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This weekend I visited an extraordinary exhibition at the Art Workers' Guild in London. It was called the Table Top Museum and for one day only, 30 collectors had been invited to share their particular obsessions.

It was an eclectic mix, to say the least. There were beer mats, sugar sachets, perfumes, map postcards, 'all things blue', coloured knitting needles and...petrified potatoes. Yes. They were rather amazing actually. But there was much more, with each collection displayed on an allocated table in a couple of rooms in this beautifully historic terrace house near Bloomsbury.

A friend was taking part. She loves all things associated with libraries and invited visitors to her Table Top Museum of old library cards, stamps, badges and signage. I've seen some of her collection before, and it was fabulous viewing it in this setting (take a look at her Instagram account @bookyjen).

But I was thrilled to find other bookish collections here. 

The incredible Rob Ryan had a table. He's known for his intricate cut paperwork and screenprinting, and he designs book covers and writes children's books. Here he revealed that when he has enjoyed reading a book, he redesigns the cover with something he considers more fitting than that commissioned by the art directors and marketing teams! (@robryanbookcovers)

The cartoonist and creator of graphic novels, Gary Northfield (@stupidmonster) was here with his collection of Norakuro alarm clocks. Based on the 1930s war propaganda manga dog character, the colourful and cheery models sound a bugle when it's time to get up.

And there was a Table Top Museum dedicated to 'things we find in books'. Two booksellers from the nearby secondhand bookshop, Skoob Books displayed the random items they had discovered in the pages of books handed in for resale. These ranged from shopping lists to party invitations, cigarette papers to love letters, and theatre tickets, photographs and prescriptions. 

The exhibition as a whole was a perfect example of one person's trash being another person's treasure. While I'm busy trying to get rid of my clutter, it was wonderful to see these collections and I loved the stories behind them all.

So what have you discovered in the pages of a book? Or what do you think you might have left there?! And what would you present as your Table Top Museum? I'd love to know...

Thank you for reading.

I seem to have been spending an increasing time in Norfolk in the past few weeks and this weekend took the trip up to Aylsham to visit a new book festival.

It's called the Mannington Book Bash and has been organised by Henry Layte, the owner of the Book Hive in Norwich. This is its second year and it's held in the grounds of a medieval house and its gardens. 

The weather was perfect on Saturday, sunny but not too hot, and there was a lovely relaxed atmosphere as people admired the stunning setting, drank coffee on garden benches and then went into the marquee for the various talks from a rather impressive line-up of speakers.

I only had time for one session but I'd chosen well - it was David Nicholls, the author of 'One Day' speaking about his latest novel 'You Are Here'. He had so much to say about the process of writing - how he plans meticulously, how he can produce up to six drafts of a book as he produces it from scratch each time an edit is needed, and how he finds it a lonely and solitary job being a novelist when his previous life as a screenwriter meant there was always someone at the end of a phone to help if he was struggling with ideas for a scene.

He was extraordinary in how much he was prepared to share with the audience about the technical details of writing, while also being entertaining and amusing.

It was a lovely day. So energising to be in beautiful surroundings, listening to a writer who was so humble and generous in all he had to say, and meeting strangers who were keen to talk about books. I met one lady who used to be in Elspeth Barker's book group and another lady who had made the journey to Norfolk for the event despite living in London and regularly attending a vast array of author talks held in locations which were much more convenient. 

I wonder if anyone will be making a journey to join us at The Riverside for our author events in the next couple of months. Woodbridge is certainly a lovely location for a weekend break, and an author talk is one of the most satisfying and memorable diversions I can think of! Do spread the word and encourage visitors to join us for our Sunday evening with Matt the cartoonist and our Sunday afternoon with printmaker Angela Harding. (And don't forget the early bird prices for bookings before 14 October!) 

Thank you for reading.

There's little to please or delight us from the news these days. Even the satirical radio and tv programmes struggle with their wry observations when we're bombarded with tragic and troubling events on every side. Their response, then, has been to look closer to home with the smaller stories, raising smiles and laughter from the more trivial and inconsequential which are nonetheless often bizarre and bewildering.

We need to laugh after all. We know that humour helps diffuse tension and lift our mood, just like spending time outdoors appreciating our natural environment, listening to music or looking at beautiful art. 

So as we approach winter, there are a couple of events coming up at The Riverside which I hope will lift our spirits for the short days and dark nights! 

In addition to meeting the fabulous printmaker Angela Harding in December and finding out about her travels throughout Britain exploring the landscape and viewing birds and wildlife to inspire her glorious prints and watercolours, I'm pleased to announce another event a couple of weeks earlier.

On Sunday 17 November at 6pm we will be joined by the much-loved cartoonist Matt who will be telling us how he finds something for us to laugh about each day.

Whether or not you read the 'Daily Telegraph', I'm sure you're familiar with the work of Matt Pritchett who has been contributing a cartoon on the front page of the paper for more than 30 years (I have heard of some people who pick up the newspaper to take a look at that day's Matt cartoon and then put it down and buy a rival news sheet!).

I had the privilege of meeting Matt at his home on the border with Norfolk a couple of years ago and found him brilliant company. You can read my interview here. He's very entertaining and positive, and genuinely has a twinkle in his eye. I hope you'll come along and meet him. We'll be showing some of his cartoons from the past year on the big screen, and you'll go away with your own copy of his 'Best of Matt' annual for 2024. This event will be a real tonic, I'm sure, and I look forward to seeing you there!

Thank you for reading.

As the nights are drawing in and we are beginning to feel the change of season, it feels a good time to make our reading a sociable occasion, meeting together for a book group discussion.

Last week we gathered in Framlingham to talk about 'Birnam Wood' by Eleanor Catton. It was a lively discussion and we had all enjoyed this page-turner to keep us busy over the summer, but the author didn't deliver everything we were hoping for, it seems. And there was a strong concensus of opinion on this book. Have you read it? What did you think?

A week tomorrow we'll be meeting again in Woodbridge to talk about our summer read which was 'In Memoriam' by Alice Winn. And I'm sure we'll have something to say about the Booker shortlist announcement too. If you are hoping to come along to this meeting, please let me know by replying to this email so that I know how many of us will be there. 

It's so lovely to meet in person to talk about books but I was interested to see that Cambridge University Library has an online book group discussion which launched this month. Called The Really Popular Book Club it presents familiar titles for discussion and invites an expert (who isn't the author) to share their perspective on the themes of the novel. In October the book will be 'Mr Loverman' by Bernadine Evaristo, and other titles include 'The Poisonwood Bible' and 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. Take a look at the website for the list of books, and the experts who will be attending. It's an interesting idea, I think. 

Thank you for reading.

Ticketing has been a rather contentious issue this week.

I don't know whether you've been planning on attending an Oasis concert next year but it seems that many fans have spent hours online or on the phone queuing for their access to this momentous event, only to discover that the price has, in some cases, tripled while they've been waiting to make their purchase.

Dynamic pricing, as this practice is called, is when businesses adjust their prices flexibly based on current market conditions. Airlines, hotels and taxi companies all use this model.

This week, the writer William Nicholson shared his personal experience of the practice when a hotel reservation in Berlin proved surprisingly expensive. He had booked his room months ago but, on checking in, was told a conference had since come to town. Accommodation was now at a premium so the hotels had responded by raising their prices. Nicholson found that he was being charged three times the price he had thought he had agreed.

Despite all this seeming very unfair, consumers do benefit from the practice through cut-price air fares and cheaper midweek hotel stays, the argument goes. Businesses just have to take care they don't push it too far.

So I'm pleased to say that we have a much better arrangement for my author events in Woodbridge! 

It's true the printmaker Angela Harding, while wonderful and well worth meeting, is not in the same league as Oasis, but there are two price points for her visit to The Riverside in a few weeks' time.

There is an 'early bird' price where a discounted ticket is available if you can make your booking right away. Knowing that I have an audience for Angela and that you have the date in the diary is such a help to me in organising the event

But even the regular price is a bargain - Angela's new book is priced at £25, but if you come along to hear her at The Riverside, you will have your entry to the event, plus the book to take home, all for the same price £25.

All the details for this event are listed below so please do scroll down and follow the link to The Riverside to reserve your place.

However please note the date!

Angela is now coming a couple of weeks' later than the date I indicated last week. She will be speaking on the afternoon of Sunday 1 December.

If you have ever purchased one of Angela's stunning advent calendars, this seems the perfect date. We'll be opening the first door of the calendar and Angela is sure to get us in the mood for Christmas (I know, it does seem far too early to be speaking about Christmas, particularly when we're having a lovely sunny spell, and that's why I'll be so grateful if you are able to book your tickets now!)

Thank you for reading.