I’m meeting 19 year old author Ben Brooks to talk about his most recent novel Grow Up . He’s pretty camera- and interview-shy it seems, preferring to promote himself through interviews with publications like web-based lit-journal HTMLGIANT. All I know of Brooks in the flesh is that he’s ‘a heartthrob’ ( Dazed and Confused ) and ‘has a killer fringe’ ( Don’t Panic ). I’m also told he’s “fucking righteous” ( HTMLG ) When he arrives he’s quiet. He has an intricate tattoo of a rose on his right bicep, half obscured by a the sleeve of a denim jacket. His fringe is confirmed as totally killer. For the last week I’ve been reading and re-reading Grow Up in prep. I can’t help but compliment him on various lines that have gotten stuck in my head. The new best description of a hangover ever: “I have built a train-wreck in my head from cheap wine and horrible sex”.The book that Brooks says started him writing came out of the American scene; The Human W ...

There's a scene early on in High Fidelity, the musical film starring John Cusack, when central character Rob Gordon, post-breakup, is taking his recent relationship frustration out on his record collection. "DICK enters ROB’s apartment, looking like a cross between ‘A Beautiful Mind’ and a vinyl back-catalogue. Very messy. DICK: Looks as if you’re re-organzing your records...? ROB: (Mumbling) Yeah, a little... DICK: What is this, chronological? ROB: (Pause) No. DICK: Not alphabetical... ROB: (Another, more awkward pause) No DICK: What? ROB: (Excruciating Pause) ...Autobiographical. DICK: (Increasingly scared) No fucking way... ROB: So, if I wanna find the song landslide by Fleetwood Mac, I have to remember that I bought it for someone in the ‘Fall of 1983’ pile, but didn’t give it to them for personal reasons. DICK: That sounds...- ROB: Comforting." From the outside, in Dick’s eyes, this looks like a form of madness. But, to anyone w ...