The Sunday Haul

It is quite impossible to go through each every title on the pavements at Abids before deciding whether to buy the book or not. There are literally thousands of books waiting to be picked up. I look for titles, covers on books that appear unusual, like something worth reading. Only very rarely have I picked up books in that manner that later turned out to be quite good finds. I usually follow the safe way and look for titles that I have read about somewhere, either in reviews or referred to in other books. This Sunday’s find was one such book that I had read about in another book.

Sometime in October on a Sunday morning I happened to be doing some early morning reading, trying to learn something about the craft of writing. I was reading Elizabeth George’s ‘Write Away’ in which I came upon an example of writing in the first person. The example was the opening paragraphs from Susan Isaac’s ‘Shining Through’ that was quite impressive and funny at the same time. I made a mental note to look for it and wondered if I’d be able to find it. Imagine my surprise when soon after I came across the very title in a hardcover edition at Abids. For some reason that I still cannot fathom I did not buy the book. Not surprisingly when I looked for it the following Sunday I couldn’t find it.

I rued that decision and almost forgot about it until I came across a paperback copy of Susan Isaac’s ‘Shining Through’ last Sunday. I picked it up after reading the first paragraphs that Uma too read after we had a cup of tea at the Irani at Abids. After Uma left I went on with my hunt and was in for the surprise of the day. I saw not one but two copies of another title ‘Red, White, and Blue’ by Susan Isaacs. However, though the blurbs said it was a wonderful read I did not buy it since anyway I would be able to find at least one of the copies the next Sunday.

Theodore Dreiser is another writer whose books I haven’t read so far other than remembering the title of one of his books’- ‘Sister Carrie’ that I often come across at Abids. Normally I would grab any title that is an autobiography by any famous writer but last Sunday I did not feel any interest in buying Theodore Dreiser’s ‘Newspaper Days’ that I saw at Abids. I hesitated because I had bought several such autobiographies in the past but never got around to reading most of them. Also, the price (Rs 75) the seller quoted put me off from buying the book. But now I feel I should have haggled and picked it up especially after reading about Drieser on the net. If it is still available next week thenmaybe I will pick it up.

Next Post: 'Assembly Fever' on Tuesday 1/3/2011