The Sunday Haul and Recent Readings

Though not all Sundays are the same, however I am beginning to get the feeling that the second hand book bazaar at Abids is appearing to be boringly predictable. The booksellers are the same, the books they sell are the same, and even the people coming there appear the same. Though I don’t expect the book sellers to change I expect them to add newer books to their wares. This Sunday it was no exception except for the mildly pleasant weather. I couldn’t find anything interesting to buy and was almost on the verge of going back home when I came across an old copy of a travel book. It was Kevin Rushby’s ‘Eating the Flowers of Paradise’ which is described as ‘A Journey Through the Drug Fields of Ethiopia and Yemen.’ It is about the ‘quat’ addiction in these countries. Though I have heard of ‘quat’ leaves I haven’t heard of Rushby before and since the book looked promising I bought it. That was the only book I bought last Sunday at Abids.

However I have been reading quite a few books. One of the books I enjoyed reading was Sidin Vadukut’s ‘Dork’ which I found to be extremely funny. I liked the humor in it which I felt was original. The protagonist’s adventures are goofy and hilarious to say the least. I am waiting for more books by Vadukut.

Another book I finished recently was Ryscard Kapuscinski’s ‘Another Day of Life’ which is an account of the Polish author’s account of the time he spent in Angola reporting the civil war raging there for his paper. Kapuscinski describes the heat, the mindless killings and the people in a style I haven’t come across anywhere. Though I had bought the book quite a long time back I took it out to read only a few weeks ago. I wish I had read it immediately after buying it.

Another book I wished I had read right after buying it was Louis L’Amour’s ‘Education of a Wandering Man’ which is an autobiography of sorts. I had bought this book more than three or four years ago at a temporary second hand book store opposite the Deccan Chronicle office in Secunderabad. I haven’t read any of Amour’s books but now I want to. I had seen two copies of his book ‘How the West Was Won’ at Abids but did not buy them since I had not yet finished reading ‘Education…Wandering Man.’ I finished reading the book today and I found it to be fascinating reading.

Louis L’Amour is a self-made man who traveled a lot when young and also educated himself by reading whatever books he could lay his hands on, often reading as many as a hundred books each year. He has an extensive library at his home. He describes many of the books that he has read and at the end of the book is a list of books he had read during the years 1930-37, listed year wise. He seemed to possess an endless thirst to know more about civilizations and how people lived in the past. He is fascinated by Eastern philosophy, especially Indian and mentions many ancient Indian books and writers.

Apart from descriptions of his days as a miner, seafarer and boxer Amour also writes a lot about his writing in the book. He writes that many people think of him as a novelist but that he actually began with short stories, poetry and a few articles and essays. He wrote his first novel only after writing and selling more than a hundred short stories.

Some of his observations on writing I’m reproducing here:

‘A writer’s brain is like a magician’s hat. If you’re going to get anything out of it, you have to put something in first.’

‘Writing, however, is a learning process. One never knows enough, and one is never good enough.’ (What a comforting thought!)

‘The writing of a really fine short story is like the carving of a gem.’

‘Someone said that culture is what remains with you after you have forgotten all you have read, and I believe there is much truth in that.’

The biggest bonus I got from ‘Education of a Wandering Man’ is the numerous titles of some good travel books that he has read.