I’m just back from the WOMAD world music festival, and if you were lucky enough to be there you’ll know what a feast it was for head, heart and feet. One of the highlights for me was discovering the Bookshop Band, who write songs inspired by books, and play them in bookshops. Specifically, they read a book that an author will be reading from at an event in a bookshop, write two songs inspired by the book, and play them at the event. The books cover the waterfront from memoirs to steampunk, and from literary novels to folktales, and the music circulates around the genre of hushed spectral folk (cello and harmonium optional). Books, music, music inspired by books… how could it get any better? By spending an evening lying round on comfy cushions in a yurt, obviously. Brilliant.