The Sunday Haul (on 13-02-2022)

 

Immediately after finding ‘Satisdiction’ the previous Sunday at Abids I began to go through the book which is mainly a list of some interesting words from the Oxford English Dictionary. One of the words I came across was the word ‘Apricity’ meaning soaking in the warmth of the winter sun. I was also experiencing Apricity at Abids last Sunday as the mild winter sun kept me comfortably warm as I browsed the books laid out on the pavements and road.

By some curious coincidence three out of the four books I found at Abids last Sunday turned out to be travel titles, and the one that wasn’t turned out to be a classic that is hard to find. But Abids is such a place that one can find great treasures one cannot find even in bookstores.

        Of late I had begun to come across the name Georges Perec and his books especially ‘Life- A User’s Manual’ that someone had mentioned on Twitter recently. But I did not even imagine that I would find a copy of the very same title- ‘Life- A User’s Manual’ by Georges Perec at Abids. I had picked up a thriller that seemed quite good going by the blurbs on the cover and had moved across the pile of books the seller had to pay him when I spotted the title ‘Life- A User’s Manual’ by Georges Perec on a book. I slowly picked it up to take a good look to see if it was the real thing, and realized that it was indeed the real thing. It was a copy from a library in the Secretariat! I paid just a hundred rupees for it and was quite thrilled that I had found a classic.

A few years back just when my interest in travel books began to peak I found a copy of ‘Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee’ by Dee Brown. I haven’t yet found the time to read it but that did not prevent me from buying another copy of the same title that I came across last Sunday. Initially I hesitated to buy it but when I realized that I was getting the rare title for only fifty rupees I bought it.

A couple of weeks ago, in January actually, I found another title about/on China- ‘Notes from China’ by Barbara Tuchman. It was another addition to the half-dozen odd titles on China that I have managed to gather over the years. Except for ‘Riding the Iron Rooster’ by Paul Theroux I haven’t read the others. I plan to read the rest of the titles one by one soon. Last Sunday at Abids I found another memoir of China. It was a copy of ‘Sounds of the River’ by Da Chen. This too I got for fifty rupees only with the same seller where I bought ‘Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee’ by Dee Brown.

If I were allowed to visit only one place then I would choose someplace in Africa. I don’t know what it is about Africa that attracts me but it is my favourite continent that never fails to fascinate me. It all began after I read ‘Dark Star Safari’ by Paul Theroux and later Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ when my interest in knowing more about Africa took off. I actively sought out books written on Africa, books by African writers, and books by people who have studied Africa. I found many titles about/on Africa that now fill my shelf. Only a couple of weeks back I had found another travel title and last Sunday at Abids I found a copy of ‘After Mandela: The Battle for the Soul of South Africa’ by Alec Russell. This too I got for only fifty rupees.