The Sunday Haul (05-06-2022)

Last Sunday again it was a sort of heat wave condition making it very hot outdoors. Though it wasn’t the hottest day of the summer it was hot enough for me to take along a cap and a water bottle. Surprisingly, the heat had not deterred the book lovers because there was the usual crowd at Abids looking over the books laid out on the pavements. I ended up buying three good titles at Abids and also at Chikkadpally on the way home.

Of late I have become interested in books about other countries, especially those travelogues with a geo-political angle and so far I have managed to gather quite a few titles on many major countries and regions. This includes China too and last Sunday at Abids I finally bought a copy of ‘The China Syndrome’ by Harsh V. Pant that I had been seeing with a seller for the past few weeks. I decided to buy it since no one seemed to be interested in the book. It was a copy without a jacket but the title was pasted on the front cover. I got it for a hundred rupees.

Naturally enough I would be more interested in reading about my own country especially books written by non-Indians. Books on India also occupy a fairly large space on my bookshelves and last Sunday I found one more title but not at Abids. At one of the sellers in Chikkadpally I found a copy of ‘India Seen Afar’ by Kathleen Raine, hardcover book without a jacket and only the spine displayed the title. It seemed interesting so I bought it. I paid a hundred rupees for this book too.

I saw a copy of ‘Death in Venice & Other Stories’ by Thomas Mann with another seller in Chikkadpally. I already have a copy of ‘Death in Venice’ that I had found recently somewhere. This book had other stories too so I bought it paying eighty rupees for it. The other stories in it include Little Herr Friedemann; The Joker; The Road to the Churchyard; Gladius Dei; Tristan; Tonio Kröger, and the title story.