I’ve had a bad start with Jonathan Franzen’s ‘Freedom’. My copy arrived a week ago and I sat down to read it almost straightaway, having loved ‘The Corrections’. To my annoyance, I found I’d read the (very long) first chapter already, as it was published as a short story in The New Yorker. Had they announced that it was a novel extract, I would have skipped it and waited, especially as, of course, it had been abridged slightly. So I reread the first chapter 1) to remind me what happened and b) in case there were new bits. I saved ‘Freedom’ up for a second go after I’d done the proofs of my new (adult) novel. A treat to look forward to. Correcting the proofs…

The full programme for next Saturday’s Celebration of Alan Sillitoe is now online and there are still places available for the event, which will be in Nottingham’s Council House. Speakers include Alan’s son, David, novelists Gwen Grant, John Harvey and D.J.Taylor, plus readings from Alan’s poetry. It’s an interesting, varied schedule and I look forward to attending. I first met Alan when I persuaded him to write a short story for an anthology I edited called City Of Crime in the 90’s. I met him a couple of times that year and he was always friendly and supportive to me after that. The last time we met was when he came to speak to my MA group at Nottingham Trent University last year (the photo…

It’s more than 18 years since I last saw Lloyd Cole, whose new album ‘Broken Record’ is just out. Back then, he was filling Sheffield City Hall. Next month, he plays ‘Glee’ a compact new Nottingham venue, with his Small Ensemble. The album’s very enjoyable. The song below can’t help but make me think of the recent movie Tamara Drewe, adapted from the Posy Simmonds graphic novel of the same name, which is set at a wickedly observed writers’ retreat. The crude trailer for the movie made it look so bad that I avoided its Nottingham premiere, with director and Posy in attendance (although I did go and hear Posy speak earlier in the day). Then the word of mouth was so good that I…

I’d uploaded two songs to write a blog post about today, but figured without getting hold of the new Robert Plant album, which is officially released tomorrow. I’m on my third play and it’s magnificent, far stronger than its very enjoyable predecessor, Raising Sand, fully deserving of the five star review in Friday’s Guardian. I’ve already written at length here about my falling out with Led Zeppelin, so I won’t revisit those recollections. What I will say is that music as good as this – drawing on the last fifty years and named after Plant’s pre-Zep group, Band of Joy – completely justifies his decision not to get on the reunion past glories gravy train. Here’s one of the bluesier cuts, a Lightnin’ Hopkins number.…

While we were in Toronto last month, there were posters for the Scott Pilgrim movie everywhere. I read a lot of comics, but I’ve never got around to this series, so wasn’t aware that it was Canadian and, indeed, set in Toronto. Though when we visited Casa Lomo (pictured: fascinating place, with an incredible story behind it) and saw the Scott Pilgrim poster amongst the display of movies that had been filmed there, that should have been a big clue. In my defence, most of the movies that use the location fictionalise it, ie as the X-Men’s base. Scott Pilgrim doesn’t, and uses the hand rails on the steep stairs we climbed up from the road to spectacular effect, and will doubtless, deservedly, boost attendances.…