I popped over to Victoria this weekend for a mini summer holiday. It only lasted from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon but it was a wonderful break and incorporated all the things I love about going to Victoria: stunning island scenery from the ferry, amazing floral displays at Butchart Gardens, excellent food in Victoria, and, of course, fabulous book shopping.
Russell Books, one of my all-time favourite bookshops, is located in central Victoria and I spent a happy couple of hours there on Saturday afternoon, sifting through my favourite sections. Every fifteen minutes or so you would hear another delighted patron exclaiming over some find or the sheer variety of books on offer. Deservedly so. My hard work was rewarded and I can home with a respectable haul:
Window on My Heart by Olave, Lady Baden-Powell – how to resist something this random? The autobiography of the wife of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, who was herself very heavily involved in the Scouting and Guiding movements.
A Time to Keep Silence by Patrick Leigh Fermor – PLF’s travel memoir about his time spent in monasteries.
P.G. Wodehouse: A Life in Letters edited by Sophie Ratcliffe – There were shelves and shelves and shelves full of Wodehouse but I chose to go with a collection of Plum’s letters.
Nairn in Darkness and Light by David Thomson – a memoir about growing up in Scotland in the 1920s.
An Italian Odyssey by Julie A. Burk and Neville J. Tencer – I am fascinated by the Via Francigena but there are so few books about it. This memoir about walking the Italian portion of the route is one of the few out there (alongside Like a Tramp, Like a Pilgrim, which I picked up earlier this year).
Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay – slowly building up my collection of GGK, having read them all first from the library (as usual).
The Pebbled Shore by Elizabeth Longford – I learned about this when reading My History by her daughter, Antonia Forest. Longford sounds absolutely fascinating and I can’t wait to learn more about her life.
The Smell of Summer Grass and The Gentry by Adam Nicolson – both excellent books that I’ve been meaning to add to my library since I first read them.
A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry – I can now safely return the library copy that I keep checking out.
A very good day’s work, as far as I’m concerned! And also just a nice summer break in a lovely city.
The Captive Reader 
You’ve got gorgeous reads here and not one of them are available on Netgalley!! Will have to track them down elsewhere.
Lovely finds!
It sounds like a lovely weekend! I may have mentioned before how much of a treat it was to go to Victoria, when I was growing up in eastern Washington State – particularly the ferry ride, which was magical.
The book of PG Wodehouse’s letters would be on the top of my list. I will be looking for that.
That is a lovely collection of books, and I think that if I hadn’t known whose they were yours would have been the name that came to mind.
Great finds. Enjoy!
Oh, nice haul. I’m heading out to Victoria later this summer, and Russell Books is always high on the list.
Lady BP’s autobiography? I didn’t know there was one. That’s going on my wish list.
Looks like you have some delightful reading ahead!
I enjoyed the Adam Nicolson books – what a nice little pile of very readable books! (Well, of course books are “readable”, but I’m sure you know what I mean!)
Margaret P