The Sunday Haul

Had I picked up the book I saw on Sunday it would have marked my first step towards an adventure into something I’ve been dreaming about for quite a while. I had been eying the book- Cooking Basics for Dummies- at Abids since the past three Sundays but haven’t picked it up yet. The very idea of learning something like cooking from a book seemed decidedly odd to me (as it would to anyone else) but that’s how I learnt a lot of things. But if anyone I know finds out that I am attempting such a thing then they would be rolling with laughter on their kitchen floors. So that was one reason why I did not buy the book but the more immediate reason had to do with its price. The seller either assumed that I was terribly interested in the book or thought it was some kind of an out of print, rare book and hence was adamant about the price. It is true that I wanted the book but not at that price so I too was adamant about not buying it.

The ‘Dummies’ series of books are something I enjoy reading. I learnt something about DOS from ‘DOS for Dummies’ in that age when DOS was the rage. The Dummies series demystify the subject and are written in simple language liberally sprinkled with humor. The biggest plus point are the entertaining illustrations that make the subject clear to understand. I had thought that after buying ‘Cooking Basics for Dummies’ I would get my cooking fundas right before stepping into the kitchen but the idea got nipped in the bud. But I will wait until the buyer realizes that such a book will have no takers in Hyderabad and thus will offer me the book at my prize. Unless, of course, there’s another dummy looking for such a book.

Another book I missed buying on Sunday at Abids was Alice Sebold’s ‘Lucky’ which is a sort of memoir about a traumatic experience she had. Next Sunday maybe I will pick it up because I’ve read that Sebold is a damn good writer. Since I haven’t read any of her books it might be a good idea to pick up along with ‘Lucky’ another of her book- ‘The Lovely Bones’ copies of which abound in Abids and elsewhere.

Though I did not buy any book last Sunday I got another title of Sidney Sheldon- 'If Tomorrow Comes' . Daniel is a serious fan of Sheldon and presented me with the book at Abids. Last Sunday was a memorable one in that at Abids I met Uma and Daniel, two people I made friends with through my blog. It is quite a coincidence that they both stay close to my home. Midway through our browsing we took a break for tea and sat in an Iran café talking about, what else, books and writers. We talked about a lot of things but I forgot to tell them about the book sale coming up next month.

Sometime during the week I had been to Best Book Centre at Abids where I learnt that they are having a sale of secondhand books at YMCA, Secunderbad from August 1- 16. I am eager to check out the sale since they stock good titles but their rates are rather steep. Another secondhand bookstore ‘MR Books’ have revamped their store at Begumpet into a swank one complete with brand new shelves and glass panels at the front. Till recently their collection of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books were arranged at random on tables but now they have been sorted according to category on the shelves. They have so many books that it would take a good part of the day to look at each and every title. But during the hour or so I was there I spotted two copies of Elmore Leonard’s ‘Be Cool’ and a copy of ‘Rum Punch.’ What got my attention was a hardcover edition of Haruki Murakami’s ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’ that I plan to buy on Saturday maybe if it is still on the shelves.