"The Forensic Records Society", by Magnus Mills

Novel, 2017

A book, like others by the author, in which a scene is set - quite an odd, quirky but essentially familiar, humdrum scene - and then nothing really seems to happen in quite brisk, glorious fashion. The establishment, growth and fall of different shades of seven inch vinyl appreciation and their nuances and power struggles within and between give this novel more of an allegorical feel than some of its predecessors. This is glorious stuff indeed; easy, odd, perplexing in places and, for all its inbuilt mundanity, hugely entertaining.

"Pop", by Kitty Aldridge

Novel, 2001

A novel which kicks off with some extraordinarily rich writing, which then flails and flags a little, but ends up delivering a satisfying whole. For the most part, this is an absorbing page turner, though it can feel as if plot points aren't resolved or somehow worked through to the kind of areas they may profitably be pushed into. Details of Midlands pub life are excellently sketched, though possibly distract from the more serious themes of loss and ambition. All in all, a cracking read.