Books tagged with 'scotland': 21

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Bad Heir Day

by...Wendy Holden     average rating...1.0 / 5
tags...fiction poop scotland
shelved by...rychusfeminist
viewable entries...1

'Are you now, or have you ever been, in possession of a brain?'

entry by...rychusfeminist     updated...Sep 14, '08     spoilers...none

Then you won't like this book. It's a bunch of poorly-written, mindless fluff. Don't be fooled by the cute covers and glowing (invented?) reviews on the back. It's a waste of your time and space on the library shelf.

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The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel

by...Alexander Mccall Smith     average rating...4.0 / 5
tags...11208 fiction philosophy scotland series
shelved by...picklemommy rychusfeminist
viewable entries...none
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The Careful Use of Compliments: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel

by...Alexander Mccall Smith     average rating...4.0 / 5
tags...102808 fiction mystery philosophy scotland series
shelved by...picklemommy rychusfeminist
viewable entries...none
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Enter Three Witches

by...Caroline Cooney     average rating...3.0 / 5
tags...macbeth novel scotland
shelved by...jill
viewable entries...1

'Enter 3 Witches'

entry by...jill     updated...Sep 28, '08     spoilers...minor

This "young audiences" novel was very entertaining, and I devoured it over the weekend. Centering on the story of an out-of-favor lady-in-waiting, life as a servant to Lady MacBeth is well imagined. It follows the Scottish Play closely, and freely uses quotes from Shakespeare while entwining the minor characters' tales in among the bigger seize-the-crown story. The novel is pretty bloody and hints at some violent sexual situations, so it gets a PG rating from me - and a suggestion that it is more appropriate for girls of 15 or older.

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Love Over Scotland (44 Scotland Street)

by...Alexander Mccall Smith     average rating...5.0 / 5
tags...fiction scotland series
shelved by...rychusfeminist
viewable entries...none
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Espresso Tales

by...Alexander Mccall Smith     average rating...none
tags...fiction scotland series
shelved by...rychusfeminist
viewable entries...1

'So cute'

entry by...rychusfeminist     updated...Jun 23, '08     spoilers...n/a

Alexander McCall Smith writes great stories and reading him is like literary vitamin C.

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Notes from a Small Island

by...Bill Bryson     average rating...4.0 / 5
tags...1990s bus car culture england history landscape memoir read2008 scotland society train travel uk urban walking
shelved by...mazda502001 uclagirl
viewable entries...1

'[entry title]'

entry by...mazda502001     updated...Jan 22, '07     spoilers...n/a

This guy's books just crack me up. I could read his books forever.

As an athlete would do a lap of honour, Bryson embarks on a farewell round trip of Britain, the island that had been his home for the last 20 years. His decision to repatriate was prompted by a Gallup poll that said 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by Aliens. Obviously his country needed him.

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The Moon's Our Nearest Neighbour

by...Ghillie Basan     average rating...4.0 / 5
tags...highlands nonfiction scotland survival
shelved by...mazda502001
viewable entries...1

'[entry title]'

entry by...mazda502001     updated...May 11, '08     spoilers...n/a

This non-fiction book was a wonderful read and I just don't know how this couple and their children live in these conditions in the wilds of Scotland.

Back Cover Blurb:
Chasing dreams of their own photographic business, Ghillie Basan and her husband Jonathan swap the comfort of their Edinburgh home for Corrunich - a remote cottage at the foot of the Cairngorms.
With jumping cows for company, the Basans begin their new life with no electricity and heavy snowstorms. Generators break down and roads quickly become blocked, but the couple have a series of adventures with a fascinating mix of local farmers, terrified tourists, an African president, and their two babies, Yasmin and Zeki.
The Moon's our Nearest Neighbour is a heart-warming, amusing account of a life lived in the picturesque beauty of highland Scotland; and, most of all, of the tremendous strength of spirit in coming to terms with the hardships and isolation of a new lifestyle.

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The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

by...Maggie O'Farrell     average rating...4.0 / 5
tags...baby breakdown deception family familysecrets hospital identity india read2008 scotland
shelved by...mclauer sorcha uclagirl
viewable entries...2

'[entry title]'

entry by...sorcha     updated...Nov 07, '07     spoilers...n/a

_The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox_ started well; there seemed such a big build-up to the story, written in classic O'Farrell fashion, but then all of a sudden it was over. And did it really end? I cant be sure. I feel as though I've been left hanging.

I just cant help but feel there's a whole lot more to this story that we didnt find out. It seemed to be building up to something huge, but then the huge thing was a bit of a let-down because it just felt rushed.

I think O'Farrell tried too hard to write it in the same style as _After You'd Gone_, which is brilliantly powerful, but _The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox_ doesnt tug at the heart-strings in the same way. There are times when O'Farrell indicates her literary genius, but it's not constant like _After You'd Gone_. Which is a shame, because it certainly could have been, I just feel that O'Farrell didnt capture the full potential of her own idea.

I liked Esme, but I wanted to know more about her time in Cauldestone. I wanted to know more about her childhood. I wanted to know more, more, more!
I liked Iris, but how does she react to her news?
I could have liked Alex if I'd known more.
I probably would have disliked Luke if I'd known more.
I couldnt despise Kitty because she was scattered - more perspective would have been good.
Her parents seemed almost absent.

I'm always disappointed when a book leaves me wanting more for all the wrong reasons.

Still, it's a good, quick read. It holds interest.
It's just a shame there's not more of it.




"We are all, Esme decides, just vessels through which identities pass: we are lent features, gestures, habits, then we hand them on. Nothing is our own. We begin in the world as anagrams of our antecedents".

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'[entry title]'

entry by...mclauer     updated...Oct 29, '07     spoilers...none

Iris Lockhart learns that she has a great-aunt Esme (much to her surprise) waiting to be released from Cauldstone Hospital, where she has been locked away for 60 years.The hospital is closing, and someone must collect Esme, who upon inspection seems frail, quiet, and a little quirky but hardly mentally ill. As far as Iris knew, her grandmother Kitty had no siblings; Kitty is still alive but suffering from Alzheimer's. The secret of Esme's existence is only the first of many family secrets revealed in a tale told through shifting viewpoints and time changes, among them Kitty's fragmented recollections. The sudden ending to this family exposé left me a little in the lurch, but the psychological suspense along the way satisfied the strong plot and characterization.

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Hellfire [UNABRIDGED] (Audiobook)

by...Diana Gabaldon     average rating...4.0 / 5
tags...england historical homosexualty love scotland
shelved by...jennibug23
viewable entries...1

'[entry title]'

entry by...jennibug23     updated...Feb 11, '08     spoilers...n/a

Feb 8, 2008 audiobook

Story of Lord Gray right after he returns from Ardsmuir

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