The Sunday Haul

It was quite by accident that I discovered William Trevor. I guess it was sometime last year in a book fair that I found ‘Felicia’s Journey’ by William Trevor and picked it up because it was a Penguin title, and because it looked like it would be a good read. William Trevor is a wonderful writer and sometime afterwards I found ‘The Story of Lucy Gault’ at Book Fair last December where I also found his ‘Two Lives.’ But so far I have read only ‘Felicia’s Journey’ that convinced me of William Trevor’s talent. Last week during another of my mid-week hunts in second hand bookstores I found ‘After Rain’ which is a collection of short stories by William Trevor. I was quite thrilled to have found this almost-brand-new book at the MR store adjacent to the flyover in Punjagutta for just eighty rupees. There are twelve stories in it- The Piano Tuner’s Wives, A Friendship, Timothy’s Birthday, Child’s Play, A Bit of Business, After Rain, Widows, Gilbert’s Mother, The Potato Dealer, Lost Ground, A Day, and Marrying Damian.

Later in the week, on Sunday, at Abids I added three more books to the haul which now stands at thirty-six books. In the nine weeks of 2014 I have added an average of four books a week to my collection. I guess it has now become a pathological addiction to pick up books at Abids and also second hand bookstores. I do not think it is possible for me to come out of this habit anytime now or in the future. Abids or wherever I continue to find books wherever I see them and if I can afford to buy them. So the first find of last Sunday was ‘Stardust’ by Robert B. Parker that I got for forty rupees. I already own two copies of this title but I bought this particular copy because it was in a good condition.

The second find was ‘Miscellany One’ by Dylan Thomas that has poems, essays and other stuff. This is the first time I am reading anything by Dylan Thomas though I have come across the name many times. The third find was yet another book of poetry. But this wasn’t any other book but a collection of poems of Robert Frost. This was a beautiful copy of ‘Selected Poems, Robert Frost’ that was partially hidden under another book. I could only see the top of the book and the Penguin logo on the right hand corner. I had it taken out and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was something worth buying. I got the book for just fifty rupees! It has nearly a hundred and fifty poems including a long time favorite- ‘Fire and Ice’ that I discovered a long time back.