We Like Your Novel, But Can You Play Lead Guitar?

Thomas Jones complains about an event at the recently-concluded London Book Fair during which "professional writers [performed] as amateur musicians, film-makers and dancers." He continues: "Why this should be in any way appealing isn’t at all clear, and it’s certainly not the kind of thing very likely to happen the other way round: it’s hard to imagine anyone trekking down to Cornwall to listen to the drummer from the Arctic Monkeys, say, read a couple of chapters from a novel-in-progess." And his advice to all of us: "...stay at home with a good book, or take a few with you on holiday, preferably somewhere quiet, where there’s little chance of being disturbed by a novelist with a badly tuned guitar thrashing out a well-worn number by Donovan or Neil Young."