Just drawing people's attention: on Monday, Jonathan Coe, Kazuo Ishiguro and Julian Barnes will be discussing the British novel and reviewing some of the new authors making their mark, part of the Channel 4 Hay Festival coverage. Channel 4, 7.05 pm. There's a report on the Hay Fest on Channel 4 on Tuesday at 7.55pm as well.

Oh- and on Tuesday, Jonathan Safran Foer will discuss his new novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (about a young boy's experience of 9/11) on Radio 3, at 9.30pm on Night Waves.

I was just in the process of posting a message saying the same thing!

Great minds... whenever I come across these, I put them in Events, but if they're specially good, let's have them up on the forum.

God, that was boring...

okay, it was interesting, but even from the point of view of an interested party I couldn't help feeling it was a struggle to get through. Just being honest. I guess it means I'm just not in the same league - or planet!

Mind you, I'm still glad it was on, and glad I saw it.

Colin M

Well after all that, I bloody missed it! But I was in the gym, so a worthy reason!

All three writers seemed united in one ambition: to stay in more and do less marketing. I wonder what their publishers will make of their Garboesque pleas.

Adele.

Maybe there's a revolution on the way....

I always thought the marketing sounded like the fun bit, but after Jonathan Coe's tale of a reading where only one person turned up, I can see why they'd rather stay home and write.

Maybe it depends how good they are at reading? (I heard Coe read last week.)

Cath, so spill the beans, is he any good???