Recently, I spent nearly four weeks in the UK. During that time, I had the pleasure of visiting several bookstores. Of course, that included Waterstones Piccadilly, allegedly the largest bookshop in Europe. It’s definitely huge! I also popped into outlets in Richmond, Cambridge, Stoke-on-Trent and Bath. After all that browsing, I amassed a large folder of photos on my phone with books I’d added to my wishlist.
While I did browse the fiction shelves, I mainly took note of non-fiction titles because a lot of them were new to me. Some had already been on my radar but I hadn’t taken proper note of them before.
In any case, I thought it’d be fun to share them here because if I could, I would’ve bought the whole lot. Alas, I had to restrain myself because I needed to be able to carry my suitcase up and down the stairs at tube stations. My aim was not to exceed 20kg because I also had a backpack and camera bag with me.
Books I Hauled at Waterstones Piccadilly
When I first walked into Waterstones Piccadilly, I was convinced I’d walk out without buying anything. I’d managed to buy less than ten books during the first half of 2018, so this wouldn’t be hard, right? Wrong! Haha. I discovered so many new books that piqued my interest, many of which aren’t sold at my local bookstores in Singapore. In the end, I agreed with myself that the books I selected had to be light, and not available at my local bookstores, libraries or on Overdrive (yet).
In the end, I settled on three books that I decided were worth the effort of lugging around. I was especially stoked about City of Ghosts because it had just been released and I love the UK cover design!
Wishlist
The range of books really excited me but I was limited by luggage space and my own strength. Several of the books I left behind, I found are accessible to me on Overdrive. Since my goal this year was to limit my spending, I'll borrow most of these when I'm ready to read them. Some, however, I do intend to buy — some at my local bookstores, and others online. For an easier overview, I categorised them into eight subjects.
1. Food
2. Language
3. Philosophy
4. Sociology
5. Politics
6. Science
7. Self-Improvement
8. Business
which books have you bought on your travels? How do you decide which books to buy and which to leave behind at bookstores?
4. Sociology
5. Politics
6. Science
7. Self-Improvement
8. Business
Your self control is really something, girl!! That UK cover of City of Ghosts is absolutely stunning!
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Oh my god, the bookstore looks amazing! I really admire your self control, I mean, you’re in (allegedly) the largest bookstore in Europe and has a lot of wishlist… and managed to buy only 3 books!
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