James Joyce reputedly said that he wanted people to spend their lives solving the puzzles of Finnegans Wake. I've managed to see Wally in most of the pictures, Wenda and Odlaw in a couple. If I'm going to find Woof's bones, not to mention Wally in the land of the Wallies, I'll need a year's sabbatical and my first pair of reading glasses. Which means it should keep the average 10-year-old busy for the average rainy summer day.

Where’s Wally? asks Cambridgeshire County Council’s library Where’s Wally? asks Cambridgeshire County Council’s library

With more than 150 copies of the series including Where’s Wally?, Where’s Wally? in Hollywood and Where’s Wally now? – by author and illustrator Martin Hanford – listed among missing titles, it tops the list of books that the county council’s library staff want to recover. And that's not to mention the obsessive effort that must be necessary for Handford himself to construct these human anthills. Each one is like a vast Victorian narrative painting, Frith's Derby Day, but done in the style of Tintin - and with jokes, and infinite patience.That was in 1997. In the time that it has taken Handford to produce the next volume, JK Rowling has published six Harry Potter books. But it doesn't take much scrutiny of The Great Picture Hunt to see why it has taken so long. After a couple of books, Handford's style settled down in all its hard-edge crispness. However, they became exponentially more crowded and intricate. The first book wasn't exactly sparsely populated, but by comparison with the new one it looks like Waiting for Godot. As winter draws in, and people look for low-cost fun things to do, a visit to the library is among the most economic things to do in Cambridgeshire. In warm and friendly surroundings, you can find a good book – either printed, audio or e-books, a free game or online access or join a special activity like a reading group. A library service initiative to promote the return of missing books has discovered the ‘Where’s Wally’ series accounts for the highest number of missing titles across Cambridgeshire Libraries. Last week we launched our BeWinterWise campaign to join up all the activities, events and advice to keep people safe, well and active during the winter months,” said Cllr Tom Sanderson, Chair of the Communities, Social Mobility and Inclusion Committee. “And clearly all the activities you find in our libraries are really important to that as the nights draw in and people can feel lonely and isolated.