The Sunday Haul (on 9/7/2017)

I’ve got it written down somewhere in a notebook the name ‘James Salter’ that I read in an article by a writer who said that Salter was a writer’s writer or something to that effect. Since then I’ve been looking for titles by James Salter and finally last Sunday I found a title. However, this wasn’t the first title I found. A couple of months ago I had found another James Salter title. The seller quoted a too high price that I should have paid but some kind of hubris got over me and I walked away thinking no one would buy it because it was not in such a good condition and I also thought, foolishly though, that no one would have known about James Salter. The next Sunday when I searched for it I couldn’t find it. It was a stupid thing to do but somehow I do not seem to have learnt from past experience.

But last Sunday I wasn’t going to let go of ‘A Sport and A Pastime’ by James Salter that I saw the first thing at Abids. On the cover it said that it was the first paperback edition of the celebrated new underground classic. After I found this book I experienced a strange kind of high that remained with me all day. I couldn’t quite fathom why I was so elated finding this title but I felt very good. Unfortunately there was no friend with me last Sunday to share my joy since both my friends did not turn up. This was one of the two titles I picked up at the same seller. The other title was ‘Outline of American Literature’ brought out by the United States Department of State. I got both these books for fifty rupees which means the James Salter title ‘A Sport and A Pastime’ cost me just twenty five rupees.

It may sound unbelievable but one can find good books for just ten rupees at Abids. I have bought scores of books at Abids spending just ten rupees for each title. Last Sunday too in a heap of books being sold for ten rupees I found ‘The Heather Blazing’ by Colm Toibin. On the cover there was ‘PICADOR THIRTY’ printed and I wondered if this was some kind of special edition by Picador. I have to find out more about it.

The last find of the day was not at Abids but at Chikkadpally. I found another beautiful copy of ‘The Maltese Falcon’ by Dashiell Hammett. The copy I found looked brand new as if it had just come from the press. I was thrilled to find it and getting it for just fifty rupees added to the thrill. Though I have two copies of this title I couldn't resist buying this copy.
So it was another four book haul last Sunday. Somehow I felt very pleased with myself for having picked up some really good titles. However, there were a couple of books I saw but did not buy because they were beyond my reach. If I pick them up next Sunday I will write about them next Friday.