I was rudely awoken by an insomniac coal tit at 3.40am this morning and took a moment to think about books.

The first book that inevitably sprung to mind was Sebastian Faulks's World War One masterpiece Birdsong.

A quick look on Amazon revealed that on September 3, his new novel, A Week in December, will come out.

Apparently he finished it quicker than expected, so publishers are bringing forward its release date.

The rush release means an almighty clash with another British big hitter, William Boyd.

His London-based novel, Ordinary Thunderstorms, comes out four days later on September 7.

I'm a big fan of both authors and shall approach publishers for review copies of both novels at the earliest possible opportunity.

Listened to a bit of Billy Bragg last night including the poetic St Swithin's Day from the early 1980s.

The song has little to do with the Saxon bishop of Winchester but I await July 15 with interest, to see if it will rain or shine for the 40 days after that.

I've got one or two camping trips coming up and I don't want to get drenched.