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Feb 9, 20183 min read
From Russia, With Love: A Review Of Olga Wotjas’ Miss Blaine’s Prefect And The Golden Sa
This year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the writer Muriel Spark. You may have noticed – you MUST have noticed – but if you...
Jan 29, 20182 min read
Rage Against The Mainstream: The Scots Whay Hae! Podcast Talks To 404 Ink…
For the first podcast of 2018 Ali went to Edinburgh to talk to Heather McDaid and Laura Jones who are behind the innovative and acclaimed...
Jan 19, 20183 min read
Scotch & Wry: A Review Of Rachel McCormack’s Chasing The Dram: Finding The Spirit Of Whisk
Now, I love books, and I love whisky, but I haven’t come across many great whisky related books over the years. Iain Banks’ Raw Spirit:...
Jan 17, 20183 min read
Fine And Dandy: A Review Of Charles E. McGarry’s The Ghost Of Helen Addison…
Against all expectations, the Christmas/ New Year period allowed for the reading of some of the books which have been sitting on SWH!’s...
Dec 31, 20173 min read
Scots Whay Hae!’s Alternative Hogmanay Night In, 2017…
Once again Montgomery Scott raises a glass to see out the old year and ring in the new and that means it’s time for Scots Whay Hae!’s...
Dec 29, 20173 min read
*Reeling In The Years: A Review Of Polly Clark’s Larchfield…
Clark takes the two years that the poet W.H. Auden spent teaching in Helensburgh at Larchfield Academy as the basis for her book. There...
Dec 20, 20172 min read
That Was The Year That Was: It’s The Best Of 2017 Podcasts – Part 3 (Books)…
This year we are recording three separate Best Of 2017 podcasts, one each for film and music, (which you can still hear), and this, Part...
Dec 1, 20176 min read
The Good Word: Scots Whay Hae!’s Best Books Of 2017…
These are the books which stood out against stiff competition in 2017. The list could easily have been longer but we like to stick to a...
Nov 30, 20173 min read
The Long & Short Of It: A Review Of James Kelman’s That Was A Shiver And Other Stories...
There is an argument which you may have heard, possibly on these pages, that while James Kelman is one of the finest novelists around...
Nov 28, 20173 min read
Past & Present Tense: A Review Of Ever Dundas’ Goblin…
It’s a novel full of surprises, and which takes you in unexpected directions. After a few chapters I had it pegged as an urban fantasy...
Nov 9, 20174 min read
There’s A Riot Going On: A Review Of Stuart Cosgrove’s Memphis 68: The Tragedy Of Southe
One of the most eagerly anticipated books of 2017, at least round our way, is Stuart Cosgrove’s Memphis 68: The Tragedy Of Southern Soul....
Nov 3, 20173 min read
What’s Love Got To Do With It?: A Review of Lesley Glaister’s The Squeeze…
It certainly doesn’t pull its punches when detailing what humans are capable of. Mostly set in Edinburgh, 1989-92, it opens with a short...
Oct 26, 20171 min read
Happy Accidents: The Scots Whay Hae! Podcast Talk To Graeme Macrae Burnet…
Graeme Macrae Burnet. The primary reason was to discuss his latest novel, The Accident On The A35, but the conversation turns to the work...
Oct 20, 20172 min read
Whisky Words: A Review Of Iain Hector Ross’s The Whisky Dictionary…
If you believe the supermarkets, it’s already time to be thinking about Christmas. While this is clearly nonsense there is no harm in...
Oct 13, 20173 min read
The Road Less Travelled: A Review Of Graeme Macrae Burnet’s The Accident On The A35…
How do you follow a cultural touchstone – something which captures a moment, stands aside from what’s around it, and which moves from the...
Sep 16, 20173 min read
*Food For Thought: A Review Of Ron Butlin’s Billionaires’ Banquet…
For those whose reading habits include philosophy as well as literature this novel is a joy from start to finish as Butlin name checks,...
Sep 1, 20172 min read
Reporting Scotland: The Scots Whay Hae! Podcast Talks To Peter Ross…
On the latest podcast, Ali spoke to journalist Peter Ross about the follow-up to his 2014 book, Daunderlust: Dispatches From Unreported...
Aug 29, 20173 min read
Divine Intervention: A Review Of Charlie Laidlaw’s The Things We Learn When We’re Dead&#
I’ve been reading and reviewing a lot of crime fiction lately most of which is written using short, punchy prose which drives events...
Aug 18, 20175 min read
The Road Less Travelled: A Review Of Peter Ross’s The Passion Of Harry Bingo…
What a difference three years makes. Peter Ross’s previous book, Daundlerust: Dispatches From Unreported Scotland was published in the...
Aug 11, 20172 min read
Write On: Scots Whay Hae!’s Top 10 Picks Of The Edinburgh International Book Festival…
We have tried to avoid the already sold-out and high-profile to give you an alternative and achievable schedule. FICTION’S MASTER...
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