The best of books..........................

Today I will open this book.

I'll make a nice cup of tea, perhaps nibble an English 

chocolate biscuit (I have some squirreled away, naughty I know), 

grab a Summer-weight throw for my bare legs, and 

snuggle into the love seat tucked into the bedroom window bay. 

It's my favorite place to read, with bright natural light, 

and butterflies and bumble bees outside in the buddleia bush

which brushes against the glass in the Summer breeze. 

I'll commence reading this acclaimed first novel.

It's a very special book because of the way I acquired it.

The card above is an aerial photo of the city of Bath in England. It was enclosed with the book, along with a delightful silk bookmark. There is a special bookshop in historic Bath, Mr. B's Emporium of Reading Delights where recently author Tan Twan Eng was reading from his first book, The Gift Of Rain. 

My copy was inscribed by him and then mailed across the pond to me, arriving last week with a ring of the doorbell.

There is now a second novel, The Garden Of Evenings Mists, which again received accolades, and already I have it on my wish list.

 And who is Ruth you may be wondering? A kind and 

generous lady, originally from Germany, who lives 

in Wiltshire, England. 

Ruth started e-mailing me after reading about my visit to La Maison Bleu in Penang, Malaysia last year. 

She had already read Mr. Eng's first novel where the house is mentioned and went online to learn more about it. My blog post popped up, she enjoyed my photos from Penang, and has continued reading my blog ever since and 'traveling' with me.

Ruth insisted on gifting me with the book, not even allowing me to pay the postage. Her kind words were "I was in search of photos of La Maison Bleu and I found the world". What a lovely thing to say. Comments such as this make blogging so worthwhile. 

So dear Ruth, again I must thank you for my gift. 

I'm truly excited about reading the story and thankful 

for your friendship. Hopefully Ruth and I will meet 
in person when I next visit my home in England.

The beautiful beaded necklace? From my dear friend Patti in Washington State whom I visited recently. 

Just thought they looked perfect here, rather like cooling raindrops.

What are you reading this week?