I'm Baaaaack!

I am back from spending two glorious weeks in England! My trip was so wonderful I find it hard to put into words! I am going to tell you all about my trip, but not yet. You see, I'm still taking a couple of trips around my own country before settling in for a bit. I also need to go through the 3800 pictures that I took and choose just a few to share on here. (No, I'm not joking,...I really took that many pictures plus a few more!)

For today's blog, though, I would like to share some things I bought in England. Can you guess?

That's right, books! I don't call myself a born bibliophile for nothing, you know. In case you're thinking to yourself that I could easily order the same books online, and even get them from a bookstore in the United Kingdom, you would be right. It wouldn't be quite the same, though - not to me.

There is something special about going in to any bookstore, but it is even more wonderful to go in to a bookstore you're not familiar with. It is interesting to see what they focus on or show on their display cases the most. I found the English are quite proud of their history, as they should be, and they have a vast amount of history books displayed beautifully.

When I went in to Waterstones Book Sellers in Loughborough, I was looking for a specific book. A friend of mine told me about a book her husband's relative had written that was only available in the U.K. The book I wanted was My Secret Sister by Helen Edwards and Jenny Lee Smith. It is a non-fiction book about twin sisters who were separated at birth. I was pleased to find the book easily and to find it is very popular in England.

While looking for this book, I happened to glance up at another shelf and found The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton begging me to take it home. Truth be told, I was attracted to the cover before I even noticed the author's name in large letters on the front. I have all the other Kate Morton books except for this one, and it had a cover that reminds me of the lovely English gardens I had been enjoying in my journey across England. I'm sure it was fate. ;)

After finding the book I wanted (and the one I didn't know I wanted until I saw it), I found myself going to the children's section. I do love a good children's story! The bookstore had a display of books I could not resist! I had trouble choosing just two and made sure I took pictures of the rest to order later. (I mean, let's be reasonable,...there's only so many I could fit in my already overstuffed suitcase,...along with the English china I bought and had to get back without breaking.)

I can't say enough about the two children's books I bought: The Worst Princess by Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie and The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle! They are wonderfully written and illustrated. If you don't believe me, I can already give you a second opinion. My daughter, Katie, is 22 years old and loves a good story. When she saw the two books in my library, she was instantly attracted to them. She wanted to read them, so I asked her to read them out loud to me. I watched her as she read and her face lit up at the story and the pictures. She commented on how she liked the rhyme scheme, the characters, and how the illustrations were different in each book but suited so perfectly for the stories. I would say that's "two thumbs up" from both me and my daughter on both books. :)

I'll let you know my review on the other two books once I've had a chance to read them. I did finish The Wise Man's Fear on my holiday, but that's a story for another day. I promise to talk about that book next time. I will also share some of my stories and pictures from England over the next couple of weeks.