279. I got 5 on it, by Luniz

TUNE!!

278. Photos from space

Commander Chris Hadfield is currently orbiting the earth in a spaceship. And while he's up there he's taking photographs of things and beaming them back down to Twitter. And I can tell you that if you've spent three weeks working more than 12 hour days in a small room with no natural light in the winter - those photographs provide some valuable perspective.

277. Spotify playlists

We have music playing all day in the Studio, so we have a number of playlists on Spotify. We all add to them and they change depending on who's listening to what and liking what and people's moods – which makes the mix eclectic and sometimes strange.

The Studio playlists led me to discover Spotify properly for myself, and I'm a convert. In fact, I'm even thinking of going Unlimited. Yeah, totally. It's like having all of the music in the world in your pocket. Which is quite something, I'm sure you'll agree.

276. Nicola Upson

I have my friend Katie to thank for introducing me to Nicola Upson's work - so it's Katie you should talk to about the fact that all I want to do is read.

I went off crime novels about 15 years ago when Patricia Cornwell left her hero's face in a fridge - but these are of a much gentler persuasion. The writing is zippy and fresh and there's a contemporary element that brings the mid-thirties setting to life.

She's only written four so far so I'm reading slowly, but I hope she's scribbling as fast as she can...

275. Spring

It's not here yet. But it keeps showing us a little bit of leg, which is remarkably titillating and wonderful. The expectation is all with this particular season, as all too often April and May will just be wet and dull - but at least the days will not be short and dark and there probably won't be snow. And for all those things we say thank you and welcome.

274. When God Was A Rabbit

This aggravatingly wonderful and beautifully written debut novel by Sarah Winman is pure joy on the page. It's funny and sad and pin-sharp and warm and dark and I wanted to pull it over me like a duvet. It has given me inspiration and challenge and the great satisfaction of reading a book for the second time and finding yet more within it.

One day, if I'm lucky, I'll write a book as good as this one. Til then, I'll keep it by me - as a sort of talisman.

273. Bags and Wallets

The title of this blog post alone will have been enough to make Herself and the Parent laugh - I guarantee it. They're probably thinking it's about time I confessed to this particular predilection.

I am a bagandwalletaholic. It's true. And what's peculiar is that the bags are all similar and the wallets are all similar.

I'm searching for the perfect 'one', you see.

Rucksacks, I have a few. Yes. Then again, too few to mention. What can I say? Buying bags and wallets makes me happy because I don't have to try them on. And you can have lots of them without feeling guilty.

That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.