Honorary degrees are publicity and PR for the institution- no matter how much they talk about honouring people's bodies of work. There's nothing wrong with not going to university; in many cases, it is a wise choice. And a degree is certainly not the best indication of intelligence, savvy, and experience, although many graduates possess all of those things. I know Sali feels self-conscious about her lack of a degree, though.
Book launches tend to take place on or just before the publication date for those people who thought this was the event she was attending.