Football - rubbish, isn't it? I have never supported a team and never watched an entire match without losing the will to live. Growing up, I had no interest in 22 men chasing a ball. I didn't care which team won or lost, and could never work out why they didn't just pick a winner and leave it there - thus having no need to play against the same teams again and again. Naturally, this led to many unpleasant playtimes which did nothing to develop a love of 'the beautiful game'.

I did, however, develop an unhealthy fascination with serial killers...

I thought I knew all there was to know about John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer et al, but a great new title, The Jack The Ripper Casebook, provided new insight into that particular case. The book comes with a collection of reprints and replicas of actual forms, notes and evidence from the case, which really evokes the era. It is a must for all budding Ripperologists (I swear I didn't just make that word up) - I shall be solving the case shortly ...

Another great new book out is The Anatomy of Wings by Karen Foxlee.

A 10-year old girl has to come to terms with the sudden and unexpected death of her teenage sister, Beth, and looks to the adult world for answers.

Recounting the final months of poor Beth's life, Jennifer wades through the lies and the truth but, as is always the way when dealing with adults, what she finds are more questions and mystery. Was Beth's death an accident?

The author really captures those tiny ways in which we humans reveal ourselves. The quiet, somewhat surreal, feel of a grieving household slowly being brought to life is an astonishing piece of writing that really deserves your attention.

Many of us, in our darkest hours, contemplate the unthinkable and this book is truly wonderful at bringing some understanding to how the things we do can affect those around us[2026] even when we're gone. It's an engrossing read, and really is

Top 10 books

[25a0] 1. New Moon, Stephenie Meyer

2. Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer

3. The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Kate Summerscale

4. Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer

5. The Gargoyle, Andrew Davidson

6. Miracle At Speedy Motors, Alexander McCall Smith

7. Dreams From My Father, Barack Obama

8. The Associate, John Grisham

9. The Other Hand, Chris Cleave

10. The Secret Scripture, Sebastian Barry

These were the top 10 selling titles at Waterstone's, in The Chimes, Uxbridge, as at Sunday,February 15. www.waterstones.com