Yesterday, being a Sunday, I rode down to Abids after a hearty breakfast, for the weekly book hunt. It was so hot I took along a cap and a bottle of water. I was glad I brought them because the sun was bearing down like anything. In Jan it is supposed to the peak of winter in Hyderabad but it already felt like summer.
After several months I was thrilled to see that a new lot of brand new books had flooded the bazar. Unfortunately they were all books I already have. I picked up a shiny new copy of Woody Allen's 'Getting Even' for only twenty rupees. A friend had asked for it and I am glad I found it. I also saw Mary Karr's 'The Liar's Club', Paul Theroux's 'My Secret History' and other books. I also saw Peter Mayle's 'A Year in Provence' and 'Toujours Provence', good copies but I already have these books.
I finally found a book that I could profit from immensely. It was 'The Art of Reading the Novel' by Philip Freund. The original title of the book was 'How to Become a Literary Critic', it said on the cover page. For years I have been reading just for the pleasure of it and without any serious intention. Now that I am doing this blog I would like to review the books I am reading in an intelligent way, though I doubt if I can do it. Nevertheless I hope the book would help me in reading the books critically and also, maybe write reviews though not like a literary critic. I am wary of literary critics.
This Sunday's haul was small but valuable. I plan to read Philip Freund's book first before beginning to read other books this year so I can read them in a new light.
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