{"id":53881,"date":"2025-10-09T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peterlang.com\/?post_type=article&p=53881"},"modified":"2026-01-08T15:23:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T15:23:52","slug":"peak-reads-and-playlists-dr-valentina-bold","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.peterlang.com\/de\/article\/peak-reads-and-playlists-dr-valentina-bold\/","title":{"rendered":"Peak Reads and Playlists: Dr Valentina Bold"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Inspired by BBC Radio’s “Desert Island Discs,” the Peter Lang Group presents \u2018Peak Reads & Playlists\u2019.

Join us on a journey to the mountain peaks near our Lausanne headquarters where we speak with our esteemed series editors.

In this interview format, our guests share the books, music, and food that would keep them company if they were whisked away alone to this beautiful mountain setting. They’ll explore the reasons behind their choices, revealing the influence each has had on their lives. Get a glimpse into the hearts and minds of the Peter Lang community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Name: <\/strong>Dr Valentina Bold 
Job Title: <\/strong>Series Editor 
Series: <\/strong>Studies in the History and Culture of Scotland <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Books<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

> Which FICTION title would take the coveted first spot on your list? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner<\/em> (1824) is the one fiction title that surprises me on each reading. It is original and startlingly innovative: as relevant today as it was when it was written. The narrators are unreliable and might be insane; characters might not exist (hardly any are likeable); religious values are distorted and destructive. Justified Sinner <\/em>is set in a world where the natural and supernatural are a shifting continuum, where present and past co-exist. No one can be trusted, least of all the author.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

> If you were offered the chance to take a NON-FICTION title, which would you choose?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jen Stout\u2019s Night Train to Odesa<\/em> (2024) gripped me from the first page to the last. It is a personal, direct and heartfelt account of conflict and its impact, particularly on women. Through a journalist\u2019s clear vision, this is perceptive, insightful, compassionate writing, from a Shetlander\u2019s perspective, focussed on Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

> We\u2019re feeling generous so we\u2019ll allow you one more book, your choice of FICTION or NON-FICTION \u2013 which one makes the list? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This one has to be poetry: to feed the soul as well as the mind. I would like the \u2018O Choille gu Bearradh \/ From Wood to Ridge\u2019, the Collected Poems of Somhairle MacGill-Eain \/ Sorley MacLean (1911 \u2013 1996) edited by Christopher Whyte. There is a wealth of experience here that goes beyond the personal, into the political, natural and imaginative, from the G\u00e0idhealtachd\u202f into Europe, with consummate ease, anchored in tradition, exploring with imagination and grace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Music<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

> The mountain ranges have spectacular acoustics. Which 5 MUSICAL RECORDINGS would you take to enjoy whilst up on the summit and why? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. The McCalmans, \u2018The Ettrick Shepherd\u2019
    Beautiful settings of James Hogg\u2019s poetry and songs: varied, haunting and entertaining.
    <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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