Mark Hodkinson grew up among the terrace houses of Rochdale in a house with just one book. Today, Mark is an author, journalist and publisher. He still lives in Rochdale but is now surrounded by 3,500 titles, at the last count.

No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy is his story of growing up a working-class lad during the 1970s and 1980s. It's about the schools, the music, the people - but pre-eminently and profoundly the books and authors that led the way and shaped his life. It's about a family who didn't see the point of reading, and a troubled grandad who taught Mark the power of stories. It's also a story of how writing and reading has changed over the last five decades.

"Deeply poignant . . . Powerful" - * Sunday Times *

"This is a book about the north; it is also about publishing, writing and music, but it transcends its subjects and meets the criterion Hodkinson sets out in his preface: "The best books, the same as the best days, skitter on the breeze. They go their own way"" - * Observer *

"Reading this memoir is to realise there is no better tool for social mobility than a book . . . lovely" - * Daily Mail *

"Moving . . . A work of triumphs" - * Irish Times *

"A resounding defence of the physical book and the thankless enthusiasts who bring it into existence . . . Entertaining" - * Financial Times *

"A memoir refracted through literature and its impact on the author's life. . . He writes with sharp humour and unsentimentally . . . An enjoyable and uplifting read" - * Morning Star *