In celebration of Karma Group’s new resort acquisition, Ultimate Library recommends these five books to pack on your next trip to Scotland. These include the mystical ‘Outlander’ that has been adapted to television and is now in its fifth season to ‘Burns for everyday of the year’ by Scotland’s revered national poet, and an autobiography documenting a man living with otters on the west coast of Scotland.
1. Pine by Francine Toon
Lauren and her father Niall live alone in the Highlands, in a small village
surrounded by pine forest. In a community where daughters rebel, men
quietly rage, and drinking is a means of forgetting, mysteries are not out of
the ordinary: The trapper found hanging with the dead animals for two
weeks; the disappearance of Lauren’s mother a decade ago. But when local
teenager Ann-Marie goes missing it’s no longer clear who Lauren can trust.
2. Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell
Ring of Bright Water is an autobiographical work documenting Gavin
Maxwell’s life living among the Otters on the remote west coast of Scotland.
With the company of an otter cub called Mijbil, Maxwell evokes the unspoilt
seascape and wildlife of a place he called Camusfearna. Fifty years after its
original release it remains one of the most lyrical, moving descriptions of a
man’s relationship with the natural world.
3. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
What if your future lay in your past? In 1946 Claire Randall goes to the
Scottish Highlands with her husband on a second honeymoon. One afternoon
while walking she enters a circle of standing stones only to find herself in
1743. Stranded and amid danger Claire finds herself to be a Sassenach – an
outlander – in danger from both the Jacobites and the Redcoats. Her only
chance lies with Jamie Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior. But how can she
choose between two very different men and two very difference lives?
4. Burns for Every Day of the Year by Pauline Mackay
You cannot visit Scotland without reading some of the invigorating
poetry by Scotland’s national poet. This collection accompanies readers
through the seasons using Burns’ wide-ranging poetry, prose and song.
Across the world, as midnight strikes on New Year’s Eve, Burns’ beloved
song ‘Auld Lang Syne’ is sung in a spirit of friendship and togetherness;
his exuberant wit, insight and generous-hearted humanity can be
celebrated every day.
5. Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Faced with a choice between a harsh farming life and the world of books
and learning, Chris Guthrie chooses to remain in her rural community,
bound by her intense love of the land. But everything changes with the
arrival of the First World War and Chris finds her land altered beyond
recognition. One of the greatest and most heart-breaking love stories
ever told, this book offers a powerful portrait of a land and people in
turmoil.
