I’m just back from a quick trip to the UK. One of the things I miss most from that place is being able to go to a decent bookshop. There are plenty of bookshops in Israel, but none that are English language only and come anywhere close to matching the extensive stock of any half-decent Waterstones’ branch or, certainly, Foyles. Ra’anana does have the excellent ESRA second-hand bookstore, though, and I have been known to add to its stock from time to time!

On any trips to the English-speaking world there’s always at least one bookshop trip scheduled, even if most of my purchases are ahead of time from Amazon. I love browsing a bookshop. It’s a great way of discovering new authors and books. It’s a real bonus if the store has – like the outstanding Foyles – a cafe to round out the experience.

Here are the (real) books I bought on this trip to join the to-be-read pile. (Simultaneously, based on my browsing, I added several books to my Kindle library and Amazon Wish List.)

I’m looking forward to reading each and every one. Now, where to start…