This is one of the books I brought home from the Saints Community Library during a trip to Harrogate earlier this week. I hadn't been to this red telephone box book swap for at least 18 months and was pleased how much it had expanded in the meantime, with about twice as much shelving and lots of lovely books available. This looks to be fun - and informative . . .

And it turns out to be the 2,000th book I've registered on BookCrossing since joining in August 2005! I like milestones :-)

The title and subtitle: The Amazing True Story of the Royal Collection of Wild Beasts tell you pretty much all you need to know about this book!

It tells the tale of the royal menagerie in the Tower of London from its earliest days, housing exotic animals giving to Plantageant kings from at least 1235 when the Holy Roman Emperor gave Henry III three 'leopards' (not necessarily what we would know as leopards today) to its two-part demise in the 19th century when the royal collection was transferred to Regent's Park Zoo in 1831 and the remaining animals were removed in 1835.

It's interesting - but I didn't always take to the author's writing style . . .

Left in the box this afternoon when we rushed out for a quick drive to make the most of the unexpected sunshine after days and days of rain . . .

Nearly two million people around the world give their books a unique BookCrossing IDentity number (BCID) before sending them out to find new readers. Since the start of the scheme in April 2001 over thirteen million such books have been put into circulation. This is one of them!

Our hope is that we can track the progress of our books once they've left our hands - and that's possible if finders like you visit the website, key in the BCID and leave a comment, however long or short. It's fun, it doesn't have to cost anything, although the site always appreciates donations towards running costs, and you can remain anonymous if you wish. You don't have to join but if you do you'll be able to number and track your own books!