The Sunday Haul

The order in which I prefer to read different forms of literature is something that developed over the years. Non-fiction like essays, articles etc is what I like to read before anything else. Next is fiction, mostly thrillers and crime fiction. If I don’t find any of these I settle for poetry, though I cannot read too much of it in one spell. It is something to be enjoyed in short bursts, one poem at a time. But the only form I haven’t yet developed a liking for is plays. So far I’ve read a few of Shakespeare’s plays only and no other plays. There’s something about plays that I am not able to understand, not that I have attempted to. I know some of my favorite authors have also written plays- Maugham, Arthur Miller and others have written plays but I couldn’t get myself to read any of their plays. Though I haven’t read many plays I have managed to read an autobiography of a playwright that I found very educative.

It was by immense luck that I came across Moss Hart’s ‘Act One’ a few years ago at Abids. It is his autobiography in which Hart writes about how came to be writing plays and succeeding in that form. Since it was the kind of books on writing that I like I devoured it. It was in ‘Act One’ that I first read about the talented and successful George Kauffman. Sometime later I began to come across the name of Harold Pinter. But I don’t remember ever coming across the name of Lajos Egri though it sounded very familiar when I came across a book recently.

Sometime last week I spotted Lajos Egris’ ‘The Art of Dramatic Writing’ at a second hand bookstore in Begumpet. On the cover it was written that it was the classic guide to writing a play (the original of its first edition was ‘How to Write a Play.)Even otherwise I would have bought it anyway because it appears to have some great advice on story telling. It was a brand new book that I got for two hundred rupees which seems fair enough a price for such a book. I did not find anything at Abids on Sunday so I was content with this book that I hope to read soon. It might help me understand why I don’t like plays as much as I should.

Lonely Planet Magazine in India

On Sunday I read somewhere that ‘Lonely Planet’ travel magazine will be available in an Indian edition very soon. That was welcome news. Only recently have I come across this magazine at Abids and actually found two recent issues. I have no idea how much the magazine will be priced but I am sure looking forward to reading it. Lonely Planet has its own distinctive style of travel writing. I guess it is time for the local travel magazines like ‘Outlook Traveler’ and the one by India Today to be ready to face the onslaught of a global magazine.


The other day while surfing channels I came across an interview of Tony and Maurice Wheeler of LP Magazine on ET Now channel. They were being interviewed by one Abha Bakaya in a boat. I had caught the ending of the interview so missed what they had to say about the launch of Lonely Planet Magazine in India. One question that’s on my mind is if Lonely Planet is now in India can Conde Nast Traveler be far behind?

Ian Rankin Everywhere

All of a sudden one saw articles, interviews with Ian Rankin everywhere one looked. There were two articles in The Hindu including an interview with Rankin by Prakash Karat who, I read, is a fan of Ian Rankin. There was another article on Rankin in Sunday’s Indian Express. The Week magazine too carried a feature on Rankin in its latest issue. I had seen a book by Ian Rankin at Abids this Sunday but somehow did not feel like buying it. But now after reading all the stuff about him maybe I will pick it up in this Sunday’s visit to Abids.