Hay-on-Wye is one of my favourite places in the entire world. Not only is it a celebrated ‘book town’ that hosts a fabulous literary festival each year, a festival that was sadly cancelled this year due to Covid-19, but it encapsulates the warmth and serenity of any typical Welsh town. To me it’s like a second home and will forever provide me with that little bit of joy. Even thinking about it and all of its bookshops is making me feel all warm and cosy inside. It was also at the Hay Literary Festival where I met one of my all time favourite authors Sarah J Maas, her work has had a huge impact on my life and I look forward to returning to the festival next year.
If you’re a book lover like myself then Hay-on-Wye needs to be on your bucket list of places to visit, its easy to loose yourself in the literary labyrinths of endless shelves and forget about the world around you. Richard Booth’s Bookshop, The Hay Cinema Bookshop and Addyman Annexe and of course the Castle Bookshop are among some of my favourites, as they all welcome you with open arms and house some our most memorable adventures.
After my wanderings around all the bookshops, I grabbed myself a coffee and headed down towards the river where I just sat looking over my purchases and watch the world go by, it was wonderful.
Now did you even go to a book town if you didn’t come back with a mini haul of books? I could have easily bought loads of books, but I’m running out of space on my bookshelf so I only got a couple.
Where I Was From by Joan Didion – As many of you know, Joan Didion is soon becoming one of my favourite authors, there’s something heartbreakingly raw and introspectively delicate about her writing that makes it so magical. So when I saw this book for a couple of pounds, I knew I couldn’t resist.
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – Last year I read Circe and absolutely adored it, so I’m eager to read more of Miller’s work and dive back into the wonderful world of Greek Mythology.
Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan – It’s very easy to become overwhelmed when exploring the bookshops in Hay so I always look for my go to authors, McEwan, Mitford and Didion. I’m very proud of my McEwan collection and then I realised that I was missing his new release so there was no hesitation as I made my way to the till point.
A Fangirl's Opinion 