The Sunday Haul (on 06-10-2019)

Last Sunday the festival shopping season was in full swing with shoppers thronging the stores like it was the last Dasara of their lives. There were some people stepping out of their fancy cars, who appeared like they had enough money to buy up every piece of dress, every pair of footwear from a couple of stores. The second hand booksellers, almost all of them, were at their usual places with a couple of them perched on the fringes. Though it had been raining every day without fail, last Sunday it did not rain until I was back home safe in the afternoon. It began to rain the moment I reached home and the downpour continued for a couple of hours. Though I found just one book I found a wonderful title that I began to read while having chai at the Star of India café in Abids.

There’s something about Australian writers I am drawn to. I have a small collection of books by Australian writers, including books about Australia by other writers on my shelves but I always have a feeling that there’s more that I have to read. Only recently I read about ‘The Choke’ by Sophie Laguna that I jotted down in my TBR list. Sometime next month a friend living in Australia is getting me a couple of books by Gerald Murnane that I am eagerly waiting to read. There was ‘Monkey Grip’ by Helen Garner that I cannot forget even after having read it several years ago.

When I saw a copy of ‘How I Feel’ by Brendan Cowell with the close up of a couple in a lip-lock I picked it up to see what was inside. I had not heard of Brendan Cowell before and when I read that he was an Australian actor, writer, and director I took a closer look. The joy of buying the book was spoilt by one of the greediest seller in Abids who thinks that every book he has is worth at least three hundred rupees which is what he asked me for the copy of ‘How I Feel.’ Anyway, I read the first chapter in the café where I have chai, and it turned out to be quite interesting.