A pile of books

I'm finally home after a week away, first at the coast in Suffolk and then at my Dad's house.  It's been a really wonderful week. It's probably the longest I've spent with my Dad, Stepmum and sister since well before I was married- possibly about 6-7 years. I'm very sad to be home but I am looking forward to seeing CBC when he comes home tomorrow.

So in Suffolk, one of the things my sister and I were most excited about was visiting the two amazing second-hand book shops in the town we were staying in.  One of them is more antiquarian and rare books- the other is general secondhand books.

In the latter of these, which boasts 1/2 a mile of book shelves (and over 45,000 books on the shelves!), I ended up buying 11 books.
I have no shortage of books to read already but in this age of the demise of the high street, I do think supporting these businesses is very important. Plus, I was able to find all sorts of exciting books!

Want to see what I chose?
Go on then...

1 and 2.  I really liked the children's TV presenter, Floella Benjamin when I was growing up so I was glad to find 2 autobiographies in the children's section.  I was aiming to try and read some more non-fiction this year (after only reading 2 out of 127 books last year) so this will include my 2rd and 3rd titles to add to the non-fiction log this year!

3.  Anthony Hope's Rupert of Hentzau:  I really enjoyed reading the Prisoner of Zenda so I was really excited to see a sequel to it in the classics section.

4.  Alan Bradley's A red Herring without mustard: I recently read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, a Flavia De Luce mystery which I picked up when shopping with Sophie and Hazel so I was delighted to find another in that series.

5. A moment of Silence by Miss Anna Dean:  Last year, I read the other 3 books in the Dido Kent mysteries so it was with great alacrity, that I spied the only title I hadn't read on the shelves.

6.  The Ruby Slippers by Keir Alexander:  I just caught sight of this on the shelves when trying to find out where the crime section was, and I am a fan of Oz so I really was intrigued by this. It's not a crime book...

7. The Incredible Crime- I have a terrible addiction to these British Library Crime Classics reprints- they look so nice together on the shelf!

8.  Where were you Robert?  This is a translated text and I thought this children's story looked intriguing with an interesting story line.

9.  Elegy for Eddie- I really enjoy the Maisie Dobbs mysteries so it was a delight to see one I hadn't read.

10. Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar & six more:  I only read this book once as a child and was fascinated by the Henry Sugar tale but I remember nothing of the six more... I thought I'd remind myself!

11.Noah Barley runs away: This is by the author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas which was brilliant so I thought I'd like to try another book by that author.

I also bought a birthday present for my sister in the other book shop. She mentioned that she wanted to find a certain book but never knew where to look.  I simply asked the shop keeper when she was in another room and he found it in 5 seconds!

Are there any books you like the look of here?

I hope to review them once I have read them.

xx

Barter Books bartering experience and a quiet stroll along Almouth beach.

We returned from Northumberland last night after a 5 day visit to Haltwhistle. I was, as ever, really delighted to be up there to visit WOMOTM and J, and I only wish we could stay longer. WOMOTM, we miss you!

On Thursday, CBC and I drove up to Alnwick and Alnmouth as I had some books to take to Barter Books. I had hoped to dispose of some of my books.

What you do is, you give them your books (a maximum of 2 carrier bags full per customer per 7 day period). They then take 20-30minutes to assess the value and sale ability of your books.  Then you come back to find out their conclusions. 

When we returned, they said they could take some of my books and they gave me £25 of credit for some of the books but alas, some of my Grandad's books had got damp being in my friend's Garage. Still, it was nice to essentially get some new books for free with £10 remaining credit to spent at Barter books! I bought 4 books- three for me with one for CBC for his birthday (no telling what)

 If you've missed my previous posts about Barter books (here and here)  - this amazing Second Hand book shop is set in the old Alnwick railway station and houses a restaurant as well as many books.

 I was very interested in this Enid Blyton book. I have read so many of hers but not this one!

 I was tempted by these Doctor Who books. Once upon a time, I had around 30 of these. My older sister bought me 27 Doctor Who books one Christmas which she'd picked up in a 2nd hand book shop. It was the best present! I remember the sheer delight and excitement, aged 17, when I opened that present!

 It is such an interesting-looking bookshop and there are many delights to be had.

 The sinister doll book which I posted about last time I went to Barter Books didn't seem to be present so I guess someone wanted to read about killer dolls!In its position was this 'Stupid Sock Creatures' book. Sinister in a different kind of way...

 I always like to follow the toy train which runs around the ceiling! It was on good form that day!

A particular aspect I love about this wonderful bookshop is the unexpected artwork, quotes or gem you suddenly notice. I have never noticed this child and her feline companions before.

 After a while, CBC and I went to go and have lunch in the 'buffet car'.  I chose a terribly unhealthy bacon butty and thrice-fried fries! CBC had soup and a sandwich.

Another new discovery I made was the music notation tables in the second annex for eating.  Here you can see Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (saddo that I am, had to sing them to find out what they were) and American Pie upside down.

I'll give anyone musical a chance to work out what this one is! Answer will be at the bottom!*

After that, we drove to the pretty village of Alnmouth for a visit to the beach.

I left CBC lying on a blanket reading a book and I headed for a meander along the beach.

I was looking for seaglass, but the pickings were indeed very slim. This blue piece was left behind as it needed much more tumbling!

I met a couple with this jolly dog who was delighted with his enormous branch.

His owner kept throwing it into the sea for him.  It was very heavy and must have made great upper-body exercise!

Heave-ho!

And away she goes!

Dog sets off in rapid pursuit!

I always like spying people making sandcastles or admiring left fortresses.  It was fun to watch the tide enter the channel and surround this miniature island.

I can never quite put into words, the soothing serenity that walking alongside the sea gives to my soul but I never leave a beach without that inner joy.

The vast skies full of clouds!

I spied this darling little Wagtail.

Yet another mighty structure left by previous architects!

As I reached CBC and we returned to the car, the sunlight hit upon this spot in a brilliant manner!

I would gladly have stayed longer but we had a long journey back to Haltwhistle!

It was a short but much appreciated visit to Alnmouth beach and Barter books!

 Have you been to either?

x

*Imagine by John Lennon.

The brilliant 'Barter books of Alnwick'

Hello!

Rather like my Steampunk and Museum of Power posts, this one has been languishing in my drafts for a while- I didn't post it because I wanted to photograph the books I bought, except they've kind of spread out now through my house, so I figured I might as well post it!

If you don't know about it, it is the most amazing 2nd hand book shop!!!!!

It can be found in Alnwick in Northumberland in the old Alnwick railway station (you pronounce it Ann-ick! Not to be confused with the Northumbrian village of Anick, pronounce Aye-nick which confused me somewhat when I saw the signs)  It is found near Alnwick castle which has the most wonderful castle and gardens (it was in the Downton Christmas special) so you may as well make a holiday of it.

 I posted about it back in 2011 about it.
Reasons to love it:

• It is a veritable labyrinth, you can lose your spouse and sneak off to peruse books for hours and can use the excuse of getting lost
• So many books.
• Amazing model trainset that runs round the ceiling.
• It's an old railway station. So picturesque it's untrue!
• It has an amazing cafe inside. You can sit and peruse your finds at the table.
• You can sit in railway chairs!
• You can sell books to them too (not tried this but I have a suitcase full of antique books for next time I go!)
• They found the original Keep Calm and Carry on poster that inspired the modern obsession with it!
• Hilarious books, old and new to look at
• Lots of unusual books

I thought I'd leave you a selection of photos so you can enjoy them without my witterings *Well except for captions which will probably witter...it's inevitable.

Get on board the Barter books book truck. I spent a lot of time in the Children's literature room.

Yep, loving the children's fiction.

Oooh, school stories- I love them!

I was searching for Chalet school books...

The poetry on the walls is great. All linked to books and trains.

Books forever! Boo hiss to Kindles

 There's so much to look at even if books aren't your thing (she says incredulously)

 This cog is soo cool!

 Leading like spokes of the wheel, these shelves lead off from the iron construction in the ceiling,

 I tried to take several pictures of the amazing velvet seats but this was the only non-blurry one I caught!

 What a glorious edition of Chaucer!

I really like rail stations- this makes this place all the more exciting!

 So many categories to peruse.

 This is the first room you enter- love the retro globes.

 It was really buzzing and busy- comfy sofas galore.

 Here in the main atrium,you can see the train riding round the ceiling,

 Choo, choo!!!

And finding amazing and hilarious dated gems...

Who can forget the terrifying doll-sacrifice book I saw in the summer?




The enjoyable task of perusing books is hungry work so we headed for the first class ladies waiting room for some food.

I found CBC there with a salad.

He pounced on my pile of books: I am sure you wanted to know what I bought. If you know my book tastes, you might suspect I bought historical whodunnits. You would be right.

I discovered a few new series:

• Michael Bond, Mr Paddington's French detective, Monsieur Pamplemousse- two of them which I devoured and loved. There is a wonderful Alexander McCall Smithness to them!
• Wycliffe and the dead flautist by M.J Burley- not read any Wycliffe but a dead flautist- ha, you know I bought it purely for the title.
• The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin - excellent, with a bookish professor sleuth, Gervaise Phenn.
• A summer birdcage by Margaret Drabble- not a whodunnit but a really interesting vintage book.

Have you been? 

DO go if you are on your way up north, or just go to Northumberland for a holiday- it's so beautiful!

xxx