A MIDWEEK HAUL, THE FIND ON SUNDAY AND A LAUNCH

ANOTHER SPENSER FIND IN A MIDWEEK HAUL

I have a strange habit. I cannot resist stopping at a bookstore if I happen to be in the vicinity. Last Wednesday I was passing through Begumpet and there was the board of ‘Frankfurt’ bookstore beckoning to me. I got down telling myself that I’d only look at the books and not, surely not, pick up another book. I was almost about to congratulate myself for not picking up a single book in the half hour that I spent looking at the thousands of books when my glance fell on Robert B Parker’s ‘Hush Money’ which was a Spenser title.

Ever since I finished reading ‘Chance’ I had decided to read all the titles in the Spenser series. I had not even started reading ‘Hugger Mugger’ that I found on the other week before I saw ‘Hush Money’ on the shelf. Rather than spend sleepless nights regretting not buying it, I decided to pick up the book though I had to shell out sixty rupees for it. With ‘Hush Money’ now I have three Robert B Parker’s Spenser novels and there are almost thirty four more to find. I want to find his ‘Perchance to Dream’ which is a sequel to Raymond Chandler’s ‘The Big Sleep’ because I want to read it more than anything else by Robert B Parker.

SUNDAY HAUL

After two weeks I was returning to Abids and I was rather restless. The other week I had seen Ashis Nandy’s ‘The Tao of Cricket’ but had not bought it wondering why I, a non-cricketing guy, should read the book. But I had read a few of Nandy’s essays and was impressed by his arguments and insights about a lot of things that confound me. This probably influenced my decision to pick up ‘The Tao of Cricket’ which fortunately remained unsold till then. I thought Hari too might be interested in reading it so I bought it for forty rupees.

Sunday’s other find was the May 2010 issue of ‘Conde Nast Traveller’ magazine, the British edition, that I bought for thirty rupees. There were four more issues that I did not buy hoping to pick them up next week if I do not find anything else. The issue had The Hotlist 2010 of the best new hotels in the world, lengthy pieces on Shanghai, the Amalfi Coast, Menorca and such places where I can never hope to go as long as I continue in this job. There was a small piece by Jan Morris on London and also came to know of her latest book- ‘Contact!’ I read only one article, Harriet O’ Brien’s ‘Friends in High Places’ which made me wonder if Nepal should be the next place I should visit.


LAUNCH OF 'RIVER OF SMOKE' AT HYDERABAD
I got to know the news about the launch of Amitav Ghosh’s ‘River of Smoke’ by the author only a day before the event. Luckily I was free on Tuesday evening and went for the event that took place in a beautiful ballroom at the Park that had the dimensions of an airport hangar. There was the crowd made up of the reading elite of Hyderabad among which was a top cop who I personally knew. It was the almost the same crowd that had thronged Grand Kakatiya for the launch of ‘Sea of Poppies’ three years ago. Though I did not buy a copy of ‘River of Smoke’ I bought a copy of ‘Dancing in Cambodia’ that I thought I would get signed. But I had to leave right after the reading and the interaction with Jyotirmaya Sharma.