A Midweek Haul

I had missed going to Abids the previous Sunday as I had just returned from Anantapur and the weather too was too extreme. After returning from Visakhapatnam late on Thursday night I was at Punjagutta getting new lenses fixed for my spectacles. I had time to kill so I went to Odyssey which was deserted. There were no customers there inside. I looked around for some time and decided to go to the second hand book store beside the flyover opposite Lifestyle. I picked up two books of my favorite writers that I already have.

The first book was Dave Barry’s ‘Dave Barry Talks Back’ which is, needless to say, one of the most hilarious books I’ve ever read. There were two copies of another book by the same author- Dave Barry’s Guide to Guys which I thought of buying but did not because by then I had spotted another book. It was ‘Be Cool’ by Elmore Leonard. ‘Be Cool’ is supposed to be a sort of sequel to his classic ‘Get Shorty’ and so I picked it up though I already have one copy with me. The copy I saw seemed to be in better shape and also had a different cover. I got the two books for hundred rupees.

I had also seen Paul Theroux’s ‘The Happy Isles of Oceania’ but I did not buy though it was for only fifty rupees. I have a hard cover copy of the same book as well as a paperback one so I let it be. If I find it in my next visit then maybe I will pick it up. There were copies of two more books of Elmore Leonard- ‘Maximum Bob’ and ‘Killshot’ but I did not buy them.

This Sunday, though I did not go to Abids in the morning as usual because it was too damn hot and I wasn’t feeling well. I was in some kind of a heat induced stupor after the fifteen hour journey by train and bus from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad. I went in the evening to Abids and picked up a photography magazine- Outdoor Photographer of January 2007. I gave it to a friend who might find something useful in it. I did not find any book worth picking up at Abids. Incidentally, the place was deserted even as late as six in the evening. If there is no let up in the heat then maybe it is a better idea to stay at home rather than risk sunstroke.