Today I met up with a friend in Cheltenham and got to tick off number 14 off my Waterstones Challenge. My poor challenge has been rather forgotten about because of covid putting a halt to travelling etc but now I am ready to get ticking off a few more Waterstones stores.
I loved the Cheltenham store, it has three floors and the Science Fiction and Fantasy section was fantastic. I also had a question about a book and the staff were so helpful it was brilliant.
I know you are wondering what books I bought, so here is the list.
Quick Reads
Blind Spot by Paula Hawkins
The Cutting Season by M. W. Craven
Darkness Rising by A. A. Dhand
Witness by Alex Whittle
My husband was overjoyed to see these books because they were only £1 each. He said I could have as many as I wanted but sadly there were only four there. I love the Quick Reads books because I find them great introductions to authors I have never read before.
Books
Witherward by Hannah Mathewson
This is my husbands choice but I hope to read it as well as it looks interesting.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
This was recommended to me by my niece so I thought I would give it a try.
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
This was recommended to me by a member of my family but I can’t remember who. Either way I’m looking forward to reading it as I love a sci-fi read.
Gallant by V. E. Schwab
I bought this purely because I have seen a lot of people reading and talking about it on Bookstagram.
So there is my book haul. I can’t wait to get reading these books.
Please drop me a comment if you have read any of these books or if you have a favourite Waterstones store.
Happy Reading.
If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you
So, I have a confession. I made rather a mistake on my book buying. I ordered some books off Waterstones and Wordery and didn’t realise that I had several preordered books due at the same time. The poor postman has had rather a lot of parcels over the last few days. This will mean no more books for a while as bank account needs to recover. One of the books is for my husband, so they aren’t all mine.
So here are my new pretty books…
The Royal Secret by Andrew Taylor
Two young girls plot a murder by witchcraft. Soon afterwards a government clerk dies painfully in mysterious circumstances. His colleague James Marwood is asked to investigate – but the task brings unexpected dangers.
Meanwhile, architect Cat Hakesby is working for a merchant who lives on Slaughter Street, where the air smells of blood and a captive Barbary lion prowls the stables. Then a prestigious new commission arrives. Cat must design a Poultry House for the woman that the King loves most in all the world.
Unbeknownst to all, at the heart of this lies a royal secret so explosive that it could not only rip apart England but change the entire face of Europe…
This is the book for my husband who has read all of the Marwood and Lovett series so far. I do plan on reading the series at some point because I have read some of Andrew Taylor’s books before and have really enjoyed them.
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur – Minos’s greatest shame and Ariadne’s brother – demands blood every year.
When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives in Crete as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne falls in love with him. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that in a world ruled by mercurial gods – drawing their attention can cost you everything.
In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne’s decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover’s ambition?
Ariadne gives a voice to the forgotten women of one of the most famous Greek myths, and speaks to their strength in the face of angry, petulant Gods. Beautifully written and completely immersive, this is an exceptional debut novel.
I’m so excited about this book and can’t wait to read it as I love a retelling of a Greek myth. I also love how pretty this edition is!
Sovereign by C. J. Sansom
Autumn, 1541. King Henry VIII has set out on a spectacular Progress to the North to attend an extravagant submission by his rebellious subjects in York.
Already in the city are lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak. As well as legal work processing petitions to the King, Shardlake has reluctantly undertaken a secret mission for Archbishop Cranmer – to ensure the welfare of an important but dangerous conspirator who is to be returned to London for interrogation.
But the murder of a York glazier involves Shardlake in deeper mysteries, connected not only to the prisoner in York Castle but to the royal family itself. And when Shardlake and Barak stumble upon a cache of secret documents which could threaten the Tudor throne, a chain of events unfolds that will lead to Shardlake facing the most terrifying fate of the age . . .
I love this series so hopefully I will get to read the third instalment soon.
Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon
A gripping new translation of the first novel in the famous Inspector Maigret series. What he sought, and what he waited and watched out for, was the crack in the wall. In other words, the instant when the human being comes out from behind the opponent.
Who is Pietr the Latvian? Is he a gentleman thief? A Russian drinking absinthe in a grimy bar? A married Norwegian sea captain? A twisted corpse in a train bathroom? Or is he all of these men? Inspector Maigret, tracking a mysterious adversary and a trail of bodies, must bide his time before the answer can come into focus.
The Late Monsieur Gallet by Georges Simenon
In the third Maigret mystery, the circumstances of Monsieur Gallet’s death all seem fake: the name he was traveling under, his presumed profession, and, more worryingly, his family’s grief. Their haughtiness seems to hide ambiguous feelings about the hapless man. Soon Maigret discovers the appalling truth and the real crime hidden beneath the surface of their lies.
The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien by Georges Simenon
On a trip to Brussels, Maigret unwittingly causes a man’s suicide, but his own remorse is overshadowed by the discovery of the sordid events that drove the desperate man to shoot himself.
The beginning of my Maigret collection! Now Penguin state these are the first three books in the series but Goodreads disagrees so I will have to do some research as I want to read them in order if I can.
The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary
Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend’s wedding in the north of Scotland. The playlist is all planned and the snacks are packed.
But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie’s ex, Dylan, who she’s avoided since their traumatic break-up two years earlier.
Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, and they’ve totalled their car, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. The car is soon jam-packed full of luggage and secrets, and with three hundred miles ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can’t avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship…
Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly… is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?
Now the reason this one isn’t on the picture above is because it hasn’t arrived yet but I am including it because it is arriving tomorrow.
I can’t wait to start reading all these wonderful books!
Please drop me a comment if you have read any of these books.
Happy Reading
If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you
It has been ages since I have visited a new Waterstones and ticked another store off my list but finally I have managed one. This week has been half term so I visited my best friend and her husband and their new little boy who is currently 9 weeks old and extremely cute. This meant I had the opportunity to take the little Book Dragon to his first bookshop and buy him a nice book. He slept through the whole experience but I bought him a book and his parents also bought him some books. A very lucky little Dragon!
The book I chose to buy was Winnie the Pooh! I have a beautiful book of Winnie the Pooh that a work colleague of my mom’s bought me when I was little and she told my mom that no child should be without a copy of Winnie the Pooh so I followed her advice.
I did also treat myself to a book that has been on my wish list for quite some time. I also bought a Waterstones bag that I really liked the look of.
The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths
I really liked the Waterstones in Norwich. It was very nice and the cafe was excellent, one of the best soya hot chocolates I have ever tasted.
Well worth a visit for all Book Dragons.
The photo outside the store features my best friend who you will have spotted in another Waterstones picture and her husband and their little Book Dragon in his pram. Sadly it was raining at the time. Massive thank you to Lord Book Dragon for taking the picture.
To see the list so far of my Waterstones visits please click here
Today I have had a wonderful day off, as I spent the morning reading and then went and spent the day in Birmingham book shopping and exploring the German Christmas Market.
I had a lot of fun in Waterstones and bought quite a few books and my husband also got some as well so the lady on the check out was quite surprised at the varied selection. I also had a lot of fun looking at the children’s section.
Here are my lovely books:-
I bought this book because my best friend, nicknamed Tufty Seal highly recommends Adam Kay as a writer so I am really looking forward to reading this book.
I saw this today and just had to buy it as I absolutely love the film!
I must admit I got this because the cover was pretty, I know very shallow, but sometimes a pretty cover is all you need to buy a book.
I bought this because I loved the last book with Murder Christmas stories I hope this one does not disappoint.
Another book from the Christmas table at Waterstones. I hope it does not disappoint.
This book I got in the children’s section. I always get a version of The Nutcracker each year and this year I got this little one with a pop up surprise at the end!
I also got two very pretty decorations from the German Market.
Please drop me a comment if you have read any of the books.
Well today is my first day of half term and I celebrated by having a lie in and a leisurely day. I had to run into our nearest town to run some errands and my husband suggested visiting Waterstones for a browse. Well a browse is something that never happens with me, it always ends in buying books. I was just going to buy Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths but my husband said that Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver looked good so I ended up buying another book because it was on buy one get one half price.
Not too much damage with just three books bought.
Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths
Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
A Keeper by Graham Norton
Please drop me a comment if you have read any of these books. I would love to hear your thoughts.
I have had a wonderful day with my husband, we went to Chirk Castle and then afternoon tea at a Hotel called The Sweeney. Between these two locations we also managed to fit in a Waterstones visit.
We visited the Waterstones at Wrexham and I was really impressed with what I saw, even though we only had a quick ten minutes in the store because we had to get to our booked table for afternoon tea. Everything was laid out well and I loved the genre signs above the bookshelves and the staff were wonderful.
The thing I was really impressed with was that Wrexham store had a big display of the A Very Short Introduction books which are done by Oxford University Press and I needed one of these for a course I am starting in October. So I immediately bought the book and a cute notebook to go with it because I do love a notebook.
The book I bought was Classics: A Very Short Introduction by Mary Beard and John Henderson.
So after a busy and enjoyable day I am going to have a sit down and read a few chapters of my new book.
It has been ages since I visited a new Waterstones but yesterday I finally found another one. We had to stay the night in Orpington because it was close to where we need to be today so we decided to visit the Waterstones. Only problem was we did not realise it’s not technically in Orpington but in St Mary Cray and is a 1.2 mile or more walk from where we were staying in the centre of Orpington. Oh well the walk there and back did us good.
The shop was wonderful, it was packed with books but laid out really well. We also really liked the children’s section and all the cuddly toys. A member of staff greeted us and asked if we needed help and it all felt very friendly and relaxed. There was also a massive New Book section which was very exciting.
I only bought two books and they were paperbacks. I didn’t want to go crazy because of the long walk back in the very hot weather so I went for thin books as well.
The two books I went for were:-
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
This is on my summer challenge list and I don’t own it so I was happy to get a hard copy as all this Kindle reading is upsetting me. I just prefer a real book!
The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths
As you probably know by now I love the books by Elly Griffiths, so I keep buying any I have not read when I see them.
Anyway, that was my little Waterstones adventure. If you are near or in Orpington anytime soon pay the store a visit as it is really good.
I have finally managed to get to a Waterstones this month, it was very overdue.
This Waterstones was the one in Birmingham, I love this store as I always go there just before Christmas when I visit the German Market. I usually go to buy Christmas presents but I must admit I usually end up spending a lot of money on Christmas books for myself. Very naughty I know.
So I bought two books from Waterstones and strangely enough they both have yellow covers. Although yellow is one of my favourite colours I promise I didn’t get the books just because they have yellow covers.
Six Tudor Queens: Anna of Kleve Queen of Secrets by Alison Weir
I have been getting the full series of these books so I was quite happy to see the next one was out in the shops.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
This has been on my TBR list for while so now I own it I hope to read it soon.
I love this store because it has so many books in it and it is well spaced out. I highly recommend this Waterstones if you are taking a trip to Birmingham.
This week we went on a little holiday to Wells, so of course I had to check out the Waterstones store. We also visited the Cathedral and Bishops Palace.
This store is 9/283 on my list, nearly into double figures!
I really liked this store, it reminded me of Narnia, it just kept on going, it was a very long store. It was brilliantly laid out and the staff were fantastic. It was an excellent store to visit on my holiday.
I was also very restrained and just bought two books!
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
I read this book a long time ago and would love to read it again as I remember I really enjoyed it the first time, but because I originally borrowed it off my cousin, I did not own a copy so I thought it was high time I had my own and I would also like my husband to read it as I think he would enjoy it.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
This is to continue my work reading all of Neil Gaiman’s books! I also really liked the cover.
So far I am thoroughly enjoying my Waterstones adventures as each store has its own character and style. I am also getting quite a following on Twitter from different Waterstones stores. One store has even promised me cookies for when I visit! Thank you for all the love so far.
Lady Book Dragon 