I was busy last week following the Prime Minister around Oxford, so I didn't get as much reading or book-hunting done as I would have liked.

But I did make sure I attended a talk by Charles Elton, the author of Mr Toppit, Penguin's lead title for the beginning of the year.

Mr Elton had been invited to Woodstock by Rachel Phipps, who runs the Woodstock bookshop on the main drag through the town.

About 20 people crammed in to the shop to listen to the talk and after a slightly guarded start, Mr Elton warmed up and played to the gallery.

His copy editor was "ruthless", he confided to his fans, many of whom had read his debut novel, about a dysfunctional family which comes under increasing pressure following the death of Arthur Hayman, who wrote the Hayseed Chronicles, which become famous children's books.

Mr Elton, who set the book partly in the United States because England is "such a small canvas", is now half way through writing a novel about another dysfunctional family, this time a folk music dynasty. It will be interesting to see how the author gets on with the second novel, because the first, which took him 15 years to complete, was "instinctive".

Following the talk, the author signed copies of his book while he smoked a fag outside the shop, and was later spotted in the Woodstock Arms, where I enjoyed a pint with Andrew Morgan, one of the fixers behind the Wootton-in-Woodstock talks. The Lindsay Duncan Thatcher drama last week has certainly wet my appetite for the visit of former Chancellor Geoffrey Howe at a date to be fixed.

On Sunday, I was lucky enough to attend a talk given by evangelical author Michael Green, who spoke to rugby fans gathered at Abingdon United football club to watch the England versus Ireland game. Mr Green was once a rugby player himself, but no longer plays as he is 79.

"Christians know the value of team spirit," was one of the messages from his brief team talk before Christ Church regulars retired to the bar to watch the game.

I took along a copy of one of Mr Green's books, You Can Not Be Serious, which he was happy to sign for my wife.

Other books I have been enjoying include The Longest Trip Home by Marley and Me author John Grogan, and Making an Elephant, a collection of writing by Waterland author Graham Swift.

I loved the film of Waterland, but I understand that there were times when Mr Swift didn't revel in the whole experience, although he found it basically "benign". I'm sure my experience of Making an Elephant will be a benign one.