Book Talk

This month, Paul Gallagher gathers freelance writer and blogger Nicola Balkind and SBT's Head of Reader Development, Philippa Cochrane, to discuss Jonas Jonasson's bestselling novel, The Hundred-Year-Old Man who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. The book, which details the hijinks of a centenarian who escapes from his old people's home, drew mixed reviews from our Twitter followers, with one saying it made them want to go on a romp of their own and another giving up on it entirely. What did our panel think? You'll have to listen to find out! The spirited discussion touches on the novel's dark comedy, the unexpected depths concealed (or not!) beneath the humourous surface and whether or not the book is intended as a satire--and if so, whether it's a successful one.

On this edition of Bookmarked Ryan Van Winkle goes in search of essential interviews from the world of books and comes back with two gems - writer Kirsty Gunn talking about the long long process of development and writing of her just-published novel The Big Music, and TV broadcaster and author of A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos Mark Thompson (pictured) talking about how he got into astronomy and why it's so fascinating.

And nestling between these two interviews is newly-crowned Granta Young British Novelist Jenni Fagan reading her short story 'Impilo'. It contains some strong language and is not for the faint-hearted, but is a great example of new exciting writing happening right now. 

Contents:

0:00  Introduction 

0:53  Kirsty Gunn interview  

8:09  Jenni Fagan reads 'Impilo'  

22:03  Mark Thompson interview

Paul Gallagher is joined by Peggy Hughes, City of Literature’s Communications Executive and Duncan Wright, Senior School Librarian from Stewart’s Melville College in Edinburgh to discuss and review Boxer Beetle, the acclaimed debut novel from Ned Beauman, a part absurd historical comedy, part present-day mystery-chase story.

Following their in-depth discussion of the book Paul interviews Ned Beauman about where he got the inspiration for the many and varied themes and characters in this striking novel.

PODCAST CONTENTS

00:00-01:14 Introduction and competition01:15-12:58 Boxer Beetle review discussion13:01-19:05 Thoughts on strong content; the end of the book19:10-19:34 How to add your comments19:38-30:14 Ned Beauman interview30:17-31:34 Conclusion; next month's books

CORRECTION: In the podcast Paul incorrectly refers to Ned Beauman's forthcoming book as The Teleportation Event, it's actually called The Teleportation Accident.

This month, Paul Gallagher hosts a discussion of Kate Atkinson’s new novel, Life After Life. Joining him are Kirsty Logan, books editor with The List, and Peggy Hughes, communications executive with Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust and member of the League of Extraordinary Booklovers. Together, they delve into a book that trips backwards and forwards through time, reliving the main character’s life (and many deaths) over and over and question whether the novel is a literary dream come true or a recurrent nightmare.

After a trip to the Middle East last month, Bookmarked host Ryan Van Winkle is back in the UK and ready to talk about crime, poetic inspiration and the extraordinary history of how one London landmark ended up in the Arizona desert.

Highlights include:

* Crime writer Sophie Hannah discussing her new book, The Carrier, motives that aren't so black-and-white and how success both helps and hinders her writing

* A trip to the StAnza poetry festival in St Andrews, where Ryan talks about family and solves rhyming riddles with poet and performer John Hegley

* Do you know the rhyme about London Bridge? You'll know much more than that as Ryan sits down with Travis Elborough, author London Bridge in America: The Tall Story of a Transatlantic Crossing. Travis's book tells the extraordinary story of how an American tycoon bought one of the last works of famed Scottish civil engineer John Rennie and used it as the centrepiece of a new development in Arizona.

Book Talk branches out into both non-fiction and graphic novels with the unconventional biography Dotter of her Father's Eyes. Mary and Bryan Talbot's book follows two life stories: that of Mary, the daughter of a pre-eminent scholar of James Joyce, and of Joyce's own daughter, Lucia. The unique approach to the biographies helped make this the first graphic novel to win the Costa biography award earlier this year.

Host Paul Gallagher sits down with Keir Hind, books section editor for The Skinny, and artist and graphic novel writer Damon Herd to discuss how well this book works as a graphic novel, the collaboration between author and illustrator and the role of father-daughter relationships on the page.

Listen to hear what our guests thought and join the discussion in the comments below, tweeting us your thoughts to @scottishbktrust, or hit us with a comment on our Facebook page.

In this episode of Bookmarked Ryan Van Winkle introduces four interviews that take us all over the world:

Gavin Francis, author of Empire Antarctica, talks about ice, silence and Emperor Penguins;

we visit the Erbil Literature Festival in Kurdistan to hear from young Iraqi writer Sabrin Qadi and her Scottish counterpart Krystelle Bamford;

Closer to home, we speak to Glasgow crime author Caro Ramsay about her new book The Blood of Crows, which The Guardian called a "bleak, black and brilliant" read.

Following on from the last Book Talk podcast which featured a discussion of James Robertson's hugely accomplished 2010 novel And the Land Lay Still, we were delighted to have the opportunity to hear directly from James about his process of developing and writing the book. He talks about the entire four year process, from initial ideas, to developing characters, to figuring out how to put it all together, and how it felt to finally complete the book.

Described by its blurb as being “epic in every sense”, James Robertson's 2010 novel And the Land Lay Still is an expansive, ambitious and at times breathtaking tome offering a survey of life in Scotland in the second half of the 20th Century.

On this edition of Book Talk host Paul Gallagher talks with Duncan Wright, Senior School Librarian from Stewart’s Melville College in Edinburgh, and a member of The League of Extraordinary Booklovers, and Jeanette Harris, Scottish Book Trust’s General Manager, about And the Land Lay Still. Does Robertson succeed in combining epic scope and intimate character detail? Listen to find out what our guests thought.

Join the discussion by tweeting us your thoughts on And the Land Lay Still to @scottishbktrust, or hit us with a comment on our Facebook page.

Ryan Van Winkle gets 2013 off to a great start with his third Bookmarked podcast, which has him talking about kids' wild imaginations with author and illustrator John Fardell, discovering the world of football with Rodge Glass and rubbing shoulders with the League of Extraordinary Booklovers.

Podcast highlights:

Somerset Maugham Award-winning author Rodge Glass talks about sports and his new book, Bring Me the Head of Ryan Giggs

John Fardell takes a break from creating a mural at the Mitchell Library to share what it's like to be an illustrator-in-residence, how kids constantly surprise him and who his favourite illustrators are

2012 New Writers Award winners Andrew Sclater and Roy Gill discuss how the award changed their lives and their writing and what we can expect from them in the future

Karen Cunningham, head of Glasgow libraries, speaks about the future of books during Book Week Scotland

Three members of the League of Extraordinary Booklovers talk about how they were chosen, what their mission is and what books they were eager to recommend

 

LINKS

Book List: 10 Books About the Beautiful Game

Book Week Scotland

Duncan Wright: The League of Extraordinary Booklovers

John Fardell

New Writers Awards

Rodge Glass