On Scottish Books: Scott Fleming
Notable writers and readers share five of their favorite Scottish titles.
For Volume 7 of ‘On Scottish Books’, we are joined by Scottish author/actor Scott Fleming who shares an eclectic mix of books that have been influential throughout his life. Take it away Scott!
I have followed Lilly’s love for Scotland for several years, her passion and thirst for knowledge of the land in which I was born never ceases to amaze me. So, I was delighted when I was asked to provide five of my favourite Scottish titles. An eclectic mix, but all have meaning to me at different stages of my life.
1. The Gruffalo in Scots by Julia Donaldson, translated by James Robertson
As a father of two young children, Julia Donaldson books were popular in my house. It was indeed my two children that started me on my writing journey as I stepped over the precipice of my forties! As an author who makes many an appearance at schools, The Gruffalo in Scots was a revelation for me personally. I used this book, along with my own and an exaggerated Scottish brogue, to bring an extra interactive dimension to school visits, especially during Scottish calendar events. This book will not top the list of many a learned individual, but it encouraged dozens of children under my guidance to write their own Scots poems and stand up to deliver them in front of their peers. Thanks to this book, many children now understand the meaning of the word, ‘muckle’!
2. The Munros: Scotland’s Highest Mountains by Cameron McNeish
Before GPS, and other such fancy mobile phone apps, a map and a copy of this book were essential reading before setting off on any Munro adventure with my friends and family. In my opinion, Cameron is a great advocate for Scotland, and this book offers a no-nonsense approach to the hills, recommending not only the traditional routes, but advice on choosing ‘the path less trodden’ to combat the erosion the increasingly heavy footfall causes. My Munro adventures started before I was gifted this book, but it would be fair to say that my days on the hills were a bit of a hit or miss before I studied the tips within these pages.
3. Peter and Wendy (1911 novel) by J.M. Barrie
I was fortunate enough to have a library within two hundred metres of my house growing up. In between devouring Asterix and Tintin comic books, I found that my library stocked a tattered edition of this classic. As a skinny little not-yet-a-teenager with an active imagination, this story was wonderous to me. Children that flew, pirates, cannons, crocodiles, it had it all. Due to its withered condition, the wise librarian would not let me take it home, so I returned at every opportunity to finish it. I won’t go into details regarding the plot of the book, as I’m pretty sure most are aware of it, but I can say that this, along with my next choice, fuelled my imagination and started a fire that burns brighter than ever over thirty years later. At least once a day, I tune out and drift off to my own version of Neverland, and I would encourage all adults to do the same.
4. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
My fourth choice goes back even further than the adventures of Peter Pan and was a book that was introduced to me at primary school during designated reading times by a teacher who said that I had an old head on young shoulders! I never quite knew what he meant at the time, but he was not wrong as I’ve always been drawn to what can be considered the classics, written using words and sentences that are unrecognisable to recent generations. Treasure Island continues my childhood theme of wonder and escapism as I excitedly read about pirates, adventure, gold and mutiny while imagining myself as Jim Hawkins. This book was revisited recently after watching The Muppets Treasure Island, which captured the spirit of the book surprisingly well in its own way!
5. The Acid House by Irvine Welsh
I should start by saying that this collection of short stories is not one of my favourite reads as such, but the style contained within opened my eyes to non-conventional writing that schools had never introduced me to. It’s not for the faint of heart or easily offended reader, the book is dripping with cruelty, depravity and downright mind-bending scenarios, some of which are based on real life events. ‘A Soft Touch’, for example, is more common than you think and several of my colleagues have stories of their own to tell with similar outcomes. I would recommend reading this if only to take you out of your comfort zone and possibly kickstart some crazy, fresh ideas that may be lurking in the corners of your mind but are too afraid to step into the light. Trainspotting is the book/film that really grabbed everyone’s attention, but this often overlooked collection contains some fantastically bizarre and thought provoking stories.
BIO
Scott Fleming is a Scottish author who recently founded his own self-publishing company, Balbardie Books. Although initially created to publish his own children’s books, and that of other aspiring picture book authors, Scott is now working on chapter books, novels, screenplays and has just been hired as script editor for an upcoming feature film. Scott is also a keen explorer of Scotland, a black belt martial artist and an actor.
See more from Scott here: Facebook | Instagram
Thank you so much Scott! And thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for future installments of ‘On Scottish Books’!
You might also enjoy:
My Scottish Bookshop Directory and Scottish Wanderlust Book Club :)
Lilly
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