Is charging an entry fee an innovative way of keeping Porto’s historical Livraria Lello bookshop open? Is it really connected to a mission to get the world into books? Or is the store — as many suggest in internet reviews — simply a money-grabbing, overcrowded tourist trap? It’s easy to agree with that last point when one encounters the selfie brigade, whose eyes never stray from their phones and whose sole interest in the books on display is as a backdrop for their posts on

The museum has a rich and eclectic collection of Dickens’ artefacts, ranging from portraits of the author and his family to original furnishings and personal effects. The presence of the desk at which he wrote ‘Great Expectations’ and ‘Our Mutual Friend’ rather set me back on my heels, and I found the case containing Dickens’ shaving razors and other day-to-day items to be strangely compelling, although not as much as the samples of his original, handwritten manuscripts.

On a trip to London recently to visit the Charles Dickens Museum, a friend advised me to call into Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street. Good advice it was too: it is a glorious space, boasting impressive oak galleries, elegant skylights, and a thoughtfully curated range of books.

Many writers are shy and retiring — it kind of goes with the territory, the lonely garret with the tortured wordsmith gazing pensively into the mid-distance, seeking that elusive inspiration. As for Danny Baker, when he dons his raconteur’s hat (actually a fez) and takes to the stage at Komedia in Bath, it’s not as if he has to be dragged up there through any reluctance on his part. Getting him off the stage, however, presents quite a challenge.