reading Archives - The Glasgow Guardian



Is reading the newest health fad we didn’t know we needed?

3rd May 2022

Aysha Sohail investigates how reading books can be beneficial to students’ health. Have you ever read a book that felt like a tonic for the soul? Something you could dip into and feel the stress fade away? There may be more science in it than you think – reading has been proven to bring you ...


Should you finish every book you start?

6th January 2022

Rebecca Richard discusses whether authors have a responsibility to grip you from the beginning. I’m the worst for having multiple books on the go at once. One day I’m in the mood for a crime fiction thriller, the gorier the better. Other days I jump at my own shadow whilst home alone and must opt ...


Reading challenges for the new year

28th December 2021

Patrick Gaffey offers a method to make reading more books your New Year’s resolution. As 2021 draws to a close, many of us will be counting off our last winter reads, and planning which books to explore next year. Users of websites such as Goodreads and StoryGraph often set annual reading challenges, establishing a minimum ...


Can reading together bring you closer?

18th December 2021

Books Editor Rachel Campbell describes her attempt to make reading a shared hobby in her relationship. ​​To say my boyfriend isn’t a reader would be an understatement. Having studied accounting at uni, he left books at Higher English and never looked back. As I begin my fourth year of studying English Literature, reading has become ...


Therapeutic reading: reading, grieving, and healing

3rd October 2021

Monica Brotherton describes how reading novels throughout her life has helped her come to terms with silenced grief. My dad died when I was six years old. Even saying that sentence is still a little bit difficult, and I don’t think it will ever roll off the tongue. There’s an awful lot of uncomfortable emotions ...


Trainspotting: Scotland off the rails

1st May 2021

Almost 30 years after Trainspotting’s publication, Culture Editor Rosie Shackles examines why the cult classic is just as relevant today. Content warning: discussion of drug use and addiction “Choose sitting oan a couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing junk food intae yir mooth” hit a little too close to home when reading cult ...


The literary cures to your lockdown blues

7th April 2021

Five book titles that promise to brighten your day. Suffering from the lockdown blues?  Well, you’ve come to the right place! With the road out of lockdown still so uncertain, many of us are feeling a little tense these days. Sometimes you just want to escape the real world, go to a place where the ...


A book that changed my life: The Greeks

11th January 2021

Mahee Mustafa recounts what Ancient Greece can teach us about freedom. The most valuable thing one can glean from a work of literature is insight into one’s own psyche. Although command of language, deft characterisation, and excavation of universal themes are all important, a book is ultimately worth nothing if it does not reveal a ...


What’s the point of reading?

27th November 2020

Ha Neul Lee explores whether reading is still relevant in the age of the internet. In an era where knowledge is just a Google search away, remembering information is getting less and less important. There is, apparently, just no incentive to read. People can watch film or TV adaptations of fictional novels. Information from non-fiction ...


Are charity shops killing the publishing industry?

16th November 2020

The importance of literary affordability v supporting your favourite authors. Emily Menger-Davies: Charity shops aren’t killing the publishing industry themselves… but they aren’t helping With Waterstones and Oxfam Books sitting opposite each other on Byres Road, it can be interesting to wonder whether their relationship is one of sibling-like affection or friendly rivalry. Is the ...