Writers’ festivals are the new raves – and as a born-again book reader I couldn’t be happier about the upsurge in collectivism | Clarke Gayford

From local book clubs to group sessions with authors, what’s driving people back to wood pulp and ink? I have a few ideas The accident took place without warning during a holiday. The culprit: an Airbnb bedside table with no power outlet. A minor inconvenience forcing a mobile phone on its last gasp of ions into another room for the night. While lying on the bed desperately trying to stem the terrifying rise of my own thoughts, it happened: I reached over and picked up a book. Continue read...

By Clarke Gayford