Another Mini Super Haul
An interesting observation I made regarding something common between some of the books in my recent hauls is that they are not only super finds they are also supersized. Some of them like Naipaul’s ‘A House for Mr. Biswas’ and Jo Nesbo’s ‘The Leopard’ seem to be thicker than the common brick running into more than six hundred pages. I thought that there wouldn’t be any such hauls for some time to come but I was wrong. Last Sunday one of the books in the haul was a brick and half sized with more than nine hundred pages. The book in question is China Miéville’s ‘Perdido Street Station’ that I got for only twenty rupees. Since the past two Sundays I had been seeing this book lying on the pavement but hesitated to buy it considering its size though I knew it could turn out to be a good find. I had read about China Miéville on Sridala Swami’s blog sometime ago and got the impression that the author’s books might be worth reading. When I checked the reviews of PSS online I decided to pick it up and last Sunday I bought it I have no idea how I’ll find PSS but since China Miéville is a new name. I haven’t read any SF titles since a long time and I’m also not much into SF. PSS is going to be a completely new experience for me but my biggest worry is not where to keep the book but when I will find the time to read it.
The second find of the day was a book I thought I had missed buying a couple of months ago. The first time I spotted Penelope Lively’s ‘Beyond the Blue Mountains’ in a heap of books selling for twenty rupees I did not buy it. But the next Sunday when I looked for it again I couldn’t find it. I thought it was gone. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find the hardcover book in the heap at the same place. ‘Beyond the Blue Mountains’ is a short story collection with fourteen stories. The book begins with first story Beyond the Blue Mountains and the rest are The Children of Grupp, The Slovenian Giantess, In Olden Times, Season of Goodwill, The Clarinetist and the Bride’s Aunt, Marriage Lines, The Cat’s Meat Man, A Christmas Card to One and All, The Five Thousand and One Nights, The First Wife, The Butterfly and the Tin of Paint, Crumbs of Wisdom, Loved Ones: A Christmas Fairy Tale. The book appears to be a discard from Newport Borough Libraries judging from the stamp on the front page.
After all these Super Hauls I guess it is time I put a stop to this buying spree temporarily or at least until I finish reading about two dozen books. It makes no sense to go on adding more books to a collection that is increasing at an alarming rate and also taking up every available corner of the house. So, next Sunday I might return empty handed from Abids though I cannot help going there out of sheer habit. Instead of the posts on the haul I will attempt to write reviews of some of the books I finished reading recently. I am currently reading Atul Gawande’s ‘Complications’ and have just begun Gordon Ramsay’s ‘Playing with Fire.
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Just when I was wondering what Paul Theroux next title will be I read on ‘The Atlantic’ about his latest book ‘The Tao of Travel’. TOT, as Paul Theroux describes it, ‘his personal anthology of the books he likes and why’ and elsewhere is mentioned as ‘intended as a guidebook, a how to, a miscellany, a vade mecum, a reading list, a reminiscence.’ It sounds like a book that I have to read as soon as I can lay my hands on it. In the interview in ‘The Atlantic’ here’s what Paul Theroux says about blogging: ‘I loathe blogs when I look at them. Blogs look to me illiterate, they look hasty, like someone babbling. To me writing is a considered act. It's something which is a great labor of thought and consideration. A blog doesn't seem to have any literary merit at all. It's a chatty account of things that have happened to that particular person.’
Very true indeed.
4 comments:
Penelope Lively is a good author. I like her style of telling a story.
Good collection indeed.
If and when you are planning to start a library, I will come and join . :-)
Vetri, you don't have to wait until I open a library. You can borrow the books right away.
I like the net because of the way it gives equal importance to both the expert and the beginner. It creates a level playing field and gives everyone a chance which is the best thing about it. No one can sit judgment and allow only certain kinds of writing here. Everyone is welcome.
I think there has to be space for everything, the considered writing and the babbling. To me blogs give a way to express to the larger public - and that itself is wonderful! As in any other writing, the reader has the choice to read what she wants - the considered word or the babble.
Hari, you are absolutely right. Let's blog anyway.
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