I can’t remember the last time I used a vending machine. The joy of coffee flavoured powder and tepid water or the packet of crisps that you paid for but then gets stuck and requires you to kick the machine. However, if I lived near Exeter railway station then all would be different because they have a vending machine full of books.
There was a delightful article in the Sunday papers about this and it has a great backstory. Allen Lane was the founder of Penguin books. In 1934 he had been visiting Agatha Christie in her Devon home and arrived at Exeter station without a book to read on his journey back to London. Magazines were available but no books and thus the six penny Penguin paperback was born. And yes there were vending machines, apparently called ‘Penguincubators’.
Anna Cohn Orchard is the director of Exeter Unesco City of Literature and this book machine in 2023 was her idea. So far the public seems to be very enthusiastic, so maybe there might be more than one sometime soon. Shops, boats and now vending machines. What fun.
… Just to add to the name dropping, Allen Lane had a daughter called Clare and she is married to Michael Morpurgo. They live in Devon near to the home of Ted Hughes, with whom they were friends. Enough!