This year’s holiday reading post is rather earlier than usual as we’ve just (a jetlagged week ago) returned from a long break timed to celebrate the end of my research leave and the beginning of Sue’s (I had a very productive period, thanks very much). David Peace – The Damned United Not read Peace’s earlier novels but the word of mouth on this was so good I had to check it out: a cleverly constructed, engrossing account of Brian Clough’s 44 days as manager of Leeds United combined with flashbacks of his managerial career up to then. You don’t need to be a football fan to enjoy this. The Clough voice convinces, allowing you to love him and understand what a nightmare he could be…

Every year, we put together a best of year CD for a few of our friends (and if you’re one of them, you may wish to look away until your copy arrives) and, last year, I posted a set of sleeve notes online, an indulgence which I’m going to permit myself again (I’ll update daily until complete). Non muscially minded readers, scroll down to find out more about Young Adult Fiction. Or you can visit my myspace where the song currently streaming is my favourite B side of the year (why not open another browser window, then you can listen to it as you read this…) The photo on the left is the cover photo, Brighid at Tate Modern earlier this year, with Rachel Whiteread…

If I didn’t already write for a living, I’d be tempted to make this a music blog, with lots of downloads and reviews, so, a warning – the rest of this year will be devoted to music. Since the advent of cheap cdr copies and bittorrent, there’s more music coming into my house than I can keep up with on hi-fi, car stereo or iPod. And, while I’m on research leave, there’s no bar to my going to as many gigs as possible, especially on Monday and Wednesday evenings, when I’d normally be teaching. Who cares how long the drive, it gives me the opportunity to catch up on Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour shows (highlights of the last week, ‘Radio’ and ‘School’). This…

I’ve just submitted my blog for One Day In History, the mass blog about what people were up to three days ago. You can submit until October 30th and doubtless it’s searchable. But here’s a bit of what I wrote. I went to the first in a season of poetry readings organised by my close friend, poet, publisher and critic, John Lucas. The Flying Goose Café only seats a couple of dozen people and John fills it several times a year. Tonight, there were three poets: my NTU colleague Catherine Byron, John Hartley Williams from Berlin and Peter Porter, from London and Australia. When I was teaching Peter’s poems, twenty years ago, I never imagined that we would become friends, but he was, until last…

I’ve just begun a semester’s research leave from my university teaching job, so have no excuse not to do various things I’ve been putting off, like for instance, sorting out my myspace account, which I set up a year ago but never got round to filling in properly. So if you want to read about my interests, see a recent photo, find out how old I am and all that kind of stuff, head over there now. You can also email me via that site. The linked email on this site will bounce back with an autoreply, but I will be checking it from time to time. I’ve also loaded iTunes 7 onto my mac and iPod. I love the big rotating jukebox display that…