Still stuck for a Christmas idea for a loved one? Or need the definitive book to settle those pub quiz arguments?

Well, the 2008 version of the Virgin Book of Hit Singles has just been published, and you can’t get much better than its impressive 661 pages of musical knowledge.

We spent a night down the pub (being the hardcore students that we are…) analysing it and it held up pretty well, bringing back memories of one hit wonders such as “Mambo No 5″ by Lou Bega and “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” by Baz Luhrmann… classics.

It’s all there, and it’s your definitive guide to what’s right or wrong, solving those arguments and finding those obscure acts that nobody’s heard of.  It seems it’s all there and after a few hours of browsing we could only find one mistake  on page 437 – it that says “Vampire Weekend – Dutch producer”. I thought they were a US four piece unless I’m much mistaken! Still, they’ve got to be allowed one mistake in the whole book, eh?

Alongside all the British Hit Singles ever, there are also some interesting page long asides about some of the most interesting artists (and, er, Tony Wilson) covering a bit about their stories, which is fascinating and gives a bit more depth to the facts.

So, if you’re stuck for a useful Christmas present (or just a bloody good door stop) why not get yourself a copy of the 2008 Virgin Book of British Hit Singles? Buy a copy here – it’s just £12 at the moment from Amazon.

Last night I finished reading one of this year’s summer bestsellers, “This book will save your life”. It’s one of Richard and Judy’s reads for the summer, and is definitely a book to polarise opinions.

It follows reclusive Richard Novak through a break-down of sorts and then watches as he re-discovers the dysfunctional Los Angeles area, making friends with Anhil, the local donut shop owner and getting to grips with getting his life back on track. During this time Richard goes through a series of pretty unbelievable events one after another, making for an interesting read.

There were quite a few parallels to the film “Garden State” here for me, as Homes manages to take Richard on a voyage of discovery about himself and the people around him that both captivates and intrigues.

However, it does have its slower moments when I was tempted to put it down and not continue. Little things like the switches from first to third person (often mid paragraph) and the lack of chapters made it difficult to get on with, however it was quite a rewarding read come the end of it, even if most of it was pretty unbelievable and a bit slow to develop.