[BHE 568] Book Hunting in Bath (Part 3 of 4): Topping and Company Bookseller

Myra here.

While in the UK, my husband and I made sure that we took a trip to Bath and Stonehenge – one of the places we have been meaning to go for a long time. Rather than do a guided tour of the Roman Baths – super interesting to be sure – we opted to just tour Bath on our own instead, and inevitably we landed on this gorgeous place.

What can I say? Books find me wherever I go.

Topping & Company Booksellers

York St, Bath BA1 1NG, United Kingdom | Phone: +44 1225 428111

I couldn’t resist the translated titles, and was beyond thrilled to find these two novels. I am not sure whether I am just deluding myself, but I managed to convince myself that the books in the UK are slightly cheaper in comparison to similar titles being sold here in the UAE. This may be because most of the titles come from the UK anyway, hence, the additional costs for shipping and all that. At any rate, here’s my book haul.

(01) Chilean Poet by Alejandro Zambra (Amazon)

(02) The Gospel According To The New World by Maryse Condé (Amazon)

(03) Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias In A World Designed For Men by Caroline Criado Perez (Amazon)

(04) Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart (Amazon) – I own a copy of Shuggie Bain, but have not yet read it. I would most likely read these titles one after the other.

My husband and I watch The Crown and we have just seen the episode where Diana disclosed some of her more intimate experiences via audio tapes to Andrew Morton. Naturally, this was the first book I hunted down while in the UK. I wasn’t able to find a display copy in any of the Waterstones bookstores in London that I visited (see here) and I didn’t find it while in Foyles, either. There was also no display title of Spare by Prince Harry (Amazon) which I would have bought immediately had it been made easily accessible. Quite curious, I thought. The particular title below also took quite a bit of searching in Bath. The bookseller searched for it in their system which revealed that there was a copy available. However, it was deliberately kept out of sight, almost hidden in one of their shelves – but, yup, my perseverance paid off! I hope it’s well worth the read, indeed.

(05) Diana: Her True Story – In Her Own Words by Andrew Morton (Amazon)

Stonehenge was amazing. It was just goosebumps-inducing to be that close to a structure, considered sacred by many, whose origins are still being investigated and debated upon by scholars and scientists and laypeople alike.