Archive

November 2008

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews Angela Cleland's New Collection

  Friday 07 November 2008
  

  Roddy Lumsden reviews Angela Cleland's new collection, and bemoans the lack of new Scottish poets being published

October 2008

• Slaughtering Beetroot - A Chapbook from Angela McSeveney

  Tuesday 07 October 2008
  

  Roddy Lumsden is charmed by the simplicity of Angela McSeveney's new poetry chapbook, Slaughtering Beetroot

September 2008

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews Blood and Granite

  Thursday 18 September 2008
  

  Roddy Lumsden returns to true crime with a review of the updated edition of Blood and Granite - True Crime From Aberdeen

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews The Chambers Rhyming Dictionary

  Friday 05 September 2008
  

  Roddy Lumsden Reviews the latest edition of the Chambers Rhyming Dictionary, and explains the difficulties and uncertainties in both writing and using a rhyming dictionary

August 2008

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews The Chambers Gigglossary

  Tuesday 26 August 2008
  

  It should come as no surprise to readers of his blog that Roddy Lumsden finds much to enjoy in the Chambers Gigglossary

• Oor Err Missus - The Arse in Art

  Thursday 14 August 2008
  

  Roddy Lumsden returns from a trip to France and promptly reviews a book about bottoms.

July 2008

• Roddy Lumsden reviews Say it in Scots

  Monday 14 July 2008
  

  Roddy Lumsden is charmed and educated by Black & White's new Say it in Scots! series of books

• The Enigmas of History - Reviewed by Roddy Lumsden

  Friday 11 July 2008
  

  For fans of the mysterious, the odd, the Fortean, and the unexplained, Roddy Lumsden finds The Enigmas of History an enjoyable romp and a good starting place for those new to the field.

May 2008

• Two Scottish Poetry Books from Carcanet

  Thursday 01 May 2008
  

  Roddy Lumsden reviews The Palace of Oblivion by Peter Davidson and A to B by Gerry McGrath

April 2008

• Interview with Patience Agbabi

  Friday 18 April 2008
  

  Roddy Lumsden interviews poet Patiance Agbabi about her latest collection, Bloodshot Monochrome

• Trawling Reviewed by Roddy Lumsden

  Thursday 03 April 2008
  

  Trawling is recommended not only to Aberdonians or those with an interest in the sea but to a more general reader, says Roddy Lumsden

March 2008

• Roddy Lumsden Recommends Jen Hadfield

  Monday 10 March 2008
  

  Roddy Lumsden finds much to admire in Jen Hadfield's collections Almanac and Nigh-No-Place

February 2008

• Review of Doh Ray Me, When Ah Wis Wee

  Wednesday 20 February 2008
  

  "An excellent addition to Scotland's social history library" Says Roddy Lumsden in his review of Doh Ray Me, When Ah Wis We

• Lemmings Don't Leap - Reviewed by Roddy Lumsden

  Friday 01 February 2008
  

  Roddy Lumsden enjoys Edwin Moore's debunking of modern myths. What you thought you knew probably isn't true, but Edwin Moore does know how to write an entertaining book

January 2008

• HappenStance and StAnza

  Friday 18 January 2008
  

  Roddy Lumsden reviews Gergory Leadbetter's new poetry pamphlet from HappenStance, and previews the 2008 StAnza poetry festival

December 2007

• Roddy's Christmas Review

  Monday 10 December 2007
  

  Roddy Lumsden looks back at his favourite Scottish books from 2007.

• Roddy Lumsden Interviews Kevin Williamson

  Tuesday 04 December 2007
  

  Roddy Lumsden interviews Kevin Williamson, founder of literary magazine Rebel, Inc, and poet and campaigner

November 2007

• Brief Encounters - Reviewed by Roddy Lumsden

  Tuesday 13 November 2007
  

  Roddy Lumsden has his own too-brief encounter with Brief Encounters: Meetings between (mostly) remarkable people

October 2007

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews Scottish Customs

  Monday 29 October 2007
  

  Roddy Lumsden reviews a new issue of Margaret Bennett's Scottish Customs: From Cradle to Grave

• Interview with Richard Price

  Tuesday 23 October 2007
  

  Roddy Lumsden interviews poet Richard Price about his collections Lucky Day and Greenfields

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews the Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women

  Monday 01 October 2007
  

  Roddy Lumsden finds the Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women too interesting to be tucked away on the reference shelf.

August 2007

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews: Folk in Print

  Thursday 30 August 2007
  

  Folk in Print, a history of Scottish chapbooks, is "an excellent volume, very highly recommended" says Roddy Lumsden.

• The Essential Rock Discography - Spotting the Errors

  Wednesday 08 August 2007
  

  Roddy Lumsden hunts for errors in MC Strong's The Essential Rock Discography, and is pleased with the answers.

• Ronnie's Looking For Trouble: Roddy Lumsden Reviews

  Thursday 02 August 2007
  

  A quick, racy read, perhaps to be taken with a pinch of salt - so says Roddy Lumsden in his review of Ronnie's Looking for Trouble.

July 2007

• Foyle's Philavery Reviewed by Roddy Lumsden

  Friday 20 July 2007
  

  Baldrick, alopecia, barton and amanuensis are all bethumbed by Roddy Lumsden as he dips into Foyles Philavery

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews: An A-Z of the Occult

  Tuesday 10 July 2007
  

  Roddy Lumsden considers the possible meaning of abracadabra, and other occult miscellany in this review of Simon Cox's An A to Z of the Occult

June 2007

• Selected Poems of Robert Fergusson Review

  Monday 18 June 2007
  

  A new collection of Selected Poems from Robert Fergusson, one of 18th century Scotland's best poets.

• Roddy's Crossword Memories

  Monday 04 June 2007
  

  Images of a young Roddy Lumsden, Pot Noodle in one hand and pen in the other, in this review of the new Chamber's Everyman Crosswords

May 2007

• Interviewing The Paris Review Interviews

  Friday 11 May 2007
  

  The biggest 'little magazine' in history, according to Time Magazine. Roddy Lumsden casts his eye over Canongate's collection from The Paris Review Interviews

• Quest for Robert Louis Stevenson

  Tuesday 01 May 2007
  

  Roddy Lumsden asks what to include and what to leave out of a biography while reviewing John Cairney's The Quest for Robert Louis Stevenson

April 2007

• Anthology Review: Poems United

  Thursday 12 April 2007
  

  Roddy Lumsden emails us from the USA to review Poems United, a poetry anthology from all the countries of the Commonwealth

• Dae Ye Ken? Review

  Tuesday 03 April 2007
  

  Dae ye ken yer oxter fae yer bahookie? Roddy Lumsden discovers some new Scots words while reviewing Vicki Guasden's 'Dae Ye Ken?'

March 2007

• Wild Scotland Review

  Monday 19 March 2007
  

  Plenty to amuse ramblers of the Scottish wilds in James McCarthy's recently revised "Wild Scotland"

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews Kidnapped

  Thursday 15 March 2007
  

  Roddy Lumsden reports on the five different editions of Kidnapped, Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel recently promoted by Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature.

February 2007

• 100 Favourite Scottish Poems... Or Are They?

  Wednesday 21 February 2007
  

  A tie-in between a Radio Scotland survey, publisher Luath Press, and editor Stewart Conn, 100 Favourite Scottish poems is a bit of a mixed bag.

• Bukowski's Crazy Life

  Monday 12 February 2007
  

  Canongate have recently published a new edition of Howard Soune's biography of Charles Bukowski, which Roddy Lumsden reviews for BooksfromScotland.com

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews: Fakers, Forgers & Phoneys

  Monday 05 February 2007
  

  A fine addition to the literature on notorious scams and hoaxes, says Roddy Lumsden in his review of the late Magnus Magnusson's Fakers, Forgers and Phoneys.

January 2007

• Review: Stuart Kelly's The Book of Lost Books

  Monday 22 January 2007
  

  Stuart Kelly's The Book of Lost Books is just the sort of thing our resident blogger Roddy Lumsden enjoys.

December 2006

• Big Noise Review

  Friday 29 December 2006
  

  Get hold of Big Noise, have a laugh, have a grouch and enjoy the rollercoaster ride, complete with interesting barstool reminiscences and some top rate shaggy dog stories.

• Glasgow Crime

  Monday 18 December 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden reviews three recent Glasgow crime books - Blood on the Streets, Real Hard Cases, and Murder Capital

• Interview with Laura Hird

  Friday 08 December 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden interviews Laura Hird about her latest collection of short stories, Hope, and her forthcoming memoir, Dear Laura.

November 2006

• Roddy Lumsden's Review of 2006

  Monday 13 November 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden revisits some of his favourite books of 2006, and picks out a few more that he never had time to review for BooksfromScotland.com

October 2006

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews 'Villains'

  Monday 30 October 2006
  

  Another success for the writing team of Reg MacKay and Paul Ferris, says Roddy Lumsden in his review of 'Villains'.

• Billy Kay's The Scottish World

  Thursday 26 October 2006
  

  Billy Kay takes a fresh look at the Scottish diaspora in "The Scottish World", reviewed by Roddy Lumsden

• Andrew Greig: An Overview

  Monday 09 October 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden looks back at the poetry and fiction of Andrew Greig, following the publication of his latest poetry collection, This Life, This Life.

September 2006

• Review: Making Soup in a Storm

  Thursday 28 September 2006
  

  New Writing Scotland reaches its 24th edition, and Roddy Lumsden casts his eye over the prose and poetry from mostly unpublished writers.

• Roddy Lumsden Interviews Matthew Fitt

  Friday 15 September 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden interviews our September Author of the Month, Matthew Fitt.

August 2006

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews 'Bamboo'

  Thursday 31 August 2006
  

  In his review of William Boyd's "Bamboo", Roddy Lumsden finds "the virtuoso Boyd spreading his talents nimbly and widely".

• Review: The Thing That Mattered Most

  Thursday 17 August 2006
  

  A new collection of poetry for children, The Thing That Mattered Most, is reviewed by Roddy Lumsden

July 2006

• The Drove Roads of Scotland: Review

  Friday 28 July 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden explains the interest in the Drove Roads of Scotland, and ARB Haldane's book on the subject.

• Muriel Spark: All The Poems

  Wednesday 12 July 2006
  

  Muriel Spark's poetry collection All The Poems was rereleased earlier this year, and Roddy Lumsden traces the history of her poetry.

• An Interview with W.N. Herbert

  Friday 07 July 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden interviews Dundee-born poet W.N. Herbert about his most recent collection, Bad Shaman Blues

• Roddy Revisits The Yellow on the Broom

  Tuesday 04 July 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden revisits one of his favourite Scottish books, Betsy Whyte's The Yellow on the Broom.

June 2006

• The Book of Lists: Football

  Monday 19 June 2006
  

  In time for the World Cup, Roddy Lumsden reviews Canongate's "The Book of Lists: Football".

• Roddy Lumsden Reviews "Last Chance To Eat"

  Monday 05 June 2006
  

  Last Chance To Eat, recently released in paperback, is full of food-related memories - Roddy Lumsden reviews and recommends.

May 2006

• Robin Robertson's Swithering

  Wednesday 24 May 2006
  

  Robin Robertson has played a crucial role for Scottish writers over the past two decades. Following the publication of Robin's latest poetry collection, Swithering, Roddy Lumsden looks back on his life and work.

• Review: Scots Language Books

  Monday 22 May 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden reviews two recent books on the history of the Scots language, Carl MacDougall's Scots: The Language of the People and Billy Kay's revised Scots: The Mither Tongue

• Chambers Fact Finder

  Monday 08 May 2006
  

  Eight out of ten for the new Chambers Fact Finder - and this is from Roddy Lumsden, a man who really knows his trivia.

April 2006

• The Last Godfather: Arthur Thompson

  Wednesday 19 April 2006
  

  A dirty business, a modern tragedy even, but a fascinating read... Roddy Lumsden reviews the revised and updated edition of The Last Godfather

• HappenStance Pamphlet Poetry Press

  Wednesday 12 April 2006
  

  Small press poetry in Scotland is thriving, with the Scottish Pamphlet Poetry site listing over 30 presses. Roddy features one such press, HappenStance.

• Review of St Kilda: Island on the Edge of the World

  Sunday 02 April 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden reviews Charles Maclean's classic book on the island of St Kilda

March 2006

• Chambers Clichés and How to Avoid Them

  Wednesday 22 March 2006
  

  Without further ado, Roddy Lumsden rolls up his sleaves and refuses to judge Chambers Cliches and How To Avoid Them by its cover.

• The Book of St Andrews: An Anthology

  Monday 13 March 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden features The Book of St Andrews, a literary anthology compiled by Robert Crawford.

• Islands Galore

  Thursday 02 March 2006
  

  Writer-in-residence Roddy Lumsden hunts for trivia amongst the pages of Islands Galore by Jim Dow.

February 2006

• Blethertoun Braes and other Scots Children's Books

  Monday 27 February 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden celebrates the publication of Blethertoun Braes, a new collection of Scots poetry for children.

• Seton Gordon's Scotland - An Anthology

  Monday 13 February 2006
  

  Roddy Lumsden reviews and highly recommends Hamish Brown's compilation 'Seton Gordon's Scotland - An Anthology'.

• Footie Shorts

  Friday 03 February 2006
  

  For fans of the beautiful game, Roddy Lumsden reviews 'Footie Shorts', a fine collection of anecdotes and shaggy dog stories from the world of football.

January 2006

• Interview with Illustrious Exile author Andrew Lindsay

  Tuesday 24 January 2006
  

  On the publication of 'Illustrious Exile', a 'what if' novel on Robert Burns' life in the West Indies, Roddy Lumsden interviews author Andrew Lindsay about the challenges of writing believable speculative fiction.

• I Have Heard You Calling In The Night

  Monday 23 January 2006
  

  Roddy reviews Thomas Healy's surprising memoir of redemption, I Have Heard You Calling in the Night.

• The Law Killers: Dundee Crime

  Monday 16 January 2006
  

  Most of us like to read about crime; Roddy Lumsden prefers true crime, such as The Law Killers by Alexander McGregor.

• The Broons Annual

  Tuesday 03 January 2006
  

  'The Broons Annual' is a Scottish tradition. Roddy Lumsden checks out the latest edition, and finds a comforting mix of the old and the new.

December 2005

• Interview with Stewart Conn, former Edinburgh City Makar

  Thursday 22 December 2005
  

  Roddy Lumsden interviews the former Makar of Edinburgh, Stewart Conn, about his new poetry collection.

• New Writing Scotland 23: Queen of the Sheep

  Wednesday 14 December 2005
  

  Roddy Lumsden highly recommends 'New Writing Scotland 23'

• Interview with Jackie Kay

  Monday 05 December 2005
  

  Jackie Kay is one of Scotland's most popular writers – playwright, poet, novelist and children's writer – and her new poetry book Life Mask was recently published.

• TV Catchphrase Quiz

  Thursday 01 December 2005
  

  Here's a quiz: which television shows popularised these words or phrases?: "keep 'em peeled"; "marmalize"...

• F Marian McNeill's The Scots Kitchen

  Thursday 01 December 2005
  

  Roddy Lumsden is inspired (and is sometimes worried by) F Marian McNeill's The Scots Kitchen

October 2005

• James Robertson: Voyage of Intent

  Monday 31 October 2005
  

  Roddy Lumsden looks at the role of 'writer in residence', and is inspired by James Robertson's work at the Scottish Parliament.