Intrigued by Nick Hornby's selection of 40 titles for a special Waterstone's table, I picked out Stasiland by Anna Funder.

The book won the BBC Four Samuel Johnson Prize in 2004 and focuses on what life in East Berlin was like before the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago.

I've had a passing interest in the city of Berlin since spy novelist Henry Porter came to Wootton-by-Woodstock village hall earlier this year, to talk about his Berlin-based story Brandenburg.

The man on the till at Waterstone's was Dan Gothard, whose 1980s-based novel, Relax and Swing, I reviewed for the Oxford Mail the other week.

He thanked me for the piece, told me Stasiland was a great read, and informed me that the store's manager Colin Shone was also a big fan of Japan, the band his novel focuses on.

I grabbed a takeway Lapsang Souchong at the Buttery in Broad Street and then backtracked to Arcadia where a paperback of Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood looked tempting at £2, but I was in a hurry so I headed back to the office instead.

The other day, I was researching a story on traffic congestion in St Aldates, so after a quick latte at Cafe Loco, I drifted down the alleyway into St Philip's Books, which sells theological texts and other intriguing volumes.

I spotted a couple of Graham Greene first editions at £15 a pop, The Honorary Consul, and A Burnt-Out Case, which I think were reasonable priced, but I'm not rich enough to start playing the first editions game.

Instead, I invested £12.50 on Angus Calder's The People's War, which tells the story of how Britons coped with the trials of World War II.

The heavyweight hardback was in fact a first edition from 1969, but I bought it to help me with a research project I'm working on, so I wasn't too bothered about whether or not it was collectable.

St Philip's Books is an oasis of quiet in a very busy world and I will definitely be going back.

Every now and then I like to read something which might be viewed as a little bit trashy or mainstream. I'm a big fan of Stephen King because he is such a good storyteller, and I've bagged a paperback collection of his stories that were made into films.

I started to read one the other night, but I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open - I swear it wasn't King's fault.

I've never read any Paulo Coelho before but I know some people love him, so I thought I would try his latest, The Winner Stands Alone, which appears to be a thriller.

I read a profile of him in The Sunday Times magazine the other day, and he always wears a black roll neck, so I certainly admire his sartorial habits.

Whether his prose will be quite as easy on the eye remains to be seen.

Have a nice weekend and let me know if you have read any good books.