book haul

I've blogged about Hylands House before, this weekend we took a rather soggy walk around the grounds. Aside for a blast of fresh air, the main reason I wanted to visit is for the fabulous second-hand bookshop they have in the old stables. 

Paperbacks are £1.50 and 3 for 2, and they are have a good amount of stock neatly arranged. I was talking to the chaps at the till and they said there are plans to double the size of the shop, so it's going to get even better. In my opinion its the best second-hand book shop in Chelmsford. 

I was moderately restrained and only bought 4 books:

• Xiaolu Guo, A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers
• Jaqueline Sunsa, Valley of the Dolls
• Lloyd Jones, Mister Pip
• Armistead Maupin, Tales of the City 

Admittedly I still have those Man Booker books to get through  (so far I've read 2 and 2 halves) but these where so cheap I couldn't resist. Plus in my defence - the Man Booker's are all hardbacks and they're a bit heavy to lug around in my work bag. 

What do think of my haul? Have you read any of them?

Scarthin Books

If you're in the area of Cromford or Matlock, you should take the time to go to Scathin Books. It is a bibliophiles heaven, thousands of new and second-hand book, plus a vegetarian cafe.

I did find the second-hand books a tad over priced, but there is a huge selection to choose from. Our itinerary was busy, so I couldn't spend as long as I wanted browsing, plan to spend a good couple of hours here.  

Hylands House

The sunshine this weekend meant pretty much the entire population of Chelmsford was at Hylands House. The car park was absolutely mental.

"In London, love and scandal are considered the best sweeteners of tea" - John Osborne

If you want to have a rummage around second hand and independent bookshops, one of the best areas you can go in London is around Leicester square.

There are loads of bookshops waiting to be discovered in the vicinity, we stumbled upon Cecil Court (WC2N 4EZ) completely by accident.

Established over 100 years ago Watkins specialises in occult books 

Alice Through the Looking Glass

After having a wander around the bookshops and The National Portrait Gallery we were parched, so went to probably one of the most unusual places we have ever had a cup of tea- the crypts of a church

The Abbey Bookstore, Paris

The Abbey Bookstore

The Abbey Bookstore looks charming, it's going on my list of places I want to visit. I love bookshops that have piles higgledy-piggledy stacked books, a musty smell and peaceful hush of a library.  Places where you can browse for ages and find hidden gems.  

When I used to live in Sheffield, I used to regularly go to a second hand bookshop that looked pretty similar to this, though the building wasn't quite so grand. It was three stories high, and there were piles of books everywhere, all up the stairs, and in floor to celling mismatched bookshelves, precariously balanced. The man that owned the shop used to just sit behind the counter, reading, listening to jazz and ignoring the customers. I wish I could remember the name of it, it was really good to go to and get cheap editions of my assigned reading for uni. I think it might have closed down now, it used to be near Devonshire Green near a vintage jewellery shop. If anyone know if it's still open can you let me know?  

Wimpole Estate & Farm- Grounds and Gardens

To make the most of the sunshine and a national holiday, today we visited Wimpole Estate and Farm. it is a National Trust property just outside Cambridge.

The back of the main house at Wimpole. 

 It seemed lots of other families had the same bright idea, as the grounds were full of people happily munching picnics and laying on the grass soaking up the sun.

 We took our own picnic with us, Though there is a team rooms,  a restaurant and an ice ream van at the property.  I  had a sandwich of feta, green pesto and sun-dried tomatoes on spelt bread. Spelt bread is a good alternative if you are wheat/gluten intolerant by the way.  I took along my current book, Tupac Shakur- The Rose that Grew from Concrete.  I should be putting up a review in the next couple of days. 

A very British Picnic- sandwiches, crisps and gangster rap

 If you forget to bring a book with you to Wimpole and fancy having a read whilst lounging on the grass, There is a well stocked second hand bookshop. It has a bit of everything, books on local history and contemporary classics such as Being Jordan by Katie Price.   

They're very trusting at the National Trust 

Outside I saw some very Game of Thrones-esque statues. My sister rolled her eyes when I mentioned this, I seem to be relating everything to the series at the moment.  

The stag of House Baratheon - Ours is the Fury 

Everyone at work now thinks I'm a massive geek, as I happened to mention that I like to loiter on Game of Thrones/ A Song of Ice and Fire forums and discuss conspiracy theories about Jon Snow's parentage (my bet's on Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen).   

The Lion of House Lannister- Hear us Roar!

London Book Review Bookshop

I nipped in to the cutest bookshop today, The London Book Review, no picture's I'm afraid as I didn't have my camera and my phone doesn't has the capabilities (it's a knackered old Nokia). I'll make sure I snap one at the earliest opportunity.

It has a vast range of titles and has the really pleasant hushed feeling of a library. The staff were quite happy for me to wander around without any pushy sales pitch, but I'm sure if I had any questions they would be knowledgeable. There is also a small cafe attached to the store selling cake and sandwiches. It was a real pleasure to peruse the shelf with the smell of fresh coffee floating over.

There were so many books I wanted but I managed to restrain myself. As it's round the corner from my new work, I'm sure I'll be a frequent visitor and soon succumb to temptation.

You should check it out if you're in the area, it's located 14 Bury Place WC1A 2JL, near to British Museum.