The Sunday Haul (on 23-02-2025)

 Last Sunday there was a function at home: engagement ceremony of my niece in the morning that went upto almost half past two in the afternoon. I couldn’t go to Abids at my usual time but I went in the afternoon. It feels so different to be at Abids at that time. I ended up buying two wonderful books.

The first book was a title that had an attractive cover in yellow and light blue. I decided to buy the copy of ‘The School of Life: An Emotional Education’ introduced by Alain de Botton the moment I spotted it. I got it for a hundred rupees.

Shortly before I had chai I spotted a copy of ‘Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why it Matters Now’ by Alan Rusbridger, a thick volume that was in a heap of Rs.50 books. Somehow, I have developed an interest in reading journalists’ accounts and since Alan Rusbridger was an editor of ‘The Guardian’ newspaper for two decades and had made a name for himself I thought it would be worth reading and so bought it. I couldn’t believe that I got this wonderful title for only fifty rupees.

The Sunday Haul (on 16-02-2025)

I had thought not to go to Abids last Sunday as I had to go to a faraway place to attend a marriage that was at noon. It would take me more than an hour to go to the venue which meant that I would have to skip the visit to Abids. But I did not want to as there was no point in being at the marriage at the correct time. I thought the marriage wouldn’t go ahead if I wasn’t there so I decided to first go to Abids and do a quick round of browsing before leaving for the marriage.

As planned, I was at Abids at my usual time but since I had limited time I checked only a few sellers. I had seen a copy of ‘Embers’ by Sandor Marai the other Sunday but had not bought it since I already have a copy. But I wanted to buy this copy too but unfortunately, I couldn’t find it with the seller. Instead, I spotted another new crime fiction title by an author I hadn’t heard about. Since it was a Penguin title I decided to take it. It was a copy of ‘The Crooked Man’ by Philip Davison that I got for fifty rupees. 

The seller did not have change for the hundred-rupee note I gave him so I decided to buy another book for fifty rupees. The second book I picked up was a copy of ‘Writing for Pleasure and Profit’ by Michael Legat, a name I had heard and read about many times in books on writing. 

The Sunday Haul (on 09-02-2025)

 The weather in Hyderabad is slowly getting warmer as if indicating that summer was round the corner. I had my cap on and rushed to Abids as Hari had said we’d meet and do a sort of heritage walk. By the time he came I had already picked up a copy of ‘Kitchen Confidential’ by Anthony Bourdain that I had seen the previous Sunday and had waited to see if anyone would pick it up. Since no one seemed interested in it I took it though I already have a copy with the original cover. I got it for only fifty rupees.

Then after Hari came, we had a cup of chai at Grand before setting off in the direction of The Golden Threshold’ that I already had told him was razed to the ground. He took some pictures of all the places we saw, and he gave away a carton of books to one of the sellers. I had also spotted a copy of ‘Embers’ by Sandor Marai that was for fifty rupees only but since I already had a copy of it I did not take buy though now I think I should have. 

After Hari left, I looked around for some time and crossed to the other side of the road leading to Nampally railway station to look at the books of the lone seller in the corner who looks lost. He had some good titles but I picked up only one title- ‘Distrust that Particular Flavor’ by William Gibson that had the sub-title ‘Encounters with a Future That’s Already Here’ which is what made me pick it up other than the fact that it was a Penguin Viking title. I paid two hundred rupees for it.

On the way back I stopped at Chikkadpally and picked up a beautiful The Modern Library Classics edition of ‘War and Peace’ by Leo Tolstoy that was thicker than a brick. I already have a copy of it that I wanted to read but it isn’t attractive as the copy I found last Sunday. Coincidentally just the day before I had read about Tolstoy and his ‘War and Peace’ in Somerset Maugham’s ‘Ten Authors and their Novels’. Someday soon I am going to begin reading this copy that seems too good to give away or just keep on the shelf without reading. 

The Sunday Haul (on 02-02-2025)

 For the first time in the year I took out the cap as it looked like it would get quite hot later in the day. Later when I reached Abids I was glad I had decided to bring along the cap as the sun was uncomfortably hot. Earlier at Chikkadpally I picked up the copy of ‘The Anatomy of Story’ by John Truby that I had spotted with a seller two Sundays ago but hadn’t bought. Many years ago I had found a hardcover copy of this book and had also started reading it but couldn’t finish more than half of it for some reason I do not recollect now. But I plan to read it again starting tomorrow. I got it for a hundred and fifty rupees. 

At Abids I got the pleasantest surprise when I spotted a nice copy of ‘South by Limpopo’ by Dervla Murphy with the same seller from whom I had bought a copy of ‘On a Shoestring to Coorg: An Experience of Southern India’ the previous Sunday. I got it for a hundred rupees and felt glad because I had seen a copy of it at Blossoms Book House in Bengaluru last December and had not bought it. The reason was that I had bought too many books by then especially titles by Jan Morris and another reason was that the price of the book was somewhere around three hundred rupees. I felt very lucky finding it.

But more luck was in store for me. A little later I spotted a copy of ‘Hidden Agendas’ by John Pilger! I love reading his journalism and was very thrilled to find it for just fifty rupees. This is the fourth John Pilger title I have found. Sometimes I wish I had become a journalist instead of a government flunkey. 

 The last find of the day was a copy of ‘The Ivory Grin’ by Ross Macdonald that I spotted in a heap of fifty rupees books. I already have a copy of this title that I had found long back but it had a different cover.  I want to read it again as I love Ross Macdonald’s writing.