Books. Books everywhere!

So this post will be a little picture heavy, for a number of reasons. First, here is the update on the Tiger stitch.

I'd forgotten how hard it is to stitch on a dark colour, but it's getting there. At least I have a plan in place for the order of stitching if you get me.

Next, here is the latest Beadhaul box. The theme is fire and ice, based on Game of Thrones, a series that has passed me by if I am perfectly honest.

It's an interesting box, and the good thing is that the dragon reminds me more of the illustration on the Hobbit, so at least it's more relevant to me. The only things that I am not too sure about are the resin pieces, purely because I don't know how to stick them onto something, and the glasswork hearts. I love the crystal glass - it definitely reminds me of winter ice glittering.

This week I have been to Bath. I won't put loads of pictures in, but here are a chosen few, before I get on with the weekly task.

wall 'pon wall of books

enjoy a cuppa whilst they

handpick new favourites

This is Mr B's Reading Emporium. Haven of book lovers everywhere, it is worth paying full price for the books here if you have a chance, rather than to go to the local supermarket and get two for £7. What is apparent as soon as you enter the door is that they love books, and they really know what they are talking about. Today's trip was about their spa. Now, spas are obviously a popular thing in Bath and they have been throughout history, from the Romans to the present day, but this is a spa unlike any you have seen before. When you book the spa they ask you what kind of books you like so they can tailor make the spa towards you, and pick the member of staff most suited. I had Lucinda, a lovely woman who had her work cut out for her! I read a lot of books, perhaps too many, as when it came to the talk my nerves got the best of me, and I could not remember a single book I had read nor a single author aside from Stephen King! I promise I read more than that, but I do have a tendency to forget the titles and authors of books, even if the stories stay with me. Still, Lucinda persevered, and through an informal chat got an idea of my likes, and importantly, my dislikes. I know a lot of people don't like the idea of talking badly about a book or an author, but I think your dislikes are just as important as your likes, and I am glad they feel the same way at Mr B's. When Lucinda had gotten an idea of what to pick out for me (there was one book that caught the eye of both my mother and myself, and Lucinda recommended it too) she left me with a cup of tea and a cake (carrot cake - my choice. I did make a mistake here - it was a choice of white chocolate and raspberry almond cake and I hate almonds, or carrot cake, so I plumped for that. Dried fruit! Yuck! I've only ever had carrot cake once and it was fruit free.)

While Lucinda was choosing mine, I was listening to Nic talk to mum about the books he had chosen for her. Now, mum is a bit of a stickler for books. She pretty much only likes Jean Plaidy and Victoria Holt, but Nic did brilliantly in choosing some books for her, and going through each one to explain what it was about and why he had chosen it. Interestingly he had chosen one about the Holocaust that involved gypsies, which my nan was related to. I helped mum come to her final decision about which books to pick, then Lucinda came back with a monumental pile of my own to choose from. I loved the fact that there were a couple of books that were out of my comfort zone as it were, and Lucinda was very good at selling them. It was hard to whittle it down! The spa costs £80, and comes with a mug, a tote bag, a £5 voucher for another time, and most importantly, £55 towards the hand picked recommendations. Here were our choices.

These were mum's choices. I'm sure I will read them at some point, so when I do I will review them! I don't know much about them as obviously it was her talk, but I do know that two are about the Holocaust (or at least based around them) and one is based in Cornwall.

These were my choices (you will see on the receipt there is an additional one, but that was for my brother). Two are factual; both breaking that taboo that I think is more closed off to the public than mental health has been, but one that we all go through; Death. I have already read Pastmortems. This was the one that caught my eye when I came in, and it's a fantastically open book, both in the preparation of bodies for post-mortem (including removing the organs) and in the author's own life as well. Refreshingly open and honest, and a real page turner. Rivers of London has actually been recommended to me by someone else as well, which shows how accurate they are. This is about a policeman who can see ghosts, and finds out there is a paranormal section of the Metropolitan Police. Cutting for Stone is about twins who are separated, only to be reunited years later when one has to operate on the other. Imagine pulling back the sheet only to see your next patient is your exact double. Born Weird is about a family who have each been 'blursed' with a gift, and the rush to find the five siblings so that Grandma can remove their 'blurses' before she dies. Finally, All my puny sorrows is about two sisters; one who has a seemingly perfect life but is suicidal, and the other who is unwilling to let her go.

Ems