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I've begun work on the next series of The Book Programme. Padraig Coyle is the producer for this new run of programmes and he's already lined me up some fascinating guests. Marianne Faithfull talks to us about the second volume of her autobiography, Paul Merton waxes lyrical about his passion for silent comedy, Max Hastings explains how he managed to tell the story of the Battle of Japan in less than 700 pages, and Tony Benn ... is Tony Benn. The new series begins on Saturday 10 November. The variety of guests (and books) is one of the strongest features of the Book Programme. Listeners also tell me they love the home visits, when I descend on a well-known personality's home and see what's on their bookshelves. Look out for my visit to Gerry Adams in this series.

There's a little overlap between books and the Belfast Festival tomorrow night, when I chair a conversation about politics and "Loyalism" featuring three authors with new books to talk about: in the Elmwood Hall. Steve Bruce and I have already been e-mailing each other to work out what precisely we all might mean by the term "Loyalism".

I'll be interviewing Alexander McCall Smith in the same Festival venue next Thursday night. Don't even try to get a ticket -- it's completely sold out. I recently made a visit to McCall Smith's home in Edinburgh in the company of Siobhan Savage, one of our Festival Nights producers, to interview the creator of . You can see that interview on next Tuesday's programme.