With the Oxford Literary Festival starting at the weekend, I should be developing some highbrow reading habits.

And although I have books by Max Hastings, John Simpson and Dave Eggers lined up on my nightstand, my attention has been diverted elsewhere.

Tucked away in a cupboard I found a Stephen King collection of stories which have inspired famous movies, and enjoyed Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption so much that I now want to watch the film again.

I also took in a spooky tale about a journalist who comes a cropper when he stays in haunted hotel room 1408.

I'm not a big fan of horror, but King is one of the best page turners in the business which is why I keep coming back to his work.

In Coldest Blood by Jim Kelly, which focuses on the life of downbeat crime reporter Philip Drydren, who works in the Fens, has also intrigued me.

Perhaps Oxford Mail crime reporter Matt Wilkinson will bump into him when he takes up a new reporting post in Cambridge.

The paperback cost me 20p from the second-hand books depository at Oxford Central Library.

One book I didn't buy, and perhaps I should have done, was a first edition of The Little White Bird by JM Barrie, which I discovered in Oxfam in Cowley Road.

The 1902 hardback published by Hodder was in a terrible condition, resulting in the very reasonable price tag of £7.99.

I told staff in the shop that the book might be worth more because it is the first time Barrie mentions his most famous creation Peter Pan.

If I see the book again I will probably buy it, but the edition is quite rare so I may have missed my opportunity.

Still, treasures in the market at Gloucester Green are beckoning me...