France ...

You must learn one thing.

The world was made to be free in.
Give up all the other worlds
Except the one in which you belong.

David Whyte, extract from Traveling With Pomegrantes.

I was in France these last 5 days, near Lyon, for a beautiful wedding and was startled to realise that not every hotel offers good internet connections.  The one I was on was pre-Flintstones and I was unable to reach the back-end of my website.

It was disappointing because I use my blog like a journal on occasion.  I was reading a superb book full of ideas that I would love to have noted and there were photographs like the one below, taken that first evening.

And now, two full days to process a few hundred wedding photographs before flying out unbelievably early on Thursday.

Tot straks.

Why I Won't Buy An Electronic Reader ...

A poignant and compelling book about feminine thresholds, spiritual growth, and the relationship between mothers and daughters, Traveling with Pomegranates is both a revealing self-portrait by a beloved author and her daughter, a strong new voice, and a momentous story that will resonate with women everywhere.

One of the things that stops me from falling for an electronic reading device is my huge love of secondhand books.

My lifestyle demands the light and easy convenience of an electronic reader but I remain completely unable to commit to one.  Everyone talks of 'how many' books they can load and read.  And I admit, I end up traveling with as many as 5 books if I'm away 2-3 weeks, muttering about the weight of my luggage but still I just can't commit to 'electronic'.  I came close recently but I felt grey inside when I imagined it all.

Yesterday I walked into my favourite secondhand bookshop here in the city and discovered Traveling with Pomegranates, by Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor. 

So many of my books have been serendipitous finds and there are bookshops, dotted around the world, described by me as those places where treasures are found.

Shift this hunger for paper and serendipity to Genova, in Italy, and I have La Feltrinelli's.  Their English selection isn't huge and yet I always come away with something superb.  A book that allows me to leave feeling as a good Catholic might feel just after the Pope has touched their hand. 

You know ... ?

Or in Istanbul, where time spent in the Robinson Crusoe bookshop was time I considered most delicously spent.

I can't comprehend the notion of not spending hours exploring bookshelves nor do I want to miss the pleasure of opening a new book ... or a new 'old' book.  I love looking to my left, here at my desk, and seeing the 3 red bookshelves loaded up with books I have loved and read ...and those books still to waiting to be read.

It's like that for me. 

Below, a completely unrelated image that I rather liked ... titled, Chris's science experiment in London, Clare will remember.