The Sunday Haul

The only way I can stop the books from overrunning our house is to stop buying them and the only way I can stop buying them is to prevent myself from going to Abids on Sundays. It isn’t just possible; it is like asking me to cease breathing. So I go to Abids on Sundays, the books pile up in all corners of my house, and I occasionally think when I will be finally able to finish reading all the books I have bought so far. But I think I will keep reading till my last breath because I simply cannot resist buying books especially at Abids every Sunday. Last Sunday too (3-3-2013) I came home from Abids with three books.


Though it is only very recent I do not now remember where I read about ‘Felicia’s Journey’ by William Trevor that I found last Sunday at Abids. It was a Penguin title and in a heap of books selling for twenty rupees. The next find was another book in another pile of books also selling for twenty rupees. It was the classic- ‘On the Road’ by Jack Kerouac that I already have a copy of. This was again a Penguin edition so I bought it because it is not usual to find this book and also because the copy I found was in good condition. I found my first copy of this book sometime last year I guess but I haven’t yet started reading it. Maybe it is time for it.


My third find of Sunday was not at Abids but at a seller at RTC Cross Roads who has some good books at a corner at the traffic junction. I make it a point to stop and check out the collection he has every Sunday because I have found a couple of good books with him. It was when I removed a book on top of a pile that I saw Haruki Murakami’s ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ that I immediately grabbed. It was a pretty good copy but I had to pay hundred rupees for it which I did not mind paying. I already have more than half a dozen titles of Murakami and this is my eighth Murakami title.

About six or seven years ago I read an article on writing by Ruth Rendell in which she recommended reading Ford Madox Ford’s ‘The Good Soldier’ that she says has been described as the finest novel in English language. She had high praise for the way the book is written and that it has taught her something about writing. She also wrote that she read the book once a year so I added to my list of books that I have to read. I was at the YMCA branch of ‘Best Books’ today morning and found the book there. It did not come cheap though; I paid ninety five rupees for it.


So, that was the week’s haul of books.