Holiday Reading

Yes, I've been absent for another couple of weeks, this time because of the Easter holidays. I spent most of the school holidays in Dundee with my family and really enjoyed the chance to relax completely and forget about work and all the demands on our time and attention that we all experience in everyday life.

We deliberately avoided scheduling too many visits and appointments so that we would have time to just chill and have a complete change. It was bliss to be able to sit in cafes and read as long as we wanted. And there were plenty of bookshops to browse, so we were never short of reading material.

As usual, I'd taken a pile of books with me, just in case, but I discovered lots of books to buy while I was in Scotland. I find that when I'm in Scotland, I like to read books by Scottish authors. I may have books with me that are perfectly enjoyable, but if they are set in England, reading them would destroy the holiday mood and the feeling of being in a different country.

For example, before we set off on holiday, I had begun to read Stuart Maconcie's Pies and Prejudice: In search of the North, and I was really enjoying it. But somehow it seemed disloyal to read about the North of England while I was in Scotland, so that was abandoned. While browsing in Waterstones, I discovered some new books set in Scotland by some of my favourite authors, so I couldn't resist them, especially as they were on a 3 for 2 offer.

I began by reading Glasgow Kiss by Alex Gray. I had read one or two of her books a while ago and this, her latest offering, appealed to me for two reasons : it was a generously sized book club edition, rather than a tiny paperback, and it was set in a school in Glasgow. Some of the action was set in the centre of Glasgow, outside Borders Bookshop, an area which is one of my usual holiday haunts, so I particularly enjoyed being able to imagine the places which were mentioned.

I found the dialogue convincing and the plot compulsive reading - in fact, I had read all the 353 pages within 24 hours. I can heartily recommend the book to crime lovers. Alex Gray really makes us identify with her characters and shows how crimes can affect the lives, not just of the victims, but of other innocent people. In this her fifth book, she has really mastered crime writing and has set herself up as a serious contender in the genre.

The second book I read was Easy Kill by Linn Anderson. This was also set in Glasgow, in the Necropolis, the sprawling hillside graveyard which has been compared to Paris's Pere Lachaise Cemetery (where I had filmed many years ago with the BBC). I had spent some time exploring the Necropolis with my family on my last stay in Glasgow, which is probably just as well. After some of the gory things which happened in it in the novel, I'd have thought twice about venturing there, especially after dark!

Linn Anderson had caught my attention a few years ago when I bought her second novel, Torch. Like Torch, Easy Kill features the intrepid forensic scientist, Rhona MacLeod. It's a dark book, which pulls no punches. This is far from the Happy Ever After scenario you find in some crime writing - people are deeply affected by their experiences, and that goes for Rhona and her colleagues too.

What was the third book I bought in my 3 for 2 offer, then? It was by another Scottish crime writer, Val McDermid and it's her latest paperback, A Darker Domain. But after reading two crime novels back to back, I fancied a change, so I ended up reading a couple of non-fiction books - so if you want to know what the Val McDermid is like, you'll have to wait, or else read it yourself...

My reading fixes

So what do I read when I'm not writing? My main fiction books are crime novels, though I am also very partial to short stories. I also read huge amounts of non-fiction - about writing, self-help, psychology, and spirituality.

Recently I've been having a non-fiction reading marathon. I have read several books by the brilliant Wayne Dyer, and have just discovered Caroline Myss, although I think I prefer listening to her books rather than reading them. I am also a huge fan of the British Taoist guru, The Barefoot Doctor (Stephen Russell), especially his Manifesto, which I have on CD and on paper. He really makes me laugh as well as making me think.

As far as books on writing are concerned, I love Julia Cameron's books, especially The Artist's Way, and have been writing Morning Pages on and off for years as a result of her influence. Nathalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones is another favourite. The Writing Handbooks by Rib Davis on developing characters and writing dialogue also provide lots of food for thought.

When it comes to crime, I like mine gritty, British, and preferably Scottish, so you can probably guess that Ian Rankin is one of my favourite novelists. I also enjoy the up-and-coming Scottish writers, Lin Anderson, Sheila Quigley, Alex Gray, and Stuart MacBride (whose books are set in Aberdeen). I myself hail from Dundee, but I visit Glasgow at least twice a year, so spotting locations on Taggart is one of my favourite television pastimes - 'Look, we've been to that restaurant!' Unfortunately, there isn't a famous Dundonian fictional detective, as far as I am aware.

Non-Scottish crime writers whose books I read regularly include that wonderful husband and wife team, Nicci French, whom I had the pleasure of hearing at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival; Frances Fyfield (if you can find any talking books by her read by Rula Lenska, you're in for a treat); and MC Beaton whose Agatha Raisin is my number one literary character - feisty, brilliant, dogged, lovelorn, outrageous, and hilarious.

Non-crime writers that I enjoy include Adriana Trigiani, who transports me into another culture so beautifully, especially her Lucia, Lucia, Maeve Binchy for heartwarming page-turners, and Alexander McColl Smith, although I tend to read his Scotland Street books set in Edinburgh rather than his Number One Ladies' Detective Agency series. I find his saxophone-playing child prodigy, Bertie, extremely funny, although, as the mother of a musical prodigy myself, I do wince at times when I spot similarities between myself and his pushy mum!

Do post a comment and let me know if you share any of my favourite reads - or perhaps try out one of the authors I've suggested. Happy reading!