I am jet lagged from a fantastic trip to the United Kingdom last week, but I have just enough energy to start sharing my book purchases while there. (I can’t believe I carried so many books home!) I had half of my suitcase full of books and an empty duffle bag filled up by the time I left.
These are the books I bought in shades of purple. I organize my bookshelves by color (of the books I have already read) and my purple section is scant. These gorgeous books will fill out that shelf.
I was pleased to find so many beautiful editions of Thomas Hardy novels. I need to read The Woodlanders (1887) and The Hand of Ethelberta (1876). I purchased them in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, in Richard Booth’s Bookshop. I also found a nice copy of Dante’s Paradiso there.
Hay-on-Wye is a beautiful town in Wales known for its bookshops. They have a bookstagrammers meet up every year in April, and right now (the end of May and early June) they are holding a book festival. We visited in between these two events to avoid the crowds, and we got to enjoy the dozens of bookshops without too many people around. If you love books, reading, and shopping for books, Hay-on-Wye is the place to visit.
I will post more of my new books from the trip over the next few weeks. It was a joy to visit the UK with my #bookstagram buddies Micol @literaryjourney, Liz @lizzieksbookishways, Priscilla @shereadsalotofbooks, and Jeana @hotcocoareads.
Bookstagramming is fun, as I have made some great friends, but I love blogging too!
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 
Oh, they are gorgeous! I’ve never been to Hay-on-Wye (even though I live in the UK and love books!)… I think I need to plan a trip. Glad you had a great time and bought plenty of books…they’re the best souvenirs. 🙂
Grace, you should visit! It was about a 4 hour drive from London and totally worth it.
I’m in Hay at the moment – went to Richard Booth book shop yesterday. The town is really busy at the mo but it’s a great atmosphere. Glad you found some good books to take home.
How cool! Enjoy and buy lots of amazing books!
Thank you, Emily!
What a trip! I hope the excess baggage didn’t hurt your travel budget too much.
Not too much! Luckily I had the membership status to check two bags for free. 🙂
I love those gorgeous Thomas Hardy books! I’m glad you got to go and have some fun! Someday I might make it there… In the meantime, there’s the good ol’ NovelTea. 🙂
You do have your very own awesome used bookstore! 🙂
How nice! I love Thomas Hardy.
Me too! His books are so great.
He’s one of my favorites.
Thomas Hardy is really unique in his own way.V. Woolf greatly appreciated him. That’s what she writes about his “Desperate Remedies”: ” ….But perhaps the most remarkable quality in the book is the sound of a waterfall that echoes and booms through ıts pages. ……. the rain, he knows, falls differently as it falls upon roots or arable; he knows that the wind sounds differently as it passes through the branches of different trees. God was so generous toward Hardy to endow him with the unsurpassable genius of a poet and writer who knew nature better than any other Victorian writer cos. he himself was a son of nature…..
🙂 Thanks for sharing! You know a lot.