Thursday, September 20, 2007

BOOK HUNTING AGAIN

The Sunday Book Haul

It turned out to be an odd Sunday this week. Not a book seller was seen inside the Metro Estate corridors beginning with Hollywood shoes to the other end at Dayals. It looked eerie and very unreal. It seems the shopkeepers were not allowing the booksellers to set shop. Since the festival season is approaching the book sellers won’t find space to set up their wares. Until end of Dassera, the Sundays will be different at Abids.

I found three books this Sunday and it wasn’t until I got home in the end that I realized all the three had some kind of a link with each other. I had picked up a book, a magazine and a catalog from various places and not one cost me more than ten bucks.

Finding Martha Stewart At Abids

The first book I picked up was ‘Martha Stewart; Just Desserts’ by Jerry Oppenheimer. I found this book in a heap of books selling for ten rupees each. ‘Just Desserts’ is claimed to be an unauthorized biography of Martha Stewart who is in jail for a securities fraud she had committed. It is a brand new copy containing 447 pages with eight pages of photographs. I wonder how the book got here. It also looked like whoever had bought the book had no time to read it.

The World's Most Expensive Fountain Pen In 'SPICE'

The second find of the day was a magazine. I usually pick up copies of foreign magazines but today I picked up the May 2007 issue of ‘Spice’, the luxury lifestyle magazine from the India Today group. I was flipping through it when I spotted a picture of a diamond and ruby encrusted fountain pen in one of the pages. I read that it was the world’s most expensive fountain pen costing Rs 3 crore. It was a pen made by Mont Blanc and Van Cleef Arpels. It was such a stunning picture that I couldn’t help buying it ( the magazine, not the pen!) I got the mag for ten bucks. Inside was another coincidence that I noticed when I got home.

The Mont Blanc Catalog- 'expressions'

The third find of the day was a catalog of Mont Blanc fountain pens. This is the third such catalog I am picking up from the pavements of Abids. This was the latest catalog titled- expressions. Inside were pictures of some of the most beautiful fountain pens I had ever seen.



Needless to say, being a fountain pen freak, I was ready to pay anything for this gorgeous catalog. But when the guy asked for ten bucks for it I nearly fainted with joy. Not only pictures of fountain pens the catalog also had some inspiring lines on writing by famous writers. I will write about it in detail in a later post. But for the time being all I can say is, if not the pens, at least the catalog I can afford to buy.

The Link Between The Three Finds

When I got back home I flipped through the day's find. In ‘Spice’ magazine I found mention of Martha Stewart! It seems the food on Virgin Galactic’s maiden space tour is being catered by her. Coincidentally, I had picked up a book on her moments before I picked up the magazine. Then the magazine had also a picture of the most expensive fountain made by Mont Blanc and later I found a catalog of fountain pens by Mont Blanc. Some coincidence this.

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