New Books!

It was off to Leeds on the train this morning with my shopping route map (I don't stray from it and I don't window shop):  first stop the bank to deposit a cheque; then to Waterstones to spend my Christmas book token from Mary; next stop PC WORLD for some exorbitantly expensive printer cartridges (!!) and the promise from the woman behind the counter that they wouldn't set off security in any of the other shops I was going to visit.  I've grown tired of being wrestled to the ground whenever I stock up on these things.  From there I walked across town to the Victoria Centre to buy coffee from George Clooney, and finally in to Up and Running to pick up tape for my ailing knee.  A takeaway cappucino (in my own mug to get 50p off) and a pain au raisin and I was back on the train.  The guard was busy announcing in a deadpan voice that the train was going to Bradford.  I was convinced that it was the Skipton train, so climbed on board and munched my pastry.  Five minutes later the microphone loudly clicked on and the same guard said wearily, 'apparently we're going to Skipton,' and switched off!

So why these choices of books?  Two of them, the top and the bottom of the pile, are Waterstones recommendations/prize-winning books; the Shirley Jackson 'modern classics' were recommended to me by our girls' Middle School English teacher who runs the Book Club I am now attending; 'Once Upon a River' is a Sunday Times Bestseller and I liked the cover, and the Bridget Collins novel has purple edges and came with a free cup of coffee in the Waterstones Cafe.

The afternoon has passed with some hoovering and wiping away of dust, followed by Czech Infinitives (pah!) then it was the taping of the knee and the donning of my headtorch and out with the Hobblers on the first of two runs; the first being our usual run and the second to support the new Hobblers following the Couch25k programme.  A glass of red and Only Connect are rounding off the day nicely.