Me And My Big Mouth

Books Of The Year: Number 8

Following his brother's death, Robert goes through his papers unearthing an odd collection of notes, letters and scribbles documenting an entire life.

This novel presents them in chronological order, creating a remarkable fictional memoir.

It is unusual, original, very funny and incredibly moving.

My review can be found here.

My interview with the author is over there.

Dear Everybody by Michael Kimball is published by Alma Books.

Advent Calendar: December 9th

As the decade draws to a close (which I realise doesn't actually happen for another year but you know what I mean) the media is chock full of retrospectives, best ofs and round ups. Tim Footman's entertaining look back at The Noughties manages to be both thoughtful and flippant at the same time. He writes brilliantly about 9/11 while also being able to tackle Big Brother and other less weighty topics without trivialising them.

At under 200 pages it is a bit of a whistle stop tour but it does the job well. I'd suggest it might make a good gift for an older teenager who might not have been paying attention when the decade started or for anyone interested in contemporary cultural history.

Books Of The Year: Number 9

I only reviewed this book last week so I won't go into great detail here but suffice to say that as offbeat comedies go, The Pets by Bragi Olafsson is about as off the beat as they come.

A bloke hides under his bed to escape an unwanted visitor only for the unwanted visitor to break in and host a party.

Another pretty short book, 157 pages long, and another on the list from a small independent publisher. Not sure what that tells you but it probably tells you something.

Oh, and someone in Iceland seemed to like the fact that I reviewed the book. Which is nice.

The Pets by Bragi Olafsson (who used to be in The Sugacubes) is published by Open Letter Books.

Advent Calendar: December 8th

I've mentioned this book before and I may well mention it again but only because it is nigh on the perfect gift for about half the people on my Christmas list.

A brilliantly researched and highly amusing history of reading on the loo, Closet Reading looks back over 500 years of toilet books. Along the way Phil Norman unearths some amazing antiquarian titles, interviews modern greats of the genre such as Gyles Brandreth and manages to squeeze an entire chapter out of Radio 1 DJs, the Hairy Cornflake and all.

This is pretty much the ultimate toilet book and no self-respecting loo library should be without it. As John Lloyd, creator of QI, says on the cover Closet Reading is:

'Quite interesting for anyone who's quite interested in this sort of thing.'

The Consultant Will See You Now (Blatant Plug)

In my spare time I do a little consultancy for small publishers and self-published authors. Having spent some years as Buying Manager for Waterstone's, then an independent publisher and now part of a big corporate - with a fare share of ups and downs along the way - I try to make use of that experience when advising people on how best to package, market and sell their books.

As the year draws to a close a couple of my consulting contracts have come to a natural end so I have some space for more. I don't usually mention this sort of stuff on the blog as I only have room for a small number of clients but if you are interested in finding out more then drop me an email and I shall be happy to enlighten you.

I am, as they say, very reasonably priced.

Books Of The Year: Number 10

The first book in my rundown of the pick of 2009 is a mere 108 pages long. It is also one of the most romantic books you will ever read.

Here's the blurb:

All Tom's friends really are superheroes. Tom even married a superhero, the Perfectionist. But at their wedding the Perfectionist is hypnotized by her ex, Hypno, to believe that Tom is invisible. Nothing he does can make her see him.

Six months later the Perfectionist is sure that Tom has abandoned her, so she's moving to Vancouver. She's going to use her superpower to leave all the heartbreak behind. With no idea that Tom is beside her she boards the plane: Tom has until they touch down to convince her he's there, or he loses her forever...

I was utterly charmed by the book. You can read my original review here.

All My Friends are Superheroes by Andy Kaufman is published by Telegram Books.

Advent Calendar: December 7th

This charming and beautifully packaged collection of tributes to dear, departed pets would be the perfect stocking filler for any animal lover in your life. The editor, Susie Cornfield, has cleverly combined classic pieces of literature - Kenneth Grahame, Thomas Hardy, Anna Sewell - with new and original material from a bunch of famous people - Brigitte Bardot, Jilly Cooper, Ann Widdecome - along with contributions from everyday members of the public.

The end result is a cornucopia of poetry, fiction, eulogies and reflections on the theme of animals and our relationships with them, especially when we lose them to the great zoo in the sky.

Farewell, My Lovely manages to be engaging, funny and genuinely moving in places without ever becoming too twee. This new, extended hardback edition includes a foreword from Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall which is bound to impress your granny.

A Song For Sunday

Coat To Wear by Patrick Kelleher. A naked woman wrapped up in fairy lights. What's not to like?

Advent Calendar: December 6th

Tom Holt is best known as the author of modern fantasy novels from the Terry Pratchett school. I have read one. It was OK. Won't read any more though.

I am the same with Pratchett.

But Holt also has a sideline in historical fiction. Funny historical fiction. Hilarious, in fact.

The pick of the bunch is The Walled Orchard. Our hero, Eupolis, is a dramatist. The greatest dramatist Greece has ever produced. We'd all know about him if it wasn't for that tosser Euripedes who, although greatly inferior, has a habit of sucking up to the right people. We follow Eupolis from his lowly birth through to his triumph as a playwright and on to his somewhat less successul time as a soldier, bumping in to numerous names from classical history in the process.

If, like me, you love the Greek myths and plays then this skillful and clever comedy will greatly appeal. Holt's historical novels are so good they make me wish I liked his fantasy stuff more as they would give me much more to read.

But I don't, so will have to make do with this and a couple of others.

Saturday Round Up

It has taken me a while to get round to reading The Golden Hour Book II and am kicking myself now. It is perhaps best described as a literary and music anthology - essentially a PB collection of stories and poetry with a 20 track CD stuck in the back.

The stories and poems I have read range from pretty good to very good indeed. I particularly enjoyed the opening story from Erika Duffy about penniless lovers spending their last three quid on the ingredients for chocolate cake and some licorice allsorts.

The CD is pretty much a mixtape of (presumably) unsigned bands and I have been giving it a spin on my iPod and tapping along merily. The whole package is rather impressive and whilst you can get it from Amazon and elsewhere I am sure the small press behind the project would make more money if you order it direct from them. A bargain at £8 and volume three will be out just before Christmas.

Bloomsbury have issues some of their spookiest books as part of a series called The Phantastics. They sent me Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe and very handsome it is too - black-edged paper, macabre cover design and a new introduction by Neil Gaiman. The book contains all the Poe stories you really need from The Murders in the Rue Morgue to The Fall of the House of Usher and beyond. Definitely one for a dark winter's night by the fire.

I really like the idea of 1066: The Conquest by Peter Fieldman. It is the Bayeaux Tapestry retold as a novel and it certainly delivers as an enjoyable historical yarn. The book is, I believe, self-published and that doesn't really do the book any favours when it comes to the packaging (this really needs to look as much like a Bernard Cornwell book as possible) but it has allowed for a creatively amusing price - an RRP of, you've guessed it, £10.66.

Yes there are countless books about successful yet unfulfilled Brits chucking it all in for a new life abroad and Tout Sweet: Hanging Up My High Heels for a New Life in Rural France isn't really all that different but it is perfectly entertaining and more than capable of holding its own against the competition. The author, Karen Wheeler, is a former fashion editor for the Mail on Sunday and, I must confess, I gave a silent cheer when she admitted she had quite her job because she couldn't bear fashion people and was fed up with having to pretend that the stupid outfits they desgined were actually worth wearing.

The early Miss Read books, written during the 1950s, are fascinating examples of social commentary/history. Rare glimpses of a way of life that died out as the war floated into memory and the swinging 60s gatecrashed the second half of the century. I re-read some recently and they really do stand up quite well. Perhaps inevitably as the decades moved on her writing became a bit less edgy and the stories ended up more comfy and nostalgic but there is nothing inherently wrong with that. Christmas at Thrush Green is the first book from Miss Read for a decade and is a collaboration with (i.e written by) her long time editor Jenny Dereham. For fans of the series it is a pleasant return to a familiar village and its inhabitants. A bit cosy, perhaps, although not without a bit of bite. The ideal comfort read over the festive season.

Advent Calendar: December 5th

If your nearest and dearest embarrasses you by insisting on reading Dan Brown while you wish they would give their attention to someone a tad more literary then might I suggest you wrap a copy of The Colour of a Dog Running Away and pop it under the tree for them this Christmas?

Imagine The Da Vinci Code re-written by Carlos Ruiz Zafon after he has been overdosing on Murakami and The Magus.

Sort of.

Richard Gwyn's debut novel has all the thrills and spills of one of Dan Brown's potboilers but is a better piece of writing by a long chalk. I lost myself in it when I read it a few years back and recommended it to anyone who would listen at the time. 

Lucas comes home to his flat in Barcelona to discover a postcard pushed under his door - a Miro painting on one side, a date and time on the other. Intrigued, he visits the Miro Foundation, standing opposite that very painting at the alloted time. There he meets a rather attractive woman and embarks upon a remarkable adventure involving the mysterious roof people of the city, being kidnapped and taken to the Pyrenees, obscure Cathar sects, fire-eaters and a rather intense love affair.

People who bought the book on Amazon also bought titles like 2666, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Angel's Game which gives you an idea of where it is pitched.

Page-turning literary thriller. Every Christmas needs one.

A Quaint Christmas

I am not the only person hosting an online advent calendar this Christmas - frankly, everyone is doing it - but I would like to point you in the direction of the one at Book Army.

(Book Army, if you haven't come across it before, is a social network site for book lovers and pretty good it is too.)

The Book Army advent calendar features literary festive treets every day. If you click on door (or is it window?) number 4 then you can download an exclusive and completely free Christmas story by our very own Darren Craske featuring the hero of The Equivoque Principle, Cornelius Quaint.

Books Of The Year: Honourable Mentions

Before I unleash my Books of the Year amongst you next week I wanted to doff my cap to some fantastic books that didn't quite make the final selection.

Q and A by Vikas Swarup was a wonderful story. Such a shame that Danny Boyle ripped the heart out of it and discarded all the best scenes for the over-rated Slumdog Millionaire.

David Bellos' biography of Georges Perec was a bit on the dry side but still a fascinating account of a genuine literary genius.

For a worthwhile and eye-opening celebrity memoir you can't do much better than How to Make Love Like a Porn Star by Jenna Jameson which also happens to be one of the most beautifully designed books I have read.

Give + Take by Stona Fitch is not only a novel out of the top drawer but also the first book from one of the most impressive publishing models currently in operation.

Books about rock bands are usually shit. Flying Saucer Rock 'n' Roll isn't. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Ethan and Martha adored The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I preferred The Thornthwaite Inheritance which was just as inventive and dark but much more funny.

The best story collection of the year was Stone Tree by Gydir Eliasson.

And the finest rediscovered classic was Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott. An absolute marvel from start to finish.

And finally, Helen Rappaport's account of the last days of the Romanovs in Ekaterinburg was as gripping as any novel I read this year.

Check back for the top ten from Monday.

Advent Calendar: December 4th

Today's advent calendar selection comes with added video. It is eight minutes long but, trust me, these are eight minutes that any book lover will delight in.

Sadly those beautiful handmade editions are a little bit out of my price range but thankfully, just in time for Christmas, Chronicle Books have issued an impressive trade edition which captures much of the intricacy and wonder of the original.

Inspired by the chance discovery of an old Pictorial Webster's Dictionary, John M. Carrera, a bookbinder and printer, decided to recreate this wonderful old book and embarked upon a ten year odyssey which is outlined in the video above.

Locating the archive of all the old engraving blocks he catalogued and restored them, eventually getting to the point where he could begin reprinting, by hand, hundreds of pages. Seriously, if you haven't clicked play on the video yet do it now. It is one of the best things you will see this year. I guarantee it.

The handmade books sell for thousands of dollars but the handsome trade edition is a snip at $35. It contains some additional and exclusive material as well. My copy, I received it for my birthday, sits next to my reading chair and I dip into it most nights before I go to bed.

I am not sure how widely available it is in UK bookshops (out of over 300 Waterstone's stores only 11 have it in stock) and much as I would like you to support your local independent and buy one there if you can't pick one up it is currently an absolute bargain on Amazon at less than £15.

I am struggling to think of any book lover I know who wouldn't find this volume a complete delight. Any artist or designer either for that matter. If you do decide to give it to someone this Christmas you should probably include a link to the video as well.

Pictorial Webster's: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities by John M. Carrera is out now.

The Death Of The Celebrity Memoir?

The Times rang me up yesterday asking me to write a piece about celebrity books. It was the middle of the afternoon and I had work to do so couldn't promise to file the copy in time (later that day) and suggested they try elsewhere, although I would attempt to knock something out if I could.

They ended up running with two interesting pieces from Nicholas Clee and John Blake. Here's what I came up with, albeit not quickly enough to appear in print.

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The celebrity memoir is dead. Apparently.

After a few years dominating the festive book charts the A, B (and, let’s face it C, D and Z list) celebrities are losing their appeal. A glance at this week’s bestseller charts shows only Ant & Dec in the top ten and just Peter Kay and Frankie Boyle in the rest of the top twenty.

Famous names that don’t make the Top 50 include Jack Dee, Katie Price and Ozzy Osbourne. Poor Justin Lee Collins can’t even crack the bestselling 250 titles in the country.

What has gone wrong?

Well, firstly, there are simply other things selling better. Five of the top ten are books in the Twilight series, one is Dan Brown’s latest work of genius and another is that hardy perennial Guinness Book of World Records. Even the combined forces of every stand-up comedian and reality star in the land can’t really compete against that sort of line-up. Perhaps this just isn’t their year.

Then you have the law of diminishing returns. You cannot expect the same sort of books to sell the same sort of quantities every single year. If you bought your mum Sheila Hancock’s book in 2007 and Dawn French’s memoirs last year you may well decide to mix things up a bit and give her a nice cardy this time round.

So, Christmas isn’t looking too jolly for some of our favourite TV stars, but are things really all that bad? We are talking about books that, even if they aren’t topping the charts, are still selling thousands of copies – in some cases tens of thousands of copies – every week. Some of them will have shifted well into six figures by the time Santa plops down the chimney.

Most publishers would rip your arm off for those sorts of sales. Any book that sells 20,000 copies has done extremely well. Most of the celeb titles will end up clearing way in excess of that. How can a book that sells, say, 50,000 copies be considered a failure?

The answer, of course, is all about the advance. 50,000 books is a great result unless you have paid someone £1m for the privilege of publishing it. Then it looks rather shabby. Many of the ‘under-performing’ celebrity memoirs doing the rounds at the moment were bought for six-figure (or even seven-figure) sums, effectively rendering their performance disappointing.

This is a real shame as many, OK some, of the books in question are really rather good – genuinely interesting, funny and well-written stories from people of considerable talent. It isn’t their fault that the market is changing or that teenage girls are starting to get all excited about vampires. You could point a finger of blame at publishers for paying such large sums or agents for demanding them but publishing any book has always been a gamble. It is just that this Christmas some of the gambles have been more costly than normal.

Will this mean a wholesale change for next year? I am pretty sure that next Christmas will see a new array of celebs flexing their literary muscles and they will continue to do so while people still want to read them. Perhaps not as many as in the past but more than enough to make it worthwhile. We’ll just see a few less zeroes on the advance cheque.

Books Of The Year: The Stats

To decide upon my favourite books of the year I sat down with a list of everything I had read during 2009 and picked out every one that I thought was really outstanding, every genuine highlight.

That actually left me with 14 books. I then ranked these in order, which wasn't too hard, and dropped the bottom four.

Some stats about the ten that remain:

• 9 are written by men. Only 1 by a woman. That must make me a sexist.
• 6 were originally written in English. 4 are in translation. I am a man of the world.
• 4 are by Americans. 2 by English writers. 2 Icelandic. 2 Norwegian. My Scandinavian fixation shows no sign of going away.
• 6 books are more or less from the past year or so. 4 are older. Don't think that tells us anything.
• Only 1 of the books is comes from a major publishing house. The other 9 are all from independents. More proof that the smaller publishers are taking bigger risks and releasing more interesting stuff than the big boys.

I will start the countdown proper next week. Bet you can't bloody wait.

Advent Calendar: December 3rd

A 2 for 1 today with a couple of stocking fillers from Alan Pearce.

Alan has pretty much cornered the market in books that capture the frustration and incredulity that so many people feel at the state of the nation but manages to be funny with it.

It's Health and Safety Gone Mad! is the follow up to the bestselling Playing it Safe. It is a further collection of ridiculous press and media stories such as the woman who had to trim her lavender bush because it was a threat to postmen (that is not a euphemism), the chip pan fire demonstration that was banned in case it encouraged people to actually put out any fires on their own and the council that banned swimming in the rain.

The cumulative effect of these rather silly stories is one of head-scratching disbelief but they are, sadly, all true. Which makes this the ideal Christmas present for the grumpy old relative in the family.

Somewhat more serious is Whose Side are They On? in which Pearce looks at the current government's legacy and pulls apart their numerous new laws and legislations that whittle away at our civil liberties.

He is rather pissed off about all this and manages to combine a feverish rant with large dollops of humour and more than the occasional raised eyebrow. It would suit the armchair politician down to the ground. Although definitely not one for the liberal lefties or staunch Labour Party supporters.

I am pretty sure that all of us have someone we have to buy for this festive season who likes a good moan about the state of modern society and both of these books would have them seething with glee.

Books Of The Year: The Preamble

As is traditional on this blog I will shortly publish a countdown of my favourite books of the year. Not that I think too many people give a shit but I enjoy it and some of you may find a few reading recommendations within the list.

I've already decided on the Top 10 and looking back over it I am intrigued by some of the stats.

I had 89 books to choose from and although I call it Books of the Year it is technically a list of my favourite books from January to November as clearly I don't know what I am going to think of the books I read in December - but they can always carry over into 2010's list.

Apart from that there aren't many rules for a book to qualify but these are they:

• I need to have read the book during 2009.
• I cannot include any books I have published or edited.
• I won't include any books I have read in manuscript form.
• It doesn't matter if the book was published in 2009, I just need to have read it this year.

Some fascinating stats tomorrow.

Advent Calendar: December 2nd

Why not give someone the greatest story ever told this Christmas?

Homer's Odyssey has everything you could possibly want in a book. And I mean everything.

Sex, drugs, monsters, shipwrecks, magic, sports, nudity, romance, banquets, fights, gods, blood, guts, unrequited love, coming-of-age, epic travels, pigs, the most beautiful woman in history, ancient wisdom, homecoming and one hell of a punch up at the end. Followed by a bit of gardening.

There are numerous editions and translations and versions available but if you are buying a copy for someone who isn't familiar with the story I would suggest going for the Robert Fagles translation which is an accessible and rip-roaring read without losing any of the poetry of more traditional versions.

Knock Knock. Who's There?

We've all done it. Don't pretend you haven't.

There's a knock at the door or a ring of the bell. You aren't really in the mood for guests so take a sneaky peek through a chink in the curtain. Oh bugger, it's someone you really don't want to see. So you pretend you aren't in.

Emil has just flown back to Reykjavik from London. He has made a date with a woman he met on the plane. When he spots Havard, an old acquaintance he'd rather forget, on his doorstep he hides under his bed and waits for him to go away. But Havard isn't going anywhere, which comes as no surprise to us as we've already seen him be an awkward soandso for a number of chapters.

Peering through the window Havard notices a pot boiling over on the stove so breaks in and waits for his friend to arrive, assuming he will return at any minute.

Which he won't, what with him hiding under the bed and everything.

And the rest of the book unfolds with Emil peering out from under a bed and Havard wandering around the house, answering the phone, inviting people round, hosting a party. You know the sort of thing.

The Pets is a short book with a very simple, compellingly awkward and very funny premise. A perfectly decent chap is stuck under a bed while a bloke he would really rather avoid holds court in his house. Whether you like it or not is almost certainly down to whether you find that idea funny.

I think it is fucking hilarious. And I loved it. One of the most refreshingly different books I have read all year.

Bragi Olafsson is an award-winning Icelandic novelist. Before writing books he was the bass player in The Sugacubes alongside Bjork. The Pets is published by Open Letter Books, a fascinating American publisher specialising in fiction in translation. I am definitely going to check out more of their titles and I would love to read more of Olafsson's work but nothing else appears to be available in English. I'll have a word with someone.

Advent Calendar: December 1st

Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs is an unusual and entertaining account of the nine months the author spent living in the famous Shakespeare & Co. bookshop in Paris. Part personal memoir, part travelogue, part history of the store, part biography of its eccentric owner George Whitman it is essential reading for anyone who is in love with bookshops. Or Paris. Or both.

If you have someone on your gift list who spends much of their time wadering around dusty secondhand bookshops then I am pretty sure they would love this as a present.

But I would recommend you read it yourself before you wrap it.

Interview: Jah Wobble

Jah Wobble was a founder member of Public Image Ltd and went on to have a successful solo career including the Mercury nominated Rising Above Bedlam album. His many musical projects range from setting the poetry of William Blake to music through to working with Brian Eno and, more recently, the critically acclaimed Chinese Dub Orchestra.

He has just published his autobiography, Memoirs of a Geezer: Music, Life, Mayhem, which I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. It is one of the best rock memoirs you'll read. I am more than a little chuffed to welcome him to the blog today.

SP: One of the strengths of the book is that it is written very much in your voice. You tell it like it is. Was there much you had to leave out of the book for legal or personal reasons?

JW: No, not as much as I feared, in fact hardly anything....I think that initially there were about 40 points raised by the lawyer....these were quickly whittled down to about 10. Out of those half were rewritten in a way that kept the lawyer, myself and John Williams the editor happy, and half, after a bit of debate were left as they were.

SP: How much fun was it slapping Sean Hughes on Never Mind the Buzzcocks?

JW: Actually I felt quite bad afterwards...I was in my late thirties when it happened and I knew in my heart of hearts that that sort of behaviour, in spite of his appalling attitude, was well past its sell by date. It is very difficult, especially as you get older to justify violence of any kind, no matter how many plaudits you get for it.

SP: I am a bit younger than your good self and first came across your work while working in HMV Southend when Rising Above Bedlam came out. My favourite track of yours is a B-side from that time, Josey Walsh. I notice it ended up on the I Could Have Been A Contender collection so presumably is a song you are keen on. What can you remember about how that song came about?

JW: Yes you're right that song is a favourite of mine. The actual name Josey Walsh is fictitious. My lyrics tell the tale of a woman who has had a terrible childhood....suffered all sorts of abuse and ended up as an alcoholic, with her kids taken into care and all that. She makes many attempts to get into recovery, but just cannot make it. In the end she dies a horrible, lonely premature death, typical of chronic alcoholics.. The song tells her that the struggle is over, and that she is loved....indeed she always was. It’s not even a question of her needing to be forgiven or anything.

SP: How do you feel about the changes in the music industry in this newfangled digital age?

JW: Equal measure of good and bad (so far). On one hand it’s helped devalue music in the eyes (and ears) of many people....on the other hand the technology is heaven sent for a maverick figure like me....I have a great deal of autonomy. I can still make an ok living, on my terms. Having said that, in comparison to how it was the economy of the music business is far closer to a car boot sale now than most people would imagine. But at least production costs have tumbled dramatically, to (almost) match the low dealer prices that one now receives per unit sold. I think now that everyone realises that the music business’s troubles were the thin end of the wedge in regard to the internet and copyright infringement. In regard to the internet the genie is well and truly out the bottle. It’s going to be very interesting to see where it all goes.

SP: Your Chinese Dub project has been very well received, will this be something you continue with or is there, as often happens with you, something completely different in the pipeline?

JW: I’ve got a new album called ‘Welcome to my World’ lined up, as well as a digital only EP called ‘Electro Retro vs. Late Impressionist period Dub’ (really)...plus I’m in pre production of an album of Japanese stuff. My wife Zi-Lan and I would love to do Chinese Dub again, however we want it to be even bigger and better than it was....I really want to avoid doing ‘Chinese Dub Lite,’ (otherwise known as the ‘cash in’).

SP: I'd love to get a couple of music recommendations from you while I've got you here. Any good stuff I should be listening to?

JW: Harold Budd’s The Room is my fave at the moment. I tend to listen, when ‘off duty’, to composers like Arvo Part, Gorecki and Tavener. Similar to Harold they are regarded as minimalists....whereas they are seen as ‘Holy’ Harold is one of the originators of the American (Californian) School of minimalism. But funnily enough I would wager that Harold is probably holier than them all! He really is a very good bloke.

SP: And I always ask visitors to my blog to suggest a favourite book, what would you pick?

JW: The Jenny Diski book was the best thing that I read lately . I’ve also been steaming back into the The Upanishads recently. After a dose of the Upanishads I always feel inspired to go about ‘my’ business in proper fashion, i.e. the ‘My’ and ‘Me’ aspects get put in their proper place. Atheists will probably shudder reading that....”oh no!” they will exclaim “Another nutcase thinking that he is doing the Lord’s work!”

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Memoirs of a Geezer: Music, Life, Mayhem is out now and if you are thinking of buying it then I highly recommend chucking in a copy of I Could Have Been A Contender, his 3 disc career retrospective, as well. The perfect combination.

Write Lines

I was on BBC Radio Oxford last night alongside some far lovelier people talking about getting published, selling your books and plenty of other stuff.

The show is called Write Lines and is the brainchild of broadcasting legend, and former Book Swap guest, Sue Cook> It has proved very popular if the Twitter following and blog reaction is anything to go by.

Last night was the final episode of 4. There are plenty of radio shows that cover books but very few that talk about writing and the writing world in any detail. I think Sue might be on to something with Write Lines and I hope to hear it on Radio 4 soon.

In the meantime you can listen to us all witter on via the swanky BBC iPlayer.

Advent Calendar

Every day between December 1st and Christmas Day itself I will be posting short suggestions for books to brighten up your festive season.

Some will be old, some will be new. Some would make for ideal gifts, others are entirely for personal use.

The intention is to recommend 24 books that you might otherwise have overlooked. They are unlikely to be on promotion in your local WH Borderstones and probably haven't been noticed by the reviewers and literary editors who are paid to bring great books to your attention.

It is an entirely selfish and personal selection but I hope some of you will find a few books to add to your own wishlists or to give to others.

A Song For Sunday

Lucklucky by Veda Hille.