Of late my interest has veered towards accounts, by journalists especially, about disputed places or countries where things are still unsettled. While looking at some titles put on sale by a seller on his WhatsApp group I spotted a nice copy of ‘The Gun and the Olive Branch’ by David Hirst. As soon as I saw the cover I felt that it was something special so I put in my claim and luckily enough no one claimed it and I got it. It took more than a week to reach me.
With the monsoon playing truant it appeared like the summer would go on for another few weeks here in Telangana. It was uncomfortably warm last Sunday as I set out for Abids in the morning. Unlike the previous Sunday when I came home with five titles last Sunday I managed to haul just two titles, both of them about things I love- travel and reading.
The first title I found was at Abids and it was a nice copy ‘The Librarian’ by Salley Vickers that I picked up for more than one reason. The main reason was that it was about books and reading, and the other reason was that it was a Penguin title, and the third reason was the blurbs on the cover would make anyone buy it right away. I got this wonderful title for just fifty rupees.
The second find was with a seller at Chikkadpally on the way home. I found a copy of ‘Biografi: A Traveler’s Tale’ by Lloyd Jones that was, needless to say, a travel title. It was about Albania, a country not much written about by travel writers. I did not notice it when I picked up the book but sometime in the evening at home when I took out the two books I bought for a close look I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was an author signed copy.
Last Sunday it was another haul of five wonderful titles at the Abids second hand book bazaar that I’ve been going to since more than three decades. The first title I found was one that I missed buying a long time ago when I first saw it. It was a copy of ‘Consider the Lobster and Other Essays’ by David Foster Wallace that I saw on the top of a pile of books with a seller who sells his titles cheap. So I got this title for just fifty rupees.
‘Consider the Lobster’ has the following ten essays including the title essay: Big Red Sun; Certainly the End of Something or Other, One Would Have to Think; Some Remarks on Kafka’s Funniness from Which Probably Not Enough Has Been Removed; Authority and American Usage; The View from Mrs.Thompson’s; How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart; Up, Simba; Consider the Lobster; Joseph Frank’s Dostoevsky; and Host.
Just below the first find was a copy of ‘Bend Sinister’ by Vladimir Nabokov that had a beautiful cover and I got this title too for just fifty rupees. It was a good start to the book hunt at Abids.
In another pile with the same seller I saw a copy of ‘Forget Kathmandu’ by Manjushree Thapa, a journalist whose columns I have read in the past, I guess, in India Today. I got this title too for only fifty rupees. I couldn’t believe that I got three wonderful titles for less than two hundred rupees.
The previous Sunday I had seen a nice hardcover copy of ‘The Love of a Good Woman’ by Alice Munro that I did not buy though I desperately wanted it. The seller asked for a too high price and knowing him and his attitude I did not want to bargain for it so I walked away hoping I would be able to find it the next Sunday. Luckily for me last Sunday I was glad to see it was still unsold and got it for just two hundred rupees.
‘The Love of a Good Woman’ has these eight stories: The Love of a Good Woman; Jakarta; Cortes Island; Save the Reaper; The Children Stay; Rich as Stink; Before the Change; and My Mother’s Dream. I do not remember reading these stories in other collections of Alice Munro that I have.
In another random heap of books selling for only fifty rupees that another seller near the Bata showroom had I spotted a copy of ‘The Color of Blood’ by Brian Moore. It was written on the cover that it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It was published by Paladin and naturally it roused my curiosity. After reading the blurbs from The Guardian, Sunday Telegraph, and The Observer I did not need much convincing to buy this thriller.
Last Sunday at Abids I made a big mistake missing buying a wonderful title because of a foolish decision. But before I write about it here’s what I found at Abids last Sunday.
I saw a nice copy of ‘Narendranath Mitra- Selected Short Stories’ compiled and translated by Amitava Ray. It was a Sahitya Akademi publication that I picked up without a second thought. I had never heard of Narendranath Mitra so I was very curious who he was. I was astonished to read the blurb on the back cover which said that Narendranath Mitra is the author of about thirty-five novels and five hundred stories in Bengali. He achieved fame after his first novel ‘Haribangsha’ was serialized in Desh in 1942-43.
There are eleven stories in this title all translated by Amitava Ray. I got this book for just fifty rupees. I would have come home with two books but for the mistake I made. I had seen a nice hardcover copy of ‘The Love of a Good Woman’ by Alice Munro, one of my favorite writers. I wanted to buy it but the seller quoted a price that I thought was too high so I walked away without buying it. I did not continue the conversation as the seller seemed too intent on checking his mobile phone and did not appear interested to make the sale. Later I thought I should have bought it at the price he asked for. I really hope to find it next Sunday.
Those who follow my blog and read it regularly will know about my odd habit of buying multiple copies of titles that I have found to be good after reading them. They would also know that I have many copies of ‘On Writing’ by Stephen King, ‘The Summing Up’ by Somerset Maugham, ‘The Elements of Style’ by Strunk & White, ’84 Charing Cross Road’ by Helene Hanff, ‘The Snow Leopard’ by Peter Matthiessen, ‘All About H.Hatterr’ by G.V. Desani, and also ‘The Year of Magical Thinking’ by Joan Didion. I simply cannot resist buying these and other titles whenever I find them. I usually give them away to friends.
Last Sunday at Abids I came across a different edition of ‘The Year of Magical Thinking’ by Joan Didion with the title in gold lettering on white background. This is a heart-breaking account of life after the death of Joan Didion’s husband. I got it for just fifty rupees.
I like to read crime fiction apart from other books. I try to find new crime fiction writers particularly British writers who almost always manage to be funny. I saw the copy of ‘Spider in the Morning’ by Duff Hart-Davis that I had seen the previous Sunday also but had hesitated to buy it. But last Sunday after I read the first few paragraphs that were in the first person singular combined with some self-deprecatory humor I was convinced it would be worth reading so I bought it. I got it for fifty rupees.
