Very much looking forward to this new BBC Four series that starts tonight, The Beauty of Books.

It's starting off with a look at the planet's oldest surviving bible, which dates from - get this - circa 350 AD. Extraordinary, eh? A later episode covering the modern world of book manufacturing will feature a visit to CPI's Bookmarque facility, so big up to the Croydon crew for that.

The enduring allure of books, and the way people connect with the look, feel and smell of them, is something that mustn't be underestimated. Even though we live in a world where people are understandably over-excited about the digital delivery of content, there are many good reasons why books have such enduring appeal.

No doubt I've said this before, but if someone were to invent a product today that would function perfectly upon being plucked from a shelf decades (or even hundreds of years) after it had originally been manufactured they'd be hailed as a genius. Something I gained a renewed appreciation for (along with a heightened sense of foreboding about humankind's propensity to screw things up) upon recently completing Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

A more light-hearted appreciation of the book can be gleaned from this Medieval Helpdesk video.