I've spent quite a bit of time monitoring the white stuff (snow) this week, but I have still managed to pick up some great books during the odd spare moment.

The one that really caught my eye was Mr Toppit by Charles Elton, which is one of Penguin's lead titles for the year. The novel has a stunning cover and the prose inside isn't bad either.

So far I'm really enjoying the bizarre tale of the Hayman family, and what happens to Arthur Hayman's children when he writes an unbelievably popular children's book.

I'm looking forward to meeting Mr Elton when he gives a talk at the Woodstock Bookshop on February 23.

Snow caused chaos for Melvyn Bragg's staff this week, so I nearly didn't get to interview him on Tuesday. But in the end I managed to get through to his London office and we chatted about his latest novel Remember Me..., which recalls his own experiences as an undergraduate in Oxford in the late 1950s.

When I told my dad I had been talking to Lord Bragg he replied: "But I've only spoken to the dustman so far today."

You can read my full interview with the South Bank Show presenter in The Guide in Friday's Oxford Mail.

Another interesting book landing on my desk was Turl Street Tales, a short story collection by a group of writers who used to meet in the QI Club in Turl Street.

Their collection of stories will raise money for Maggie's Centres, which supports those with cancer and their relatives.

After the QI Club became the Corner Club, the group transferred to the King's Arms in Broad Street.

The book has a captivating image on the cover, and some of the short stories inside look intriguing.

I'm half way through A Spy's Life by Henry Porter, which I bought at his talk in Wootton-by-Woodstock, and I gather the author recently popped into the Woodstock bookshop to sign some copies of his novels, so I shall try to bag a couple if there are any left when I head over for Mr Elton's talk.

A paperback copy of Pilcrow by Adam Mars-Jones has landed on my desk, and I quite fancy a browse as it is written in the form of a journal.

But if it keeps snowing like this then it may be some time before I get a chance to read it.