Arcadia on Valentine's Day

Thank you to everyone who had a look at the display, and to those who borrowed books hello! I hope you enjoy!

Arcadia is one of my favourite places in Leeds, I will be there on the 2nd Sunday of every month from about 3 o'clock ish, but will let you all know if there is a date I'm not going to be able to make.

Popular titles seem to be history/ social history based, so I will be adding more to the stock in future! Remember any donations to the cause are more than welcome, especially if it's something you think people should be reading.

A lot of people were amazed I was doing this for free. Let me say it again; this service is completely free, and always will be. I do not make any money from this, I am not applying for any government grants or local community funding because I don't need it, I would be buying the books anyway, you might as well share them with me! I don't need to be paid by your taxes to sit in a pub drinking tea on a Sunday afternoon! I am not sponsored by any particular book seller or publisher as I buy my books from charity shops (and, I have to admit, the occasional market stall, but I'm sure you can forgive me that). Any other books will have been given to me as presents or donated to me by friends or members of the directly for charity; this is not because I do not support charities themselves I just think its wrong for me to dictate your generosity, you may disagree fundamentally with a charity of my choosing and I would not want that. I try to buy from as wide a mix of charity shops as possible; so far the books in the suitcase are from Oxfam, the RSPCA, the British Heart Foundation, Sue Ryder Homes and St Catherine's Hospice (who I will always always support as they are angels), the PDSA, Martin's House, Mind, Scope and a whole host of local charities such as the Leeds Varieties shop in the town centre.

If you have any moral objections to any of the charities, please let me know. I will try not to let you borrow a book that has been bought from one of them, but I can't be absolutely sure, so please don't be cross with me! If there is anything major concerning one of my suppliers that I should know about, please email me, I desperately don't want to make anyone else's life harder by doing this and I don't want to find out I'm giving money to a cause that would not use it wisely.

If you work in a nice pub or cafe or anything at all where you think my services would be welcome, please email me and let me know- I am free most weekends (apart from the first and second Sundays of the month) and can do evenings after 7 o'clock ish, though cannot I'm afraid do late nights on a school night. All I ask is a chair, a table and the occasional cup of tea!

Happy Reading

Jess xx