Reddit reviews The Sacred Art of Stealing

Reading, you should read some Christopher Brookmyre, all/most of his stories are set in Scotland or with Scottish characters, a lot of them centred around Glasgow. It really does provide a good idea of what it's like over here (but obviously the plots are action/thriller/whatever). Also they are fucking hilarious. I recommend starting with this one.
There is a book before it introducing one of the main characters but it's not too much of a big deal, I read them out of order. All of the books are kina related anyway.

The buses here are crap, the trains are ok but expensive, but I still shell out for them.

If there is some old drunk dude talking to you just smile and nod and walk away. Or even joke back (but then sometimes you can't get away from them ever). Most of the violent crime statistics are inflated because of fights between people knowing each other/drunken bar fighting. Obviously don't walk at night alone or anything, as in any big city.

As a rough rule of thumb: Pubs are open til midnight, clubs are open til 3am. Some of the bigger clubs will open til 4am but stop serving drink at 3am, so it's just for dancing really, and to stagger the taxi queue. Bars close between midnight and 3am usually, and are normally the most expensive for drinks. Apart from casinos, only really go there if you want to burn your money or you're desperate from somewhere to stay out in past 3am.

Taxis: There are 2 types of licence. "Black hacks" are the ones you'll recognise from pictures of London etc, are usually (not always) black, and have either the typical hackney cab shape or are people carriers. There is a light on them so tell if it's free etc. these are the only cabs you can hail down. They are usually pretty good, and the drivers need to do a test so they know their shit.

Private hire taxis are normal cars, and you can legally only book them by phoning. If you get in one off the street you and the driver could get into trouble and also it's dodgy as fuck, as the drivers don't need to have security checks or anything as all their jobs should be logged. They are usually cheaper but I avoid them completely, as they usually are more trouble than they are worth (drivers get lost, not showing up, etc etc).

They stop selling booze in shops at 10pm, boo.

Aldi/Lidl are really cheap supermarkets, and usually pretty good quality. The booze is fucking disgusting though.

Glasgow itself isn't very tourist-y, but it's a great place to live and close to so much stuff. You can day trip to loads of places. Try Loch Lomond, Edinburgh, Culzean, New Lanark, Arran, to name a very small selection.

Don't bother trying to emulate our accents, your accent will naturally soften in time without trying. I lived down South (England) for a while and that's just what happens. It'll go back to normal when you go home, if you let it.

Be prepared to be chatty with strangers, and have a joke. Never be afraid to ask for directions, in fact if you stand still looking lost for a while people will probably help you out.

I'd advise against getting into football, especially Celtic/Rangers. If you do support one don't talk about it loudly in public. Don't wear all green or all blue (I don't see why you would). If you are religious it's not really a done thing to talk about it. Even if you ignore all that most of the time you would be fine, but there are always arseholes.

I am a 25-year-old from Ayrshire, I am hoping to do a year in Japan starting from June (still need to earn the place though...), but please lemme know when you get here if you wanna meet up! I'm currently doing fuck all, and I'll be happy to show you around, or even have a boring day sitting watching tv hah. Cheers!

Oh! Oh! I am good at this game.

Night of the Avenging Blowfish and I Want to Buy a Vowel, both humorous novels by John Welter.

Like Being Killed by Ellen Miller, a 90's book about junkies with the best opening chapter ever. The epigraph is one of my favorite things in the world:

>“I’ve learned to swim on dry land. It turns out to be more practical than doing it in the water. There is no fear of sinking, for one is already on the bottom, and by the same token, one is drowned beforehand. It also avoids having to be fished out by the light of a lantern or in the dazzling clarity of a beautiful day. Finally, the absence of water keeps one from swelling up.
I won’t deny that swimming on dry land is somewhat agonizing. At first sight one would be reminded of death throes. Nevertheless, this is different: at the same time one is agonizing, one is quite alive, quite alert, listening to the music entering through the window and watching the worm crawl across the floor.
At first my friends criticized this decision. They fled from my glances and sobbed in corners. Happily, the crisis is past. Now they know I am comfortable swimming on dry land. Once in a while I sink my hands into the marble tiles and offer them a tiny fish that I catch in the submarine depths.” — “Swimming” by Virgilio Pinera

Ulysses by James Joyce. Famous book, VERY difficult, no one ever reads it because it is long and, at points, incomprehensible. In my top ten books of all time list anyway.

The Sacred Art of Stealing. Great, odd, witty crime drama. Can't say enough good things about it.