Collected Stories, by Alan Sillitoe (Flamingo, £7.99 in UK)

This volume contains a generous helping of Sillitoe's writing, with selections ranging from the early Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, now almost 40 years old, to 1981's The Second Chance. Not a lot changes in those 40 years, though; by 1981 Sillitoe's men are still tough and hairy, his women long suffering, his days damp and dreary. Too dreary for me, I'm afraid - but the stories are expertly crafted, and if grit and tenacity are your thing, you'll find plenty of it here.