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Book Week Scotland 2013

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Yesterday marked the launch of one of my favourite events on the cultural calendar: Book Week Scotland 2013.

Now in its second year, Book Week Scotland is, as the name suggests, a week-long national celebration of books and reading from 25 November to 1 December 2013.

Last year I blogged on behalf of the event’s organisers, Scottish Book Trust, and got a flavour of all of the events that took place across the country. You can read the blog archive on their website.

This year, Book Week Scotland will host over 400 book-related events in 349 different locations. You can see the full programme over here – but first, I want to give you some of my picks.

  • Book Week Scotland Pop Up ShopEveryone loves a pop-up, right? One of my favourite things about the local book festivals like Aye Write and Edinburgh Book Fest are the book shops featuring work by the authors who are taking part. This year, the pop-up shop at the Mitchell library will be showcasing and selling the best of books from Scottish Publishers. Looks like someone’s book buying ban will be out the window a week or two early…
  • Reading Hour
    It’s back! This was one of my favourite elements of last year’s event. It’s an opportunity to do exactly as it says – allocate 1 hour in the week to sit down and have a read. This year it’s on Friday 29 November at 11am, and I’m planning to take part at the newly re-opened Glasgow Women’s Library with tea, cake, and some fellow readers.
  • Big Book Bash
    In addition to the Reading Hour, this year BWS is inviting participants to host their own Big Book Bash! This is a celebration of reading of any kind, in any shape or form, at any time or place during Book Week Scotland 2013, giving everyone a chance to express what makes reading fun for them. I, for one, have a few ideas already…
  • Allllll of the eventsLook, there are too many to pick, but some amazing local events have already jumped out at me including the Book Brunch (well, it’s far away, but sounds brilliant), Words Per Minute, and Drama Queens: Play Reading for Pleasure. Take a look at the full programme for yourself.
  • A free book!
    Finally, Book Week Scotland has created a special book for the event. Last year it was My Favourite PLace, a collection of stories from Scottish people about their favourite place in the world. This year it’s Treasures, a short story and poem collection written by the people of Scotland, which will be distributed across the country – so keep an eye out for it at Book Week events.
What are you looking forward to at Book Week Scotland?

September Reads | 52 Books 2013

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#52. Cybersexism: Sex, Gender and Power on the Internet by Laurie Penny
★★★★★ – A 3 star for fairly well informed feminist Internet-goers; a must-read for everyone else. Full review here.

#53. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Universe (Scott Pilgrim, #5)
★★★★★ – Just, read this series. Promise?

 

#54. NW by Zadie Smith
★★★★★– This was my first experience with Zadie Smith and I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed her turns of phrase and wry observations. The structure was really engrossing – at least until she decided to bin the lot of it around three-quarters of the way in. Although many would claim that literary fiction borrows form the real world rather than building its own, I’d say that this is an exception to that “rule”.

 

#55. Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
★★★★★– Funny lead character, great descriptions, ridiculous antics. Although I haven’t seen it yet, I can see how this would make a great movie. Great read for writers and fans of crime capers.

 

#56. Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour (Scott Pilgrim, #6) by Bryan Lee O’Malley
★★★★★– This didn’t wrap things up as neatly as the movie does, but with good reason since the characters are a lot more autonomous and the focus isn’t solely on Scott. Not my favourite of the series but still, see above.

 

#57. Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
★★★★★ – A good, digestible guide to common business practices like creativity and productivity. Debunks the myth of the hero, hard work defined by hours, and all the usual entanglements that come along with running your own small business. Really helpful for me as a freelancer with tons of useful tidbits to remind yourself about once in awhile.

Book Review: The Novel Cure by Ella Berthoud & Susan Elderkin

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Once in awhile a book comes along that’s impractical to read cover-to-cover over the course of a few sittings but serves as the perfect reference guide.

The Novel Cure is like those medical dictionaries mum used to have before WebMD came along. It’s a lovingly compiled reference guide of maladies – and the perfect novels with which to cure them.

I was lucky enough to meet the incredibly well-read co-author Ella Berthoud at Canongate’s 40th birthday party last week (which was a blast – see #theotherside.). She brought the Novel Cure Surgery to the party (literally!) and provided prescriptions in person.

I requested a book to get over my Great Expectations hump, for which she made 2 stellar suggestions in the form of Mister Pip by Lloyd James and Jack Maggs by Peter Carey. She also recommended Half Asleep in Frog Pyjamas by Tom Robbins for a bout of job anxiety.

The book has also come in incredibly handy already. It’s been of great practical use for getting over my common cold this weekend, diagnosing and prescribing a friend’s man flu, and good comic relief for a mild but potentially chronic case of “married, being”.

The authors’ suggestions range from the irreverent to the downright literary, providing useful, funny, and interesting suggestions to any issues which may ail you. Although I suffer a chronic case of out-of-control to-read pile, it’s a brilliant book to have around – and it’d make a fantastic stocking-stuffer.

If you want to give it a go for yourself, you can visit the surgery online via The Novel Cure website. You can also follow them on Twitter @TheNovelCure.

The Novel Cure is published by Canongate in the UK and Penguin in the USA. You can buy it on The Book Despository here (UK) or here (US).