Holiday Haul

Alright, I am weak when it comes to books. So it should surprise no one that I ended up buying five new novels during my two weeks away in Northumberland. It was a lovely holiday, although the heatwave was brutal. I’m not sure if this is even a topic anyone is interested in, but I thought it might be fun to share.

The first shop was an adorable independent shop called The Accidental Bookshop in Alnwick. After browsing the shelves for a good while, I picked a collectors edition of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. It has been described as practical philosophy that holds up very well. My edition is a smaller one, so I can carry it everywhere. Ever since I bought it, I read a little bit every day.

Then we got to go to my favourite bookshop of all time, Barter Books in Alnwick. I have ranted about this shop before, it is one of the biggest secondhand bookshops in the UK built in a Victorian Railway station. It is huge! Heaven on earth for bookworms. I left with three new to me books. I bought The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan, a collection of Henry James’s short horror stories and Michell Paver’s Thin air.

Lastly, by no means least, is The President’s Hat by Antonie Laurain. I found a wonderful bookshop in Corbridge called Forum Books, but I was only permitted to purchase one last book, and I couldn’t choose. They had too many books I wanted! Thankfully, they had one of those ‘Blind date with a book’ displays. The books are wrapped up in brown paper with a small tag providing a brief hint about the novel. I chose one with a tag that read; “Could a hat have the power to change lives? Gallic and Charming – read it and smile!”.

The President’s Hat isn’t a novel I would typically pick for myself. However, it does sound promising, plus it is always a good idea to try something new for a nice change of pace.

All in all, a good pile to add to my growing collection, although I prefer the term horde since I consider myself a bookwyrm.