Bookswap – the future of literary events?

So Robert McCrum suggests in his blog piece about last week’s event – while it’s certainly true that many book groups already run along similar lines (the one I go to has always had a charmingly haphazard modus operandi where members chat about what they’ve read recently and pass their latest finds around the group month on month), I can’t think of a ‘public’ event where anyone has done the same until now.  It’s always good to shake things up – the traditional ‘reading followed by Q&A’ format of literary events is tried and tested and certainly has its place, but can get quite samey after a while.  It’s great to see people doing new things, like Scott and Marie, as well as the literary salon that I attend regularly at Shoreditch House – another fresh book event that is run with imagination and flair by the lovely Damian Barr.  I’d love to see the Bookswap go on tour – wouldn’t it be fab to see it at the festivals next summer?  I can just imagine Scott and Marie in a gypsy caravan packed full of books and macaroons…