This article in the Independent reports on analysis of a survey undertaken by Kevin Killeen, co-author with Peter Forshaw of the Word and the World.

To summarise, the survey of a thousand people (in Britain, I assume) found which books were most owned and least finished.

In fiction the winners are:Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling; Ulysses by James Joyce; Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres; Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.

In non-fiction:The Blunkett Tapes; My Life by Bill Clinton; Beckham by guess who; Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss; Wild Swans by Jung Chang.

I have sympathy with the non-finishing readers. I have a house full of unfinished books. However, I think the survey is flawed. Best sellers are bound to lead the way. These books probably also have the largest number of finishers.

My suspicion is that the total number of books purchased and never finished is enormous and may well represent more than 100% of the total profits from publishing rather like Colman's Mustard whose business model is based on what is left on the plate.

My architectural route to work is nearly complete when I pass the strangely decrepit-looking but beautiful St Pancras Parish Church and its caryatid porch.

Finally, I am grateful to Clive Keeble for pointing out this excellent article on digitisation of archives from the New York Times and his contention (correct in my view) that digitisation is not a complete alternative to hard copy preservation.