Here are 100 books that The Acid House fans have personally recommended if you like
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I was born in Scotland. I grew up in Scotland. The family house contained no television, but it did contain a vast wealth of books, music, and life. As a result, I learned to read at a really young age and then set about working my way through my father’s myriad books. Stories, songs, and Nature have always been my solace. In addition to being Scottish, the five books on my list are so innovative that they transcend mere words on a page; there’s a lyrical quality to the lines, music in their cadence, and animals (non-human ones–the best kind!) infusing the stories with deeper significance and subtext.
As a kid, I was hooked on this story's vast, wide-open freedom. The notions of hidden treasure maps, buried fortunes, stealthy smugglers, and dangerous pirates affected me in profoundly positive ways, stimulating a wanderlust and a love of adventure.
Although Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson set this swashbuckling tale on the south coast of England and the elusive Treasure Island in the Caribbean, it was inspired by his childhood experiences in Scotland, most notably trips with his dad to rocky islands and promontories (RLS’s father was a lighthouse engineer who designed and built many iconic lighthouses).
When my father took the five-year-old me to The Admiral Benbow en route to a family holiday in Cornwall, I was amazed to find that the inn was a real place. It felt bristlingly alive to me, for this was the same inn where Billy Bones had lodged with the treasure map while hiding…
Penguin presents the audio CD edition of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Following the demise of bloodthirsty buccaneer Captain Flint, young Jim Hawkins finds himself with the key to a fortune. For he has discovered a map that will lead him to the fabled Treasure Island. But a host of villains, wild beasts and deadly savages stand between him and the stash of gold. Not to mention the most infamous pirate ever to sail the high seas . . .
I was born in Scotland. I grew up in Scotland. The family house contained no television, but it did contain a vast wealth of books, music, and life. As a result, I learned to read at a really young age and then set about working my way through my father’s myriad books. Stories, songs, and Nature have always been my solace. In addition to being Scottish, the five books on my list are so innovative that they transcend mere words on a page; there’s a lyrical quality to the lines, music in their cadence, and animals (non-human ones–the best kind!) infusing the stories with deeper significance and subtext.
As an 11-year-old, I read this book for the first time and thought it was the funniest book ever written. I cried and laughed at several parts.
The dialogue sparkles with old Glasgow wit and wisdom. John Joy Bell’s love of the Scots dialect is evident throughout. The book is a collection of tales featuring the titular character, a wonder-filled wee boy growing up in Glasgow during the 1930s.
The writing is endearingly innocent and playful. It’s a glorious snapshot of Scottish life a century ago.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank…
I was born in Scotland. I grew up in Scotland. The family house contained no television, but it did contain a vast wealth of books, music, and life. As a result, I learned to read at a really young age and then set about working my way through my father’s myriad books. Stories, songs, and Nature have always been my solace. In addition to being Scottish, the five books on my list are so innovative that they transcend mere words on a page; there’s a lyrical quality to the lines, music in their cadence, and animals (non-human ones–the best kind!) infusing the stories with deeper significance and subtext.
To me, this book is the quintessentially Hebridean novel in existence. My paternal grandmother hailed from the Isle of Lewis (or Eilean Leòdhais, to give the island its proper Gaelic name), as did her parents and their parents, and so on back ad infinitum. I’ve always loved the wild beauty of the place. Lewis feels like Home with a capital H. It has a long history of poetry and song, but until fairly recently, not many novels have emerged from those shores.
This book impressed me on several levels. Kevin MacNeil eloquently articulates the difficult duality experienced by many Lewis folk: on the isle, they feel isolated and often daydream of being elsewhere, but upon leaving the island, they feel uprooted, untethered, and lost. And how do the islanders deal with this existential paradox? They drink. As in, really drink. In the Hebrides, alcohol is both a curse and a…
'Fuck everyone from Holden Caulfield to Bridget Jones, fuck all the American and English phoney fictions that claim to speak for us; they don't know the likes of us exist and they never did. We are who we are because we grew up the Stornoway way. We do not live in the back of beyond, we live in the very heart of beyond ...'
Meet R Stornoway, drink-addled misfit, inhabitant of the Hebridean Isle of Lewis, and meandering man fighting to break free of an island he just can't seem to let go of...
Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: “Are his love songs closer to heaven than dying?” Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard it…
I was born in Scotland. I grew up in Scotland. The family house contained no television, but it did contain a vast wealth of books, music, and life. As a result, I learned to read at a really young age and then set about working my way through my father’s myriad books. Stories, songs, and Nature have always been my solace. In addition to being Scottish, the five books on my list are so innovative that they transcend mere words on a page; there’s a lyrical quality to the lines, music in their cadence, and animals (non-human ones–the best kind!) infusing the stories with deeper significance and subtext.
I love this—Tom’s only published novel—not just because of the author’s impressive command of brevity (a prolific poet and short-story writer, he is a master of saying more with less) but also because his poet’s love of language shines through in the dialogue: each character has unique verbal habits and idiosyncrasies, just as people in real life have. Tom’s characters are the sort of folk I want to hang out with: philosophers, all; originals; one-offs; salt of the Earth.
There’s also a wolf angle. Wolves have always resonated with me. As a child, I photographed them (mainly wildlife parks) wherever I could. In Nahatlatch Valley, British Columbia, where I holidayed with my family when I was seven, I lay in bed in the log cabin each night, howling along with the wolves whose song filled the forest outside.
As a nineteen-year-old on holiday in Spain, I was so drunk one…
It was like the beginning of a bad joke: a Russian, Irishman, Highlander, half-breed Indian and a North-Easter sat around a bar in mid-November in a dying place...
The place is Macqueensport, a seaport in the western Highlands, where the regulars meet in the Haddock Arms to discuss the general state of things-"no jobs, no houses, no future, midges, folk getting older, young leaving, houses going as second homes, fish going, horizontal rain and extinct Scottish wolves." And so, the Wolfclaw clan is born; an unlikely group of eco-warriors who draw their inspiration from the wolf, a loyal, protective and…
As well as featuring kick-ass female lead characters, all the books listed delve into why people do what they do – and this has always fascinated me; it’s why I became a journalist. Talking to victims of crime, I was always struck by their strength (and that was never more true than when I fronted an award-winning campaign for victims of domestic abuse). Prior to that, I worked at a high-security men’s prison, and getting to know the prisoners had a profound impact on me. Now, whether reading or writing a book, I love to get under the skin of characters and find their ‘why.’
Complex, clever, and cunning Gruoch is fighting for her survival and the crown of the ancient kingdom of Scotland–and she isn’t going to let anything or anyone get in her way.
She has no one to look out for her, so she must take on the world herself, and no matter what was thrown at her, she kept on, as single-minded as ever–and I kept cheering her for that, despite her villainy.
LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION DAGGER 2024
LONGLISTED FOR THE GOLDSBORO GLASS BELL AWARD 2024
'Suspenseful, atmospheric and full of twists and turns, I loved the brutal, backstabbing world that Isabelle Schuler conjures up where only the most ruthless can survive' - Jennifer Saint
'Dazzlingly clever and difficult to put down' i
Power. History. Love. Hate. Vengeance.
She will be Queen. Whatever it takes...
Daughter of an ousted king. Descendant of powerful druids. Destined to take her place in history.
As a child, Gruoch's grandmother prophecies that she will one day be Queen of Alba and reclaim the lands…
Many readers pick up books to escape reality, but I am passionate about reading stories where hope and healing can be found among the pages. I love depth and transparency. I love learning about history. As an author who ensures my books contain accurate biblical themes, I am always searching for books that are saturated with truth. Stories that will take me on an adventure and help me grow along with the characters. This list contains books that cover heavy topics, but they also infuse hope. I know that I have found encouragement through them!
This book contains tough questions that I have struggled with in the past like, “Why would God allow this to happen?” “Does God see me?” “How can God use this for His glory?” I found comfort in these pages. I learned the struggle of many during the Jacobite uprising—something I knew precious little about, and I have Scottish heritage!
Laura always transports me into history, and I love how she combines stories of struggle with hope. I always walk away from her books with new knowledge of history and encouragement for my own life. Besides, I can never say no to a good romance!
"A masterful achievement of historical complexity and scintillating romance sure to thrill readers with its saga of love under siege."--Booklist starred review
In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley's father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known.
No sooner has Everard Hume lost his father, Lord Wedderburn, than Lady Hedley arrives with the clothes…
Nine Stories Told Completely in Dialogue is a unique collection of narratives, each unfolding entirely through conversations between its characters. The book opens with "God on a Budget," a tale of a man's surreal nighttime visitation that offers a blend of the mundane and the mystical. In "Doctor in the…
Understanding history is essential for understanding ourselves as human beings – for recognising where we’ve come from and why we live as we do. What I love about historical fiction is that it can take tumultuous times and show their effects on the individuals who lived through them. As a historical novelist, I try to bring history back to a tangible, human level. These short novels show that if a writer’s prose is fresh, witty, and moving, then historical novels don’t need to be enormous tomes to give us a new slant on the past and allow us to inhabit lives utterly different from our own.
The beauty of this novel is that it takes sweeping historical change – the Highland Clearances of Scotland – and manages to make history intimate, showing the impact of events on one vulnerable old woman. In the nineteenth century, much of rural Scotland was forcibly "cleared" of people to make room for sheep grazing. Outside of Scotland, this great tragedy of Scottish history is not as well known as it should be, and neither is Smith’s book.
I love its deliberately naïve style, as we see the world through the old woman’s eyes and feel her pain as history crashes down on her. It’s full of the beauty of the natural world, but it’s also chilling, as it demonstrates the indifference of outsiders to a long-established way of life.
50th anniversary edition of a true modern classic.
'Vividly depicted ... sheer beauty' OBSERVER
'A masterpiece of simplicity' FINANCIAL TIMES
'A simple but noble book ... this deserves to be read' SCOTSMAN
'When she rose in the morning the house at first seemed to be the same. The sun shone through the curtains of her window. On the floor it turned to minute particles like water dancing. Nevertheless, she felt uneasy ...
What had the girl said? Something about the 'burning of houses'. They just couldn't put people out of their houses, and then burn the houses down. No one…
When I first visited Scotland, I drove north from Edinburgh, driving through much of the country to catch a ferry to Orkney. This northern archipelago is certainly one of the most magical places I’ve ever been to; the steep sea cliffs and standing stones, windblown grasses, and violent waves put me in a gothic state of mind. I moved to Scotland a few years later to live by the sea. Since that first visit to Orkney, I’ve written my own Scottish gothic novels, as well as presented research on the gothic at various academic conferences. It’s a topic that I’m certain will compel me for a long time to come.
Fray is such an unexpected novel. It’s presented as a sort of ‘missing person mystery,’ but it’s actually quite an experimental and literary novel.
The whole story, written in often surreal fragments, takes place in the Scottish wilderness and is rife with unforgettable imagery. Ultimately, it’s a story about grief, and the fragmented narrative style perfectly suits this theme.
These books aren't just the best in their field–they're the best at pinpointing the place I am from. Tartan Noir is a rich world, and I'm just about to join it. These books give a sense of place and people and sometimes bring a little laughter in the dark. To me, that's Scotland, in its magnificence, grandeur, and polar opposite of these things. Scotland is a country with two faces, as everyone from James Hogg onwards knew well... Let's see which side you prefer!
Rilke, the auctioneer, finds a collection of photographs that show the death of a young woman. He journeys into the dark heart of Glasgow–and his own desires–to find out who she is.
An amazing debut, looking at the subcultures and twisted alleyways that stitch together every big city. I was compelled by how far Welsh was prepared to go, depicting a city I thought I knew.
'Unputdownable' Sunday Times 'I was hooked from page one' Guardian
When Rilke, a dissolute auctioneer, comes upon a hidden collection of violent and highly disturbing photographs, he feels compelled to discover more about the deceased owner who coveted them. Soon he finds himself sucked into an underworld of crime, depravity and secret desire, fighting for his life.
What happens when you’re face-to-face with a truth that shakes you? Do you accept it, or pretend it was never there?
Award-winning author Mark A. Rayner smudges the lines between realist and fabulist, literary and speculative in this collection of stories that examines this question—what Homer called passing through The…
I’m a long-time mystery fan. In my teen years, I cut my teeth on short YA mysteries presented as puzzles or brain teasers and later graduated to Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, P. D. James, Martha Grimes, and others. My favorites are mysteries that combine the challenge of the puzzle, a healthy dose of suspense, a chance to bond with interesting characters, and the pull of evocative language, be it plain or poetic.
Martha Grimes is one of my favorite authors. I love both her style and her penchant for pairing the twists and turns of murder investigations with hijinks to create a three-dimensional world. The twelfth book in Grimes’ Richard Jury series brings the Scotland Yard detective to America, where he’s confronted with killings in a Pennsylvania cabin and on the streets of Baltimore.
This book is named for a real-life saloon in Baltimore’s Fells Point neighborhood. I moved to the Baltimore suburbs not long after reading this book. When I first saw the establishment, its front windows were filled with copies of Grimes’ novel.
Mourning the death of his lover, Scotland yard Superintendent Richard Jury throws himself into a new case involving three seemingly unrelated murders and a literary forgery in Baltimore, Maryland