The Sunday Haul (on 24-10-2021)

It was the usual scene at Abids on Sunday at this time of the year when Diwali is just around the corner with all the stores open. But the second hand book sellers too were at their usual places save a couple of them who had shifted to new spots. Last Sunday too I returned home with another haul of five titles, one less than what I had found the previous Sunday.

Sometime ago someone asked me what I prefer to read- humor, travel, crime fiction etc? I thought for some time and then realized that I read everything that I think is interesting. There isn’t any category or genre that I prefer over others. I read science, I read politics, read crime fiction, romance sometimes, in short everything. I am not an investor or worry about my savings too much and do not much bother whether I earn only a little by keeping it in the bank. But I do like to read about investing and such stuff.  My first find at Abids turned out to be a copy of ‘The Zurich Axioms’ by Max Gunther.

 I am slowly building up a collection of travel books by Indian writers about their travels in the country. I have at least three on my shelf that I have to read. But I told myself that I would wait until I manage to collect at least half a dozen before beginning to read them all one after the other. Fortunately last Sunday I came across two titles that I can add to my growing pile of travel books by Indians.

First was a copy of ‘Is that Even a Country, sir’ by Anil Yadav, a journalist. It is a book about the author’s visit in the North East states in the company of another friend. I saw on the cover that it was translated from Hindi by Anurag Basnet into English. I had read a review of this book somewhere I don’t remember much about the review. But now I wanted to read it so I picked it up as it looked very interesting.

Another similar title was ‘Indian Takeaway’ by Hardeep Singh Kohli a copy of which I saw on the pavement. It seems to be a travel book focussed mainly on food which was the first impression I got. Though I had seen copies of this book earlier somehow I had not found it interesting enough to buy. But now I wanted to add it to the pile of books on India by Indian writers that I want to read.

I thought I was very lucky when I found a Robert D. Kaplan title- ‘The Return of Marco Polo’s World’- the previous Sunday. But last Sunday I thought I was very, very lucky when I found yet another Robert D. Kaplan title- ‘Earning the Rockies’ that I found in a pile of books selling for hundred rupees.  I love books on travel that go deeper than just the touristy stuff.

So the next book that I found turned out to be something like a gourmet meal of travel writing. I spotted a copy of ‘The Best American Travel Writing’ 2009’ editor:  Simon Winchester in the same heap in which I had found the Robert D. Kaplan book seconds earlier.

Some of the sellers know my taste in books well and sometimes they show me books they had kept aside for me to take a look. I feel very flattered when they do it. Last Sunday one of the sellers told me he had kept aside something for me. He took out a beautiful copy of ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe that had a red cover. Though I had at least two copies with me already I couldn’t resist buying it because of the cover and also to please the seller. I got this book for just seventy rupees.

The Sunday Haul (on 17-10-2021)

Last Sunday was the final day of the three-day holiday spell I had. At Abids some shops were still open since the next festival, Diwali, is only two weeks away and there seems to be marriages going on so there would be a lot of people buying clothes. Even then the booksellers were in their usual numbers which was a pleasing sight. Hari came with Anjali, his daughter, and Raja, his brother-in-law and we went around looking for good titles. They went away after tea at Light of Asia and I began my hunt in earnest.

    I don’t let go of any travel title I see wherever it is, Abids or a second hand bookstore. Last Sunday at Abids my first find happened to be a travel title-‘Travels in a Dervish Cloak: Adventures in Pakistan’ by Isambard Wilkinson. I have never read an entire travel book on Pakistan though I have read books in which the author passed through Pakistan which brings to mind Paul Theroux’s ‘The Great Railway Bazaar.’ I was quite delighted to find ‘Travels in a Dervish Cloak’ and bought it right away for seventy five rupees.

The same seller had a copy of ‘The Happiness Project’ by Gretchen Rubin that I had already bought a copy sometime last year I guess. But this was too good a copy and besides I know someone who could do good to himself if he read it so I picked it up.

Sometime last year I saw a couple of Vicki Baum titles, all hardcover copies but ancient ones coming apart. I had read just around that time about Vicki Baum and wondered if I was missing something good by not picking them up. Ultimately I did not buy those copies. Last Sunday I saw a nice copy of ‘Grand Hotel’ by Vicki Baum that I picked up right away for fifty rupees.

I had seen the copy of ‘Balancing Act’ by Meera Godbole Krishnamurthy in a heap with the seller beside Bata the previous Sunday. But I did not buy it because I had bought six books by then and did not want to add another book to the haul. I told myself that the book would be there the coming Sunday and I was right because it was there in the pile standing out because of the unusual cover. One reason I wanted to buy it was because it was a Penguin and the other reason was that I hadn’t heard of the author before and therefore was curious to know what it was all about. I got it for fifty rupees.

About a year ago I discovered Robert D Kaplan when I found a copy of ‘Balkan Ghosts’ that I read immediately afterwards and felt pleased that I had found a good writer. Since then I had been on the lookout for more of Kaplan’s titles but I couldn’t find anything until last Sunday. A few minutes after picking up ‘Balancing Act’ from a pile I decided to check out the titles on a shelf that the same seller had. I felt a jolt of thrill when I saw the name Robert D. Kaplan on the spine of a book laid flat. I took it out and saw that it was a hardcover copy of ‘The Return of Marco Polo’s World’ by Robert D. Kaplan. It was in a very good condition and I got it for a hundred rupees.

The Sunday Haul (on 10 October 2021)

 Surprisingly though Dasara was only a few days away the booksellers at Abids were present in full strength last Sunday. The place was thronging with the festival shoppers that reminded me of the days before Covid. Anyways I trawled through the books on the pavements and ended up with a large haul of seven books.

I had found a copy of David Sedaris’ ‘Me Talk Pretty One Day’ a long, long way back and since then I have been looking for his books but couldn’t find any until last Sunday when I spotted a nice copy of ‘When You are Engulfed in Flames’ by David Sedaris. It was my first find of last Sunday and I was pleased that I had made a nice start to my hauling at Abids. Another thing that added to the pleasure was that I got the book for just fifty rupees.

The second book that I found too I got for only fifty rupees. At the corner of the road opposite to the Bata store there’s a seller who had new books but sells them either for hundred rupees or for fifty rupees in separate piles. In the latter pile I saw a copy of ‘The Art of Not Falling Apart’ by Christina Patterson that I felt I should buy to read it before giving it to someone whose life seems to be falling apart.

The next find was a title by one of my favourite writers, Nadine Gordimer. I spotted a wonderful copy of ‘A Soldier’s Embrace’ by Nadine Gordimer on a make shift table that I almost missed looking at were it not for someone who did not let me pass on the pavement. I am glad that rude fellow helped me find a good book. This too I got for fifty rupees. It is a collection of short stories.

The next find was at a seller on the road beside the GPO. I saw a copy of ‘Between the World and Me’ by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I had not read anything by Ta-Nehisi Coates because I did not find a single title of his at Abids or anywhere in Hyderabad. So when I found this hardcover title I was quite excited because it was in almost new condition and seemed short enough to finish it quickly.

There are some titles I pick up the moment I spot them unmindful that I have several copies of the same title at home. One such title is ‘On Becoming a Novelist’ by John Gardner that I already have two copies of on my bookshelf. But this was a copy with a different cover that I loved.  I wondered how much the seller would ask because he usually quotes high prices but I was surprised when he asked for just sixty rupees for the copy of ‘On Becoming a Novelist’ by John Gardner.  I was especially pleased with this find.

Of late I’ve been finding gems in the heaps a seller near the Bata store has for sale for fifty rupees. Last Sunday I picked up a book with a blue cover ‘Night in Tunisia’ by Neil Jordan. I felt it could be a good book as I flipped through the pages of the short story collection that had an introduction by Sean O’Faolain. On the back cover the blub says it is a ‘stunning collection of short stories, for which Neil Jordan was awarded the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979.’ That alone was enough to make me buy the book though I had by then bought five books. These are the ten stories in it:  Last Rites; Seduction; Sand; Mr Solomon Wept;  Night in Tunisia; Skin;  Her Soul; Outpatient; Tree;  and A Love.

The Sunday Haul ( on 03-10-2021)

Barring a few shops most of the shops at Abids were closed on Sunday though the festival season had begun with Dasara less than two weeks away, and shoppers already crowding the shops. Most of the sellers were at their usual spots and I expect that this would be the last Sunday when all of them would be around with their books before the festival season begins forcing them to other spots. Anyway, I was pleased with the nice weather and what seemed an abundance of new stocks with some sellers. It meant I managed to find three books at Abids and two more at Chikkadpally.

The first title I found was a copy of ‘The Fugitive Years’ by Robert Bradshaw. I was intrigued that it was an autobiography of someone who had spent more than twenty years in prison. It was a Penguin title so I did not hesitate much before picking it up. Later I sat in Roxy café in King Koti and began reading the book. It is very interesting and I kept reading on for almost an hour.

The sellers put certain titles in different piles and sell them at Rs 20, Rs 50 and Rs 100. One seller had a pile of books selling for only Rs 50 from which I picked up a copy of ‘Certainty’ by Madeleine Thien. I vaguely remembered reading the name somewhere until I noticed on the cover that it was shortlisted for the Man Booker in 2016. I picked it up and offered a Rs 100 note to the seller.

While the seller went around looking for change I spotted a nice copy of ‘In Cold Blood’ by Truman Capote that Hari told me he wanted. I had told him I had a copy at home but I wasn’t able to locate it. So when the seller came back and said he did not have the change so to save trouble I picked up this title as well. 

With another seller near Bata who has heaps of books for Rs 20 and for Rs 50 I spotted a thick volume in the Rs 50 pile. Surprisingly it was also in good condition and appeared like the sort of books one usually doesn’t find going so cheap so I decided to check it out. It turned out to be a copy of ‘The Business of Book Publishing: Papers by Practitioners’ edited by Elizabeth A. Geiser. I am fascinated by the whole business of books beginning with reading them after buying them, of course, and with editing, publishing etc so this titled appealed to the curious reader in me and I bought it.

On the way home I stopped to check out the books with the sellers in Chikkadpally. There’s one seller here who sells almost all his books for Rs 50 each. I spotted a copy of ‘Two Lives’ by William Trevor that I have two copies of already. But I bought this third copy as well. The seller pointed to a white sack beside him and told me to check the books inside. I wasn’t really interested in adding to my pile but I told myself I wouldn’t lose anything by taking a look. There were many titles I wasn’t interested in but one got my attention. It was a copy of ‘boys of blood and bone’ by David Metzenthen, a Penguin title. I always trust Penguin so I decided to take it.

The Sunday Haul (on 26-09-2021)

The Sunday before last Sunday it wasn’t possible to step out of the house to go anywhere because of the traffic restrictions on account of the Ganesh immersion processions. So it was an agonizing fortnight long wait for last Sunday to go to Abids, the book heaven that it is on Sunday. I came home with two books in the haul.

Sometime ago last year I had found a copy of ‘Death in Venice’ by Thomas Mann at Chikkadpally that I am yet to read. In the post I wrote afterwards about the haul I wrote that I had two copies of ‘The Magic Mountain’ that I had found at Delhi. Well, I realize now that it wasn’t ‘The Magic Mountain’ but ‘The Seven Story Mountain’ by Thomas Merton that I had found. I got confused but anyway it was a nice copy of ‘The Magic Mountain’ by Thomas Mann that I saw last Sunday with a seller who is difficult to deal with because he quotes unreasonable prices. Somehow I managed to get this book for only hundred rupees. The book is 716 pages look and thick as a brick. I don’t know when I will find the time to read it.

The next find was by a writer I discovered decades ago when I used to frequent the British Library when it was located in the Sarovar complex opposite the Secretariat. I do not remember the title of the book I borrowed there but I remembered the name Iris Murdoch. I had found several titles of her and last Sunday I found a copy of ‘A Word Child’ that I got for seventy rupees. I was intrigued by the picture on the cover with a woman in a sari in the background. I plan to begin reading it as soon as I finish the book I am currently reading.