I was delighted to receive confirmation the other day that The Page Turner has gone global.
Philip Pullman fan CL Tarvin wrote in from Portland, Oregon, to say how much he enjoyed my "wonderings" around the bookshops of Oxford, a city he adores.
I'm not sure if this is a deliberate spelling mistake but it describes perfectly my favourite hobby.
On a recent visit to my parents in Hereford, I took a step back in time by climbing the ladder to the attic where books from my childhood are stored.
In among the battered Jennings, Famous Five, Hardy Boys and Secret Seven collections I found a gem which fascinated me as a young lad.
I thought Survival for Young People by Anthony Greenbank, published in 1975 by Piccolo, had been lost forever, but there it was sitting on a pile of Commando comics.
Greenbank's book makes The Dangerous Book for Boys look extremely tame and the bizarre compendium of advice — how to fit a survival kit into a fountain pen, Avoiding Being Buried Alive, and Keeping Warm in a Catastrophe would have some publishers today running for the nearest wine bar.
Some of the advice is very sound — you can learn how to build a snow cave and watch out for signs of hypothermia — but other pointers from the free-and-easy 1970s would, I am sure, alarm most parents today.
In the opening chapter Greenbank advises youngsters to "prove to yourself you are more resilient than you ever thought" by banging a large sized can of baked beans down on your finger.
"Do this with all your force, as if to crush the finger," Greenbank advises, reassuring readers that they will feel "nothing more than a mild blow".
As an eight-year-old, I was too smart — or too scared — to try this stunt but I was encouraged to try to a few survival jumps from first-floor windows.
Back in Oxford, I used my own booksearching compass to find my way to the British Heart Foundation store in St Ebbes.
I always enjoy a visit to this lively shop, which sometimes has more volunteers than customers.
There I discovered a Vintage Classics edition of Iris Murdoch's 1973 novel The Black Prince. This is my first encounter with one of Oxford's most celebrated novelists and I'm looking forward to the challenge, although my wife has hinted that I might find the prose a touch too purple for my liking.
If you have rediscovered any classics from your childhood do give me a shout.