Considering the absence of visitors and a few professionals who did not dare to brave the bad weather on Sunday June 16, 2024, Alain Callet, president of the Colbert-Cathédrale neighborhood committee, comments on the semi-success of this 28e edition of the Book Festival. “Books are fragile, and we must understand that those who sell old editions of rare works have not come. As for tourists who usually take advantage of this event to visit the neighborhood, they preferred to go to sheltered places. » And to complete with his usual enthusiasm: “It’s been raining since this morning. We even had a deluge when we moved in, but we’re here anyway! »
Ignoring the weather, Floh (Florence Debray), satirist cartoonist and globetrotter having dragged her pencils from Montreal to New Zealand via Paris and Berlin, then returned to Touraine a few years ago, sketched passers-by eager to have their portrait taken on this occasion.
Priority to user-friendliness
At 1 p.m., good humor reigned around the buffet bringing together exhibitors and local regulars. “Whatever the weather, I’ve been coming for twenty-five years,” explain the Touraine novelist Pierre Creet. A specialist in Frédéric Dard but also a lover of Fred Vargas, he claims to be an artisan writer. Author of a dozen writings with an often unbridled humorous tone, sometimes disturbing but always in search of humanity, he admits: “I love the conviviality of this event and I wouldn’t miss it for anything. It brings together booksellers, authors and book sellers. As a bibliophile, I am always on the lookout for rare books. In addition, the Colbert district book festival allows you to meet wonderful readers. »
