a remarkable poetry collection that explores the journey from boyhood into manhood, sexuality, faith, and much more, in language that is lyrical and stylistically innovative. Described as ‘a delicious treat for the senses’ by BBC Radio Scotland, and ‘a lush and sensual offering which charts a queer coming-of-age’ by the Sunday Post, this is the perfect collection to immerse yourself in.
In his third collection of poetry, Alexander McCall Smith guides the reader by the hand as we explore themes of love, friendship and nature; we look back at the moon landing and turbulent times from the recent past; we take a vivid journey through the Highlands, and, through ekphrastic poems, we pay tribute to Holst’s The Planets and Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. As we wander through this beautifully crafted selection of poems, we are offered an insight into a culturally rich life.
First published in 1945, Animal Farm – the history of a revolution that went wrong – is George Orwell’s brilliant satire on the corrupting influence of power. Mr Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he forgets to feed his livestock. The ensuing rebellion under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon and Snowball leads to the animals taking over the farm. Vowing to eliminate the terrible inequities of the farmyard, the renamed Animal Farm is organised to benefit all who walk on four legs. But as time passes, the ideals of the rebellion are corrupted, then forgotten. And something new and unexpected emerges . . .
Our gorgeous new edition of Muriel Spark’s most famous work The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is the perfect place to start for those new to her writing. Edinburgh, 1930, and the world is on the brink of change. Leading the charge is the glamorous, free-spirited Miss Jean Brodie, schoolteacher at the Marcia Blaine Academy, whose guiding principle is ‘Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she’ll be mine for life. I am dedicated to you in my prime.’ While Miss Brodie manipulates and charms ‘her girls’ – known as the Brodie Set – with notions of romance and heroism, tragedy and a cruel betrayal beckon.
