To The Making of Many Books, There is No End.

What is it about books, to the serious book--lover.? I mean someone like me, who can walk into a library, or even a room in a house that is dedicated to books, wall to wall, and feel safe, warm, comforted, secure, at peace........ In short, it is a feeling of being ´´At home.´´ My real home, where my heart is..

I love the smell of new books, I love the musky smell of old books even more.

I can honestly sit in a room surrounded by shelves filled from wall to wall and from floor to ceiling with all sorts of books, and I get the lovely feeling of a calm heart, . A calm heart is something I often crave during busy days, and sitting surrounded by books just does it for me.

Almost 30 years ago, we lived in an average 3 up 3 down terraced house, big enough to use one room at the front of the house as a study or a Den, if you prefer the expression.

Our study, contained simply 2 large leather armchairs (so old they may have belonged to Mr. and Mrs Noah) , a music centre.............. This is the 1980s remember, so not such a small item. , with its turntable for records, a tape-deck beneath, next to a radio, and underneath all that .........space for the enormous long playing records of the day.

Still not much furniture in a room . Why not?. I guess the answer is obvious. Less furniture , more room for bookcases.!!!

My husband was full of the joys of Spring , getting his carpenters tools out and making long shelves along one complete wall from floor to ceiling.

I thought we´d never fill so many shelves. Who was I trying to kid??. We are both book lovers, so it took about a week.!!!!

Every time I walked into that room I felt happy.

When our children were teenagers, the book room was a haven . I also had control of the music when in that room... We had speakers all over the house.. Once in a while it was really necessary to control what was blaring out.. Music and books, Wonderful.

One of our favourite ways to fill our bookshelves was to visit a little market town called Hay On Wye.. It lies on the Welsh side of the Welsh/English border in the county of Powys.

However The Royal Mail, suggests via Hereford, or county of Herefordshire is less likely to confuse the postman.

A map is the best idea, unless you are driving with a Satnav in your car.

If ever you visit Britain and feel like a change from the wonderful sights of the big city,

Hay - on -Wye is a beautiful place to spend the day, especially for the book lover. It was said during the 80s that Booths bookstores alone, had 9 miles of bookshelves.

I quite believe it. There is a Quaint country pub near the largest bookstore , you WILL need it.

A... Because your feet will be killing you while your brain still wants to see more books.

B.. If you are like my family and go all over this large old shop, ´´´meet you at the pub´´ is a much safer bet than ´´find each other at the cookery section....´´ Books, books, books, so easy to get lost in a world of your own.

E.G. I once asked an assistant to show me where I could find books on Native Americans..

Sheesh!!!!!! She pointed me to a set of stairs and when I reached the top, I couldn't believe my eyes... Yes, there rows and rows of books about different tribes , but also books on the American civil war, The war of Independence. Presidents from the 1st to the present day... WOW! A whole section on the facts and fiction of the Old Wild West.

I just had to keep focused for this one day I wanted something about the Navajo, and some information on the Great Chiefs, of all the different nations of Native Americans.

If I didn't focus, I knew I´d be reading myself lost, if you know what I mean..

I am only talking about our favourite bookstore in Hay On Wye. I really have no idea how many this little town contains, I just know I have a wonderful time whenever we go there.

These books are always in good condition , reasonably priced , though not cheap as at a garage sale or a car boot sale .

You can sometimes find a real treasure of a book that has been long out of print, and you´ll pay maybe $3 or $4 for something is priceless to you.

I have always left the bookstores of Hay On Wye with a longing to go back..

It´s impossible to cover every department of old wonderful books in one day. (Don´t forget the pub)

Having written this, I feel like planning a trip down that way as soon as possible.

´´To the making of many books there is no end´´ so said wise King Solomon many, many years ago.

The man was right.