Round-up

Rules of Civility, Queen of Kings, Spartan, The Submission and America Pacifica

Debut novels round-up

21 Jul 2011

Described by David Nicholls as ‘a smart, witty, charming Dry Martini of a novel’, Rules of Civility (Sceptre) veers from a photographic exhibit in 1966 to a jazz bar on the last night of 1937. In this fizzing debut by Amor Towles (pictured), both places…

Bare Behind Bars, Sea Purple, Here Come the Girls 3 and Dare

LGBT DVD Roundup

27 May 2011

If it’s a quiet night on the sofa you’re after, beware Bare Behind Bars (Arrow Video ●●●●). Described as a ‘chicks in chains grindhouse explosion’, we’re given sadistic lesbian guards, a permanently aroused screwball nurse and convicts with cabin fever…

New music books: Luke Haines - Post Everything, Andy Kershaw - No Off Switch,

Simon Reynold - Retromania, Scott Weiland - Not Dead & Not for Sale

23 May 2011

Semi-absent fans of former Auteur and Black Box Recorder man Luke Haines might have received something of a jolt on suddenly Googling him. The words on the second entry would have immediately caught the eye: ‘It is with deep regret that we have to…

Books from Mark Thomas, Emma Kennedy, Jon Richardson, Andy Riley and Paul Barker

Comedy books round-up March 2011

15 Mar 2011

With the annual Glasgow comedy beanfeast having its last laughs, there are a bunch of opportunities to seek solace in book form. Extreme Rambling (Ebury) by Mark Thomas is the paper version of his current touring show in which he walks the entire length…

Comedy DVDs round up - The best and worst

The verdict on DVDs from Richard Herring, Greg Giraldo, Tommy Tiernan and Kevin Bridges

23 Dec 2010

The former Popworld and Never Mind the Buzzcocks host proves that behind the barbed sarcasm, he’s a vulnerable little soul. Over the course of 80 minutes, he chats about his inability to find a good man and his oddball family. A tortured Jewish lad…

TV personalities make their way to the Book Festival

A set of small screen heroes gather up to chew some telly fat

17 Aug 2010

Stephen Poliakoff, Nicholas Parsons, Elaine C Smith, Niall Ferguson, and John Simpson are coming to the Edinburgh Book Festival to talk about their life experiences in the world of television.

Festival Briefing 2010

Some things we think might help you at this year's festivals

30 Jul 2010

Here's a short briefing about some things to look forward to during the Book Festival, the Fringe, in Music events, and Shopping opportunities in Edinburgh

5 Debut Novels for July 2010

24 Jun 2010

Deborah Kay Davies - True Things About Me Welsh poet and short story writer with a debut novel about an unnamed woman whose life is unravelling through a tale of lust, obsession and violence. (Canongate) Jean Kwok - Girl in Translation Based…

Five paperback memoirs published in July 2010

10 Jun 2010

Buzz Aldrin Magnificent Desolation The never-dull story of the moon landing and Buzz’s subsequent struggle to cope. Bloomsbury. Alex Marsh Sex & Bowls & Rock and Roll A terribly witty blog-to-book affair about a disillusioned househusband who…

Comedy DVD roundup

19 Jan 2010

They might not quite be the small screen equivalent of The Broons or Oor Wullie annuals, but live DVDs from Jimmy Carr and Russell Brand are close to becoming a festive staple. Indeed, no Christmas morning seems complete nowadays without 75-odd minutes…

DVD Round-up: TV/Film soundtracks

16 Oct 2009

Cool just doesn’t quite do the job of summarising the compilation of theme tunes and incidental bits from the Incorporated Television Company’s archive. Even if you’ve never seen the likes of Danger Man, The Saint or Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) – the…

DVD Round-up: Horror

The films that want to make you scream

2 Oct 2009

Sexy Killer, Dr Chopper, Mr Halloween, Staunton Hill, Smash Cut, Death of a Ghost Hunter, The Books of Blood, Wasting Away, I Sell the Dead, Rogue

Also Published: Short-story paperbacks

Keeping it brief

2 Oct 2009

Janice Galloway - Collected Stories, Sarah Waters - Dancing With Mr Darcy, Annie Proulx - Fine Just the Way It Is, Catherine O'Flynn - Roads Ahead, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - The Thing Around Your Neck

Hip Hop Round Up

17 Sep 2009

Given the lightweight folly of his ‘comeback’ album, 2007’s Kingdom Come, the idea of Jay-Z adding a third chapter onto his already substantial Blueprint series promised much, but in reality, The Blueprint 3 (Universal) ●●● doesn’t deliver like the…

Also published: Books

It'd be criminal to miss out on these

17 Sep 2009

Stieg Larsson The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest The third volume of the bestselling Millenium Trilogy has Lisbeth Salander fighting corruption as she is set to face trial for three murders. Maclehose Press. Ruth Rendell The Monster in the…

Also published: 5 Unit-Shifters

26 Aug 2009

Dan Brown The Lost Symbol You may have heard of his last book, The Finchley Coat or something. Bob Langdon is back with more ‘history, codes and intrigue’. Some copies are expected to be sold. Bantam Press. James Patterson Alex Cross’s Trial…

5 paperback thrillers

12 Aug 2009

Burial by Neil Cross, Geezer Girls by Dreda Say Mitchell, Death Trip by Lee Weeks, Hit and Run by Lawrence Block, The Clayton Account by Bill Vidal.

Glasgow homegrown events round-up

23 Jul 2009

So, apparently there’s this … festival thing, happening in Edinburgh? Whatever. While the gallons of international acts pouring into the Capital at the beginning of August do traditionally tend to hog the headlines at this time of year, with loads of…

LGBT Edinburgh Fringe Highlights

23 Jul 2009

This year’s Fringe features a good scattering of shows for those of an LGBT persuasion. Theatre pleasures range from dramatic monologues such as Jeffrey Solomon’s Mother/Son (Sweet Grassmarket, pictured above), which charts the writer/performer’s…

Summer Horror DVD round-up

9 Jul 2009

First stop on our journey into the sinister world of horror is Arrow’s new ‘Masters of Giallo’ DVD imprint, launching with three decidedly depraved titles from a trio of Italian auteurs. Lamberto Bava’s Macabre (Arrow) ●●● is a dark psychosexual study…

Scottish Books - Scottish Summer reads

9 Jul 2009

Craig Russell: Lennox In the first of a new crime series, Russell combines atmosphere, action and a pleasing pitch-black sense of humour in 1950s Glasgow. Dodgy PI Lennox has just lived through one war but is being flung into another, more local one.

Film Book round up

25 Jun 2009

Former stand-up comedian Robert Sellers hops across the pond to detail wild and fast times of Hollywood’s original bad boys with Bad Boy Drive (Preface) ●●●. Following on from his previous opus Hellraisers: The Life and Inebriated Times of Richard…

Also Published: 5 Upcoming Novels

28 May 2009

David Peace Occupied City Back home in his native Yorkshire, the Damned United author delivers the second of his Tokyo stories with Japan now in its third year of US occupation. Faber, 6 Aug. Thomas Pynchon Inherent Vice The reclusive scribe…

Various: Khaki Shorts

28 May 2009

More underground comics action pierces your mind as Khaki Shorts returns after a two-year hiatus. It’s a distinctly Glaswegian title (with just a dash of Edinburgh wit) packed with acidic humour ranging from sci-fi pastiche to police action with…

Also Published: 5 Paperback Biographys

14 May 2009

John Peel The Olivetti Chronicles Chosen by Peely’s wife and kids, this mix of early journalism, diaries, letters and odds ‘n’ sods pretty much amounts to a second memoir. Corgi. Richard Madeley Father and Sons Judy’s fella turned to a distinctly…