Je suis Charlie

Je suis Charlie

Saturday 29 October 2016

A Night of Forever (The Disgraced Lords #6) by Bronwen Evans











Blurb:

 Distrust is no match for desire as a proper young miss and a self-professed rogue hunt down a murderer in this thrilling Disgraced Lords novel from the USA Today bestselling author of A Kiss of Lies and A Taste of Seduction.

Arend Aubury trusts no one besides his fellow Libertine Scholars. After his family escaped from France, penniless and persecuted, only the Scholars took him in. So when the stepdaughter of the villainess who has been plotting against them approaches Arend with allegations against their enemy, he suspects a double cross. Yet Isobel is a tantalizing prize, with lips as sweet as champagne and skin as creamy as Camembert. Is she a feast for the senses—or a bitter trap?

Lady Isobel Thompson dreams of marrying an honorable gentleman with a spotless reputation, a trait that Arend seems to lack completely. But Isobel believes that her stepmother is responsible for her father’s death, and only Arend has the skills to uncover the truth. As a cover, Arend suggests a fake betrothal—and soon Isobel finds herself forgetting that their courtship is a ploy. He’s so different from the man of her fantasies, and yet he’s so terribly handsome, so dangerously intoxicating—and all Isobel wants is more.



Oh, wow, I must admit that I got hooked on this series a while ago and I just had to know how the story of the Libertine Scholars goes on. They all suffered so much already and, well, I just want to see them settled and happy.
Arend and Isobel are wonderful, very complex characters who intrigued me and their chemistry is great despite their problems.

Both of them don't trust easily even though sometimes I felt that Arend overdid it a bit, but, hey, he has lived through a lot so probably he has every right to feel like that. Nevertheless sometimes I felt like kicking him a bit and telling to trust, starting right that moment, especially when his actions and his doubts hurt Isobel of whom I had grown very fond very quickly.

The story is fast paced and well written as usual, captivating me right from the start. First I thought that this was the last book in the series because the end seemed more final than the those of the other books so I was really thrilled to find that Philip, the Earl of Cumberland's story will be told as well in "A Love To Remember".  I'm definitely looking forward to it - and while I'm waiting I'll just start reading the other books again!

★★★★


Thursday 27 October 2016

Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners - Therese Oneill





by Therese Oneill



 A scandalously honest guide to the secrets of Victorian womanhood.

 *****

Oh my...... did I really, really want to know all this?!? Sometimes reality really is a b...last. The simple harsh realities of life in the 19th century are somewhat less romantic then all the books and movies led us to believe - and Therese Oneill exposes those facts in such a way that I either groaned and moaned in disgust or exploded with laughter - or both of them at the same time.

I enjoyed reading this book so much, from the tiny little hints of ...well, ...poop... to the bigger questions of sewages - or rather of inexistent sewages, from the gorgeous, embroidered gown to the lack of underwear and ...well  - have you ever thought about the toilets in such times? Ever wondered, why no heroine in the books and movies set in those times ever really uses such a thing? No? After having read this book you will know why, believe me! The only thing even less romantic might be the water used as drinking water - or perhaps the nits might be a little bit of a turn-off as well... Oh, and don't forget about the shoes! Love your sneakers? Cherish them, shoes can be so much worse!

Alright, I guess, you have a fair idea now, what this book is about and believe me, you'll love it! It is hilarious and you just can't stop reading and watching those amazing, telling illustrations that go with it and - yup, I loved it! Of course it is not all humor and not all just fun, the book also deals with the state of medicin and the treatment and the social position of women in those times but always in a light and humerous manner without ever making light of the problems.

"Unmentionable" is brilliantly written, wonderfully witty and all in all just amazing!

★★★★★


Gluten-Free Small Bites: Sweet and Savory Hand-Held Treats for On-the-Go Lifestyles and Entertaining - Nicole Hunn











 Blurb:

100 irresistible one-bite recipes—for everything from parties to portable meals

You know those days where dinner is grab-and-go, but you’re not sure what to grab? The older kids have a soccer game, a ballet lesson, the little one has a kazoo party, and they all need to be fed? Or maybe you’ve been volunteered to bring the mini quiches to the office potluck. Well you’re in luck: with Nicole Hunn at the helm, you can choose from 100 recipes for small bites—from party-pleasers like jalapeño poppers and pigs-in-blankets to easy meals like hand pies and chalupas. Have one of those special occasions when you can sit down for a meal? Nearly every recipe has instructions for how to make a bigger bite.

The voice behind glutenfreeonashoestring.com, Nicole’s been making gluten-free goodies that are delicious as they are safe for nearly ten years. Indulge in her new recipes for Crab Rangoon, Cheddar Hush Puppies, Fried Pickle Chips, Mozzarella Sticks, Pizza Pinwheels, Miniature Mac and Cheese Cups, Spanakopita Bites, a range of wraps (Cheesesteak, Greek Salad, and Huevos Rancheros, to name a few), Miniature Spinach Quiches, Chicken Empanadas, Vegetarian Chalupas, Pupusas, Shrimp Pot Stickers, Bear Claws, Apple Hand Pies, Miniature Vanilla Bean Scones…and more!




I've been following Nicole Hunn's blog "gluten free on a shoestring" for a while now because due to food intolerances we use a variety of different flours and this blog is a real treasure trove for everybody who wants or has to try something different.

"Gluten-Free Small Bites" is proof of that either. It is a wonderful book full of many many delicious little snacks to be eaten at parties or on the go. Sweet like cookies or something like miniature Shepherd's Pies, Wonton Wrappers, Tacos, Burritos, Pizza, Pigs in Blankets...no matter what you' re looking for you'll find it in here.

The best thing is that it's not just the recipes themselves but this book enables you to deal with the challenge of gluten free baking by giving tipps on the right flour blend for each purpose and how best to work with it among many other things..

The recipes are well structured, easy to follow and illustrated with many delicious looking photographs that will make it very hard to decide where to start because they all look just amazing - and the end products taste amazing as well!

This wonderful book is also well written, even the hard facts about the different kinds of flours and such are never boring or dry to read whereas the recipes are precise and straight to the point.
No matter why you're looking for a gluten free cook book - in my eyes "Gluten-Free Small Bites" is definitely a very good choice!

★★★★

Wednesday 26 October 2016

The Rogue's Wager (Sinful Brides) by Christi Caldwell










Blurb:
 


After having read many books by Christi Caldwell I stopped reading them for a while because I felt that I knew it all. The same structure, the...well, not exactly the same people, but you get the meaning, right? Everything was wholly predictable but when I read the blurb of "The Rogue's Wager", I was intrigued and decided to try my luck.

Well, I enjoyed every single page of it. I read it straight from the first to the last page and loved it.
Of course, the story being a romance, many things are still predictable - just as I like it. But the hero and the heroine are distinct and also unusual enough that I loved them and wanted to know what happened to them.
I loved to see Helena fight for her freedom, a cage is a cage no matter how well-meant everything is. Her brothers mean well, they just don't know how to deal with things differently and Robert, well, he has a bit to learn as well but he might just get there and find something (or someone) very precious ...

The story itself was well plotted and different enough to make it an interesting read. I already knew that Christi Caldwell writes really well and this book was no exception -  well written, great story and wonderful characters make "The Rogue's Wager" a story that I really enjoyed and that I can wholeheartedly recommend.

  
★★★★

 

 

 

Tuesday 25 October 2016

Finally - WARRIOR by Karen Lynch is here! ~Review in English~




WARRIOR IS FINALLY LIVE!


Do you remember the Relentless-Trilogy by Karen Lynch




Now the WARRIOR himself tells his story - and you will love it!





 Blurb:

The warrior has finally met his match.

Nikolas Danshov is the Mohiri’s finest warrior, fearless and lethal with any weapon. For almost two hundred years, he has devoted his life to keeping humans safe from the demons that walk the earth. Revered by his people, he is a legend in his own time, a warrior undefeated in battle, and prepared for anything. Until her.

On a routine job in Maine, a twist of fate brings Nikolas face-to-face with the one person he had never expected to meet – his mate. Sara Grey is unlike anyone he’s ever met. Beautiful and fiery, she ignites his desire, while her innocence and vulnerability awaken a fierce protectiveness in him. Now all he can think of is keeping his mate safe from the dangers that hunt her, even if she fights him at every turn.

You know Sara’s story. Now read it again, through the eyes of her warrior.


Curious? Well, you should be! 
I've been waiting patiently (Alright, I'm kidding, when it comes to this trilogy I've never been patient!) for a year to be able to finally, finally read the whole story from Nikolas' point of view. To say that I was also curious and maybe also a bit worried because, well, I really expected a lot from this book and even though I loved each and every one of the books of the trilogy I wasn't sure if Karen Lynch could really answer all my questions and tell the book as something new and at the same time as part of the same story that I know by heart. 

To cut a long story short - I got that and so much more. This book is amazing! It tells a whole new story while telling Sara and Nikolas' story and those of you who didn't fall in love with Nikolas in the trilogy be prepared to fall now. Hard. The Warrior shows us a very different side of Nikolas. In the trilogy he stood always a bit aloof, demanding and overprotective. Okay, he is all of that - on the one hand. On the other hand this book shows us a sensitive, loving and just wonderful person, who is still overprotective and overbearing but hey, who cares!? You understand what makes him act the way he does and you just accept that someone like him has to have some flaws at least.

If it had been possible for me to fall more in love with this whole series, Warrior would have done it. It is witty and brilliantly constructed, it is captivating and suspenseful even though I knew the story but it still managed to make me fret and fly through the pages to find out what would happen next. It is not a simple retelling but it is a whole new, amazing story that just covers the same events. We get to know some people much better, there are new wonderful characters to meet and...well, it is just that:  AMAZING!
★★★★

What?!? You haven't read the other books yet?!? Go get them! Now! 
You'll love them!





Hidden Magic by Stephany Wallace


An amazing debut!






 

 Blurb:

How would you feel if you discovered magic was real, and the kind of powers that until now you've only read about are actually part of this world? Cynwrig "Cyn" Bressall is a Celtic warrior with the unique ability to harness and wield Druid magic in a way never before seen. Making him the only Druid Warrior to ever exist. After surviving a horrible night that began the extinction of his race, Cyn has spent the last two thousand years searching for the only man that can lead the Order of the Druids and mend the scars marring his soul. Instead, his quest leads him to a woman whose essence is unlike anything he's ever felt. Orphaned as a baby and raised by her loving but over protective grandfather, twenty-three year old Briana "Bri" Anwell has led an isolated life. Friendless and stuck in a job with no prospect, the self proclaimed flower child finds solace in her only friends. Books. And imagines an adventurous life in a magical world where anything is possible. So when a sexy stranger suddenly appears in her world as though he stepped out of her favorite story, she dismisses him as a figment of her imagination. But soon she realizes he's so much more than he seems. He signifies everything she's fantasized about, but is there a place for her in his extraordinary world?



Oh my...you haven't met Cyn and Bri yet? Well, look forward to it because this book is totally amazing! It is suspenseful but it also made me laugh so hard, I ended up reading whole passages of it to my family because they wanted to know what I was laughing about.
At the same time it was also suspenseful, keeping me glued to the reader, fearing the worst, hoping the best and laughing, crying, smiling goofily - and falling in love with the hero and the heroine.

When Cynwrig realises that Briana can see him, he is absolutely astonished but he is even more astonished when he finds out, that he just exists in Briana's imagination - or not?
2000 years ago, the Romans attacked Cynwrig's home, the place where the last Druids were living. As a result the last of the Druids were scattered in the world - and not all of them came back, when it was time to reunite. While Cynwrig searches for his mentor, the leader of the Druids he stumbles upon someone very special, kindle-reading, nature loving, sweet Briana who very soon feels like a part of his soul.
Unfortunately they have to find out that Cyn's old enemies are still alive - and they are still trying to extinguish his people and Bri gets right in the middle of it all....

This wonderful, witty, exciting and romantic story is a debut that you shouldn't miss and I just hope that we won't have to wait too long for another book by Stephany Wallace because I look definitely forward to another book by this promising author!

★★★★


Saturday 22 October 2016

The Debutante's Dilemma (Classic Regency Romances Book 16) by Donna Lea Simpson

  








Blurb:

Pamela Neville is a free-spirited young beauty who has no intention of subjecting herself to the stifling restrictions of London society—until her grandmother lures her with an irresistible offer. The indomitable dowager promises to teach her everything she needs to know to elicit a proposal from Sir Colin Valens, the man Pamela has adored since childhood.

Soon Pamela is feigning the same coy disinterest of the other women of the ton—and catching Colin’s eye in the process—but the green-eyed gamine can only be demure for so long. And each time she indulges her more wild, carefree side, she runs headlong into the startlingly handsome Lord Strongwycke, who seems to find her entrancing just for being herself. Suddenly Pamela finds herself with the vexing dilemma of being pursued by two different gentlemen, and in what seems like the span of a heartbeat both men offer for her hand.

Now Pamela faces a choice between clinging to the dreams of a girl and a life that would allow her to live as the free spirit she longs to be.



When Pamela comes to London, she is not willing to adapt to the ways of the ton but then her grandmother dangles the ultimate "carot" in front of her - getting fit to become the kind of woman her childhood love Colin would want to marry. Easier said than done though, for somenone as spirited as Pamela but finally -finally!- Colin notices her. The question is, if he is really the right man for her or could there be someone else, someone who is her partner in crime when it comes to not submitting to the ton's rules and who loves and respects her just the way she is?

I really enjoyed reading this book but sometimes I had to remind myself that the heroine is a young girl and therefore is entitled to behave like one...especially when tries to decide whom she really loves. Actually I felt a bit like handing her a pack of ice cream and sitting her down for a nice chat because for a while her indecisiveness reminded me of times when I was a teenager and well, you know what I mean. The times when someone was lovesick, when someone was in love and "he is so sweet but he kissed so well and..." ,well, that kind of thing.

Apart from that it was a really sweet and well written story with interesting characters and a very loveable heroine and hero.
This is not the first book by Donna Lea Simpson that I've read and it won't be the last, again I found a book that captivated me and made me feel with the characters and their fate.
I loved reading this book and I'm looking forward to the next book by the author!

★★★★


Friday 21 October 2016

From Wales to Cumbria and Dumfries ....and Wigtown!



Lately I was rather busy so it's just now that I have the time to write about our trip going from Hay-on-Wye to Wales and on and on to Dumfries where I found the most amazing book store of all those that I visited on this trip.
But, well, let's start in Wales where we went after our visit to Hay-on-Wye!

After having spent some time in Llandovery 
in South Wales, where the statue 
Llewelyn ap Gruffydd can be found whose gruesome fate represents a stark contrast to this wonderful place, we went on to North Wales.
In North Wales we made the first try to exchange our wind screen that, well, let's say a rendezvous with something on the road left us with a lasting memory... Unfortunately the wrong screen was delivered, so still a wind screen with a "spider app" but apart from that we met many nice people and saying good bye wasn't easy.

In North Wales we stayed at one of the most beautiful camp sites of our tour, Aberafon, next to Caernarfon. Aberafon is not only very cozy and friendly but also located with direct access to the beach, some of the pitches are actually almost situated on the beach. North Wales was even mor beautiful that South Wales, I think, it is a bit wilder, the hills, well, mountains, are steeper - oh, that was something, right? Going up in first gear at a snail's pace is an experience in itself but at least we got to the top, no matter how long it took. In North Wales we went to Snowdonia with its amazing landscape and its cows that were roaming there right in the mountains.
From North Wales we went to Cumbria by way of Gretna Green. Okay, everybody who knows my blog, knows that I love historical romances and Gretna Green being the first village on the scottish side and known as the go-to for all those who wanted to marry without the consens of their parents and eloped in those times was a must. I thought. I mean, almost every other book sees a more or less happy couple on its way to Gretna, right? So I had to see this place where people went to get married "over the anvil".

I leraned my lesson. Some places shouldn't be visited if you want them to keep their charm. Gretna Green was a nightmare. One store next to the other, their products ranging from the cheapest, chinese, "real scottish" souvenirs sporting to the somewhat more sophisticated articles with very sophisticated prices. A piper could be found as well as some photowalls where you could take a phot of your loved ones looking out of the carriage taking them to Gretna and such things. Oh and don't forget all those bis signs for those firms that turned the "myth gretna green" into a big and profitable All-Inclusive-Business.

From Gretna Green we went on to Dumfries the same day, more precisely to Kirkcowan near Newton Stewart to the without doubt most remarkable camping site of our tour. At least Balloch O'Dee was definitely the only camping site where not only chicken could be found running between the tents but also dogs and horses. First I thought that it was rather chaotic and a bit strange. The next day it felt cozy, personal and nice and just, well, different - in the end it wasn't easy to leave. It was also the only camping site where tea candles and incense could be found in the washing rooms and the kitchens which were lit every evening. You can't expect much comfort, though all that is necessary, I think, but you'll find nice and helpful people there and a wonderful place to relax. Even better than this camping site is the fact that it is not far from Wigtown, the scottish book town with its second hand book shops!
 
Of course I found some books here as well (Surprise, surprise!) and I loved to browse all those shops that are definitely worth visiting! One of them was the most amazing and most beautiful book shop and the one we loved most on this whole trip.
Mostly the shop offers old and very old (and very very old) books but also some that are more recently published and also (I think) some new ones.

I don't think that any book lover can resist this wonderful, very lovingly decorated shop, at least I couldn't resist. It started rather innocently with the shop just being called "The Book Shop", but behind this name you'll find a book lover's paradise!
This shop is so cozy and welcoming, inviting the reader to enter and browse through its vast collection of books on a grat variety of subjects. You jsut walk on and on from one room to the next and it's not just the books but also the many loving details that make this shop special. Inscriptions, small etails like candelabers or bigger ones like skeletons (yes, even a skeleton may be inviting...) - and well, all the little touches.




The entry area of this wonderful shop:


 “Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.”
 
W.C. Fields




"A mind amongst books, like fire in the heather"

 



Who doesn't dream of such a cozy corner right in the middle of his books?




Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.

Terry Pratchett

A cozy place at the fireplace for the diligent author 
Don't stand on
     this if you
                   think it
                       might
                           break!

    Good advice, isn't it? - This is the scottish corner where I found a sweet little (and very old) book about the different tartans, explanations about the clans, their badges, slogans and arms by a tartan outfitter from aus Edinburgh:


 I love it!
                  
And I found another book in this shop that had been on my wish list for some time, Old Filth by Jane Gardam:

I think, I'm to be recommended as it was really hard to leave with just two books... Well, people started asking where we'd put my husband when he would join my daughters and me a week later because the car started to look a bit...full? So that might have helped me here.

This day had to end sometimes as well and we had to got back to the camping site where we, just wanted to mention that, tried to exchange our ...yes, our wind screen the other day. Again they brought the wrong screen....
Never mind, new town, new luck - we were promised that we'd get the right screen at our next destination and so we left the following day to go to
GLASGOW!



~To be continued~




Thursday 20 October 2016

Honor's Splendour by Julie Garwood - Hörbuch ~Review in German~

  





Blurb:

This classic medieval romance from New York Times bestselling author Julie Garwood is a fan favorite—a beautiful lady needs rescue from a knight in shining armor, and gets an alpha warrior instead.

In the feuding English court, gentle Lady Madelyne suffered the cruel whims of her ruthless brother, Baron Louddon. Then, in vengeance for a bitter crime, Baron Duncan of Wexton—the Wolf—unleashed his warriors against Louddon. Exquisite Madelyne was the prize he catured...but when he gazed upon the proud beauty, he pledged to protect her with his life. In his rough-hewn castle, Duncan proved true to his honor. But when at last their noble passion conquered them both, she surrendered with all her soul. Now, for love, Madelyne would stand fast...as bravely as her Lord, the powerful Wolf who fought for...Honor’s Splendour.


Einmal vorweg: Das Buch selbst liebe ich, allerdings hatte ich das Pech, mich dafür entschieden zu haben, dieses Buch als Hörbuch zu kaufen. Aus reiner Sturheit habe ich bis zum Ende durchgehalten, allerdings durfte ich es nicht im Auto hören, wenn meine Tochter dabei war, weil sie die Art und Weise, wie es gelesen wurde so peinlich und furchtbar fand und ich selber habe die Fenster immer geschlossen gehalten, weil mir die Vorstellung unangenehm war, dass jemand "draußen" diese merkwürdigen zutiefst männlichen Stimmen, diese geradezu anzüglich klingenden Parts und so weiter hören könnte. Mir ging es dabei nicht um die Inhalte, sondern darum, dass ich mich streckenweise in einem falschen Film wähnte, weil alles gehaucht, geseufzt und irgendwie geradezu karikaturartig gelesen wurde.

Trotzdem habe ich nebenbei noch mitbekommen, dass es sich um eine klassische "Garwood-Story" handelt, mit ausgesprochen sympathischen Charakteren, einer "leicht" naiven, dabei aber liebenswerten Heldin, deren herzliche Art nicht nur die harten Kerle um sie herum für sie einnimmt. Ihr Bruder Louddon ist jemand, der einem mehr als eine Gänsehaut verpasst, während der harte, raue Baron Duncan mit seiner geradlinigen und ehrenhaften Art den Leser, okay, vermutlich eher die Leserin, sehr schnell überzeugt, dass er genau der richtige für unsere sensible und liebenswerte Heldin ist.

Dieses Buch ist zwar nicht mein Lieblingsbuch von Julie Garwood, aber es ist eine schöne und gut erzählte Geschichte, mit deren schriftlicher variante ich mich dann demnächst dafür belohnen werde, dass ich dieses Hörbuch bis zu seinem bitteren Ende gehört habe. Es kommt selten vor, dass ich erleichtert aufatme, wenn ich ein Hörbuch durch habe, hier war dies aber definitiv der Fall - und ich werde kein Buch wieder hören, das von dieser Erzählerin gelesen wurde. Zwar hatte ich in die Hörprobe hineingehört, da fand ich es nicht gut, aber auch nicht so schlimm, hatte aber unterschätzt, wie sich "nicht so schlimm" über etliche Stunden auswirkt.

Gesamtfazit - Buch vier Sterne, Hörbuch eins und die Erkenntnis, kein Hörbuch mehr zu nehmen, bei dem ich nicht hundertprozentig von der Erzählerin oder dem Erzähler überzeugt bin.

 ★★★★///

Tuesday 18 October 2016

Über Wales und Cumbria nach Dumfries...und WIGTOWN!



In der letzten Zeit war hier recht viel los, so dass ich wenig Gelegenheit hatte, endlich weiter an meinem Reisebericht zu schreiben, dabei war es in diesem Abschnitt, wo ich den schönsten der Buchladen unserer Tour besucht habe. Aber erst einmal zurück nach Wales, wo es uns nach Hay-on-Wye verschlug. 


Nach einigen Tagen im schönen Llandovery 
in South Wales, in dem sich auch die Statue 
findet, dessen doch recht grausiges Schicksal einen ziemlichen Kontrast zur schönen Umgebung darstellt, zog es uns weiter nach North Wales.

In North Wales gab es einen ersten Versuch, unsere vor Hay-on-Wye kaputt gegangene Windschutzscheibe auszutauschen, was leider an der falschen Scheibe scheiterte, ansonsten gab es auch hier wieder unwahrscheinlich viele ausgesprochen nette Leute, mit denen wir uns gerne unterhalten haben und von denen uns der Abschied teilweise nicht ganz leicht fiel. 

In North Wales blieben wir auf einem der schönsten Campingplätze unserer Tour, dem bei Caernarfon gelegenen Aberafon. Aberafon ist nicht nur unwahrscheinlich gemütlich, sondern auch noch direkt am Wasser gelegen, so dass einige Stellplätze fast auf dem Strand gelegen sind. North Wales war aber nicht nur wegen des Campingplatzes ein echtes Erlebnis, sondern auch weil die Umgebung fast noch schöner war als in South Wales. Und die Hügel deutlich steiler, im ersten Gang mit Anhänger den Hügel hochschleichen, ist schon ein Erlebnis der besonderen Art, aber wir kamen hoch und das ist ja die Hauptsache! Ein besonderes Erlebnis war allerdings unser Ausflug nach Snowdonia in den Nationalpark mit seinen beeindruckenden Bergmassen und freilaufenden Kühen.
 Nach North Wales fuhren wir dann über Cumbria nach Gretna Green. Okay, jeder, der meinen Blog kennt, weiß, dass ich Historical Romance liebe und da Gretna Green als erster Ort hinter der schottischen Grenze das Heiratsparadies für alle die war, die die Erlaubnis der Eltern oder Vormunde umgehen wollten, war der Ort natürlich ein Muss. Immerhin brennen in den Büchern doch recht häufig unglückliche Paare in Richtung der schottischen Grenze durch, um sich dort "über dem Amboss" trauen zu lassen.

Ich lernte hier wieder einmal, dass man manche Orte vielleicht doch lieber nicht besuchen sollte, damit sie ihren Zauber behalten. Gretna Green war für mich eine absolute Katastrophe. Geschäft reihte sich an Geschäft, von Billigstsouvenirs aus Plastik im flotten, chinesischen Schottenlook bis hin zu den etwas kultivierteren Artikeln mit den sehr kultivierten Preisen. Der Dudelsackspieler fehlte natürlich genauso wenig die Fotowände, hinter denen man sich fotografieren lassen konnte oder die Werbewände für die Firmen, die den "Mythos Gretna Green" in ein großes, lukratives All-inclusive-Geschäft verwandelt haben.

 Von Gretna Green aus ging es aber am selben Tag noch weiter nach Dumfries, genauer gesagt nach Kirkcowan bei Newton Stewart auf den definitiv außergewöhnlichsten Campingplatz unserer Tour. Zumindest war Balloch O'Dee der einzige Campingplatz, auf dem nicht nur Hühner frei zwischen den Zelten herumliefen, sondern auch Hunde und Pferde. Was auf den ersten Blick recht chaotisch wirkte, wurde im Laufe unseres Aufenthaltes einfach gemütlich und besonders. In den Waschräumen fanden sich Teekerzen und Räucherkerzen und alles war sehr entspannt und friedlich. Viel Komfort darf man nicht erwarten, aber ansonsten war es schlichtweg nett. Fast das Allerschönste war allerdings die Nähe zu Wigtown, der schottischen Bücherstadt! Hier in Wigtown habe ich natürlich auch Bücher gefunden (welch ein Wunder, nicht wahr?), zumal es hier auch wieder einige Antiquariate gibt und darunter mehrere, in 
denen es sich auf jeden Fall lohnt einmal zu stöbern. Unter anderem fand sich hier in Wigtown auch der wirklich schönste Buchladen unserer Reise. Vorrangig gibt es hier alte bis sehr alte Bücher, aber auch modernes Antiquariat und vereinzelt ein paar neue Bücher (meine ich zumindest gesichtet zu haben).
Ich glaube, es gibt keinen Buchliebhaber, der diesem wirklich liebevoll gestalteten Buchladen widerstehen kann - ich konnte es zumindest nicht, dabei fängt es fast harmlos an, der Buchladen heißt nämlich ganz simpel einfach nur "The Book Shop", aber dahinter verbirgt sich ein Paradies für Buchfreunde!
Dieser Laden ist einfach nur gemütlich und einladend, dabei hat er ein sehr großes und vielfältiges Sortiment, so dass man sich sozusagen von einem der Räume in den anderen "durchstöbert". Hier sind es dann allerdings nicht nur die Bücher, die einem in Auge fallen, sondern auch die vielen, kleinen, liebevollen Details in den Räumen selbst, die diesen Laden zu einem Erlebnis machen!






Der Eingangs (- und Kassen)bereich dieses wunderbaren Ladens:

 “Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.”
 
W.C. Fields





"A mind amongst books, like fire in the heather"

 





Wer träumt nicht von so einer gemütlichen Kuschelecke inmitten seiner Bücher?




Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.

Terry Pratchett

Hier ein kleiner  Kaminplatz für den eifrigen Schriftsteller, samt Sessel, Stehlampe und allem Drum und dran.
Don't stand on
     this if you
                   think it
                       might
                           break!

    Good advice, isn't it? - Hier ist übrigens die schottische Ecke, wo ich ein kleines Schmuckstück fand, ein Tartan-Musterbuch mit Erklärungen zu den verschiedenen Clans, ihren Tartans, Badges, Clanmottos und Wappen eines Tartan-Ausstatters aus Edinburgh:


 Ich finde es wunderschön!
                      
Ansonsten fand ich in diesem Laden noch ein anderes Buch, das unbedingt mit musste und das sich schon lange auf meiner Wunschliste befand:

Man sieht, ich habe hart an mir gearbeitet und mich zurückgehalten, allerdings lag das auch daran, dass allmählich der Platz im Auto immer knapper wurde...

Und auch dieser Tag neigte sich irgendwann dem Ende zu und wir mussten wieder zurück zum Campingplatz, auf dem wir übrigens am Tag zuvor noch den zweiten, ebenfalls gescheiterten Versuch, eine neue Windschutzscheibe zu bekommen, unternommen hatten. Auch hier kam wieder die falsche Scheibe an...
Das sollte sich dann aber endgültig an unserem nächsten Zielort ändern, versprach man uns. Also brachen wir am Tag nach unserem Ausflug nach Wigtown zu unserem nächsten Ziel auf: GLASGOW!





~Fortsetzung folgt~