Festival! Carnival!

Off to the heady world of the literature festival on Thursday - aside from the appearance of Shhhh! (if I'm not ready now then I never will be) - there is the glitz and the glamour of the festival! Real authors! In the flesh! Shiny new books which said author is desperately hoping you will buy so s/he can inscribe them with a fat Mont blanc pen bought ready for the occasion! The book shops with goods piled high saying "buy me" and "try me." Rubbing shoulders with the literati - you never know who you might see downing a crafty cream bun in Bettys.
Ah, I hear you say, a far cry from those tatty old paperbacks, half empty shelves and dog-eared magazines I leave behind in the library - no doubt I will be starstruck and not a little sorry to go back to work. Well, no actually. You see, it's all very well being beguiled into buying an £18.99 hardback, until you get home and realise that half the material was recycled from the authors' last book, and also the author has written "To Dorothea" in great big letters so you can't give it to Auntie Elsie for Christmas. It's all very well sitting at the back of a draughty hall not quite being able to hear about the character motivation for an experimental novel about samurai warriors and coming out no wiser than when you went in. Besides, some great writers go to libraries too. I bet many of the people doing the festival rounds started off in their local library. You should go along to yours and see what's happening - you might get a free cuppa. And you can return the books when you have finished with them. Not a writer alive could do without the library. Festival Shmestival! Libraries are where it's at!
Or am I just annoyed because I couldn't get a ticket for Alan Bennett?
Anyway more festival reports to come.
Who has been in your library recently?