Author, journalist and publisher Mark Hodkinson grew up among the terraces of Rochdale in a house with just one book. If Mark wanted to read it, he was warned not to crease the pages or slam shut the covers.

This is a story about schools (bad), music (good), people (some mad, a few sane), and the books and authors which shaped his life. It's also about a family which just didn't see the point of reading, and a troubled grandad who, in his own way, taught Mark the power of stories.