What is a city? Do people make cities or do cities make people? And can cities have second lives? We all inhabit cities, but what do they mean to us? What do we mean to them? Is the city a real thing in the 21st century? How do we integrate their pasts to their futures? What are the threats facing cities in the western world? These are just some of the questions posed by the fascinating studies in this book. Through essays, poems, psychogeography, short stories, and more, an array of today’s leading writers and thinkers join together to look at cities in the western world. Focusing on the two former industrial heartlands of Glasgow and Pittsburgh, this international and diverse collection is asking the big questions and getting the most creative answers. From Will Self’s psychogeography of Glasgow, to National Book Award winner Terrance Hayes’ stunning poetry, this collection will make you think, feel, fear, and fight for what part cities play in our daily lives. Bold, diverse, and daring, these pieces are a must for anyone who cares about where we live and what it means to live in the urban sprawl of now. Will Self, Jane Mccaffery, Edwin Morgan, Ewan Morrison, Terrance Hayes, Allan Wilson, Louise Welsh, Kapka Kassabova, Gerald Stern, Doug Johnstone, Lori Jagielka, Hilary Masters, David Kinloch, Yona Harvey, Sharon Dilworth, Lee Gutkind, Richard Wilson, and many more.
Doug Johnstone Books
Doug Johnstone crafts compelling narratives that delve into the darker aspects of human nature and relationships, often exploring themes of suspense and psychological complexity. His writing is distinguished by a raw, unflinching honesty and a keen insight into his characters' motivations, creating an intense and immersive reading experience. Johnstone excels at building palpable atmosphere and tension, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as he dissects the intricacies of life with sharp precision. His work is recognized for its literary depth and its powerful emotional resonance.
The Collapsing Wave
- 300 pages
- 11 hours of reading
Ava, Lennox and Heather make contact with alien Sandy and head for a profound confrontation … The awe-inspiring, exquisitely moving sequel to The Space Between Us, as seen on BBC Two's Between the Covers.
The Opposite of Lonely
- 300 pages
- 11 hours of reading
A body lost at sea, arson, murder, astronauts, wind phones, communal funerals and existential angst ... This can ONLY mean one thing! The Skelfs are back, and things are as tense, unnerving and warmly funny as ever!
Gone Again
- 256 pages
- 9 hours of reading
In the tradition of The Vanishing and Tell No One comes a brilliant, guess-until-the-very-end psychological thriller.
The Big Chill
- 300 pages
- 11 hours of reading
Running private investigator and funeral home businesses means trouble is never far away, in book two of this darkly funny, devastatingly tense series
The discovery of a human foot in an Edinburgh park, the inexplicable circumstances of a dying woman, and the missing daughter of Jenny's violent ex-husband present the Skelf women with their most challenging - and deadly - cases yet...
A faked death, an obsessive stalker, an old man claiming he's being abused by the ghost of his late wife, and a devastating spectre from the past. The Skelfs are back in another explosive thriller, and this time things are more than personal...
A Dark Matter
- 288 pages
- 11 hours of reading
Three generations of women take over the family funeral-home and PI businesses in the first book of a taut, page-turning and darkly funny new series.
The Space Between Us
- 300 pages
- 11 hours of reading
When three people suffer strokes after seeing dazzling lights over Edinburgh, then awake completely recovered, they're convinced their ordeal is connected to the alien creature discovered on a nearby beach... Selected for BBC 2 Between the Covers 2023
Tombstoning
- 256 pages
- 9 hours of reading
David Lindsay hasn't been back to Arbroath in 15 years, ever since his best friend's body was found at the bottom of the cliffs. But a school reunion invitation from childhood sweetheart Nicola somehow proves impossible to resist and when he travels back there, he discovers that old friendships can be revived.
