A vinyl lover hopes to break records with his newest book, which features music shops in Letchworth, Baldock, and Hitchin.

Graham Jones published his first work, Last Shop Standing: Whatever Happened to Record Shops?, in 2009 after visiting thousands of music stores around the country.

He believes he should be in the Guinness World Records for visiting so many record shops.

Since his first work, which documented the decline of vinyl, the situation has taken an unexpected turn and record sales have started to thrive.

His second novel, Strange Requests and Comic Tales from Record Shops, reminisces about the anecdotes he picked up in his role as co-founder of Proper Music Distribution.

The newest work highlights 220 shops in the UK which stock new-vinyl. It is called The Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made it Happen.

It features David’s Book and Music Shop in Letchworth, Gatefold Record Lounge in Hitchin, and Stylus Lounge in Baldock - the shop where all mobile-phones are forbidden.

The Liverpudlian author has been selling records, tapes, and CDs for 32 years: “I think vinyl has caught the imagination of the digital generation, of people who grew up with CDs and rediscovered vinyl - and although that may drop off I think the future is fine because so many people have discovered the enjoyment of vinyl.

“Most people can remember the first record they bought but they seldom remember the first track they downloaded.

“I could get into a big argument about this but in my personal view vinyl is better. Listening to classical music might be better on download because it’s crisper, but an album catches the atmosphere better.”

Even though that is his personal opinion, Graham stressed he would never tell other people what to do.

The Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made it Happen is the culmination of five years hard work, and Graham is about to tour around the country hosting events about the book.

He added: “The great thing is that at talks I meet people who are glad record shops are still open and to see record shops going from vanishing to thriving is heartwarming - and I like to think I had a part to play in that.”

Find out more about the talks at www.facebook.com/vinylrevival1