BOOK ALERT
Over the long summer my head has rarely been out of a book. However, the latest 'best sellers' have been, quite frankly, second-rate. Only one in five have been deserving of merit, which is not only disappointing but worrying. Why are standards slipping? Why are so many books getting through when they don't deserve it, especially when it is generally accepted that the Brits are the most prolific (and among the best) writers in the world? I am vexed by the suspicion that the Americans are stealing our thunder. This cannot be allowed to happen but when we see an ad in the Daily Telegraph, placed there by a frustrated, unpublished writer (and judging by the English construction a brick stands a better chance of success) pleading for notice, I get an unpleasant sensation in the pit of my stomach that the worst may not be over ....