Sometime back I came to a slow realization that I own several titles about/or on a few countries such as on Africa, America, the UK, the Arabs, India, South America, Tibet, and Australia. But the highest number of titles are on China with nearly a dozen titles. Last Sunday at Abids I found another superb book though not entirely about China.
Somehow I was irrationally
overjoyed finding the copy of ‘Slow Boats to China’ by Gavin Young though I paid
a hundred and fifty rupees for it.
More than two decades ago, sometime in 2000 or so, at Abids I found a copy of Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ that had no cover and the title was written with a sketch pen on a white cover. I didn’t know it when I picked it up that reading the book would spur me on to write a novel I had in mind at that time but didn’t really have the courage or the confidence to begin writing. I still have that copy that I treasure. It was in ‘On Writing’ that I first read about ‘The Elements of Style’ by Strunk and White that Stephen King urged everyone who aspires to be a writer to read. So, aspiring writer that I was I looked around for it but did not find it until a couple of years later. It was the third edition with the classic light yellow cover with the title in brown.
Sometime later I read that the
fourth edition of TEOS had come out and since there was no way I could find it
right away I managed to ask a relative in the US who was visiting to get it for
me. It was a hardcover copy and a brand new one. Since then I have picked up
almost every copy that I came across and also have given away a few copies to
people who had aspirations of writing. Last Sunday at Abids I came across
another copy of the fourth edition of ‘The Elements of Style’ by Strunk &
White. But this was a paperback copy and I grabbed it right away for eighty
rupees. It is almost a new and pristine copy that I am pleased to have found.
Any title I see with ‘writing’ or
‘writer’ in it I pick up and it is how I have ended up buying more than two
hundred titles on writing/writers. But unfortunately even after reading all of
them, and even after rereading some of them my writing still remains as bad as it
was before I started reading them. Anyway last Sunday at Abids I found yet
another title on writing- ‘Writing in the Arts and Sciences’ eds Elaine P.
Maimon and others. This was a hardbound copy that is published by Little Brown
which was what made me buy it in the first place.
These second hand booksellers’ groups on WhatsApp that I have joined have regular sales, sometimes twice a week. Since I am part of a few groups there’s a sale almost every day. However I buy only a few titles that I do not usually find in Abids or in the second hand bookstores in Hyderabad. One such title that I had been looking for was ‘Following Fish’ by Samanth Subramaniam that almost everybody who has read it says it is a fantastic title and so sharpening my desire to lay my hands on it. It is one of the titles on travels in India by Indian writers that is missing and that I wanted to desperately add to my small collection of such titles. At last I managed to claim it on a sale on WhatsApp and it was delivered last week. I think I paid hundred and fifty rupees for this book.
Quite regularly I get extremely lucky at the Abids second hand book market on Sundays. Last Sunday turned out to be one such lucky one when I found not one, two or three but six wonderful titles in the couple of hours I spent browsing there. Half of them were travel titles that added to the joy. On one side was the joy of finding some extremely good titles and at the same time there was a sense of quiet panic at the addition of six more books to the disorderly pile of books at home. However, joy prevailed over the panic because nothing brings more joy than the sight of books filling up the shelves at home.
When the seller is unable to sell
books at prices he wants they end up in heaps of books selling for low prices
such as Rs 50, Rs 100 or so. There were a couple of titles that I had been
eyeing with a seller at Abids and that I couldn’t afford. Last Sunday I saw in
a heap marked ‘3 for Rs 200’ that had a lot of good titles. This seller somehow
stocks the latest and bestselling titles and I buy a title or two occasionally
because the prices are too high. I picked up a copy of ‘Between Two Seas’ by
Charles Lister that I had seen earlier. I also picked up ‘Seeing Red’ by Lina
Meruane, a hardcover copy that appeared quite good after I flipped through a
few pages and read a few paragraphs at random.
I also picked up a nice copy of ‘Days
of Awe’ by A.M. Homes that comes with a great blurb on the cover by Zadie Smith.
Last Sunday I was glad I carried my cap along because the sun was fierce enough to need protection from. Cap on head and feeling shaded I browsed at Abids and found two wonderful titles that I was glad for.
The last find was a title by a
writer I greatly admire- Fakir Mohan Senapati. Ever since I read his ‘Six Acres
and a Third’ I have been on the lookout for his other titles. Under a pile of books
I spotted just the word ‘Fakir’ and I knew it would be Fakir Mohan Senapati.
When I pulled out the book I was pleased to find it was indeed a title by him.
It was a beautiful copy of ‘Lachhamaa’ that I got for only fifty rupees. I was
really glad to find it because I have never heard of this title that was quite
slim. This is the book I am going to read next.
However the name was spelt as ‘Phakir’
and not Fakir.
If the temperature on Sunday morning in Hyderabad was anything to go by then summer is not very far off. It wasn’t hot but a bit too warm. There was the usual crowd looking at the books spread out on the pavements by the regular sellers. Somehow I did not find many titles worth picking and in the end managed to find only one book.
A couple of years ago I had
picked up a copy of ‘The Africans’ by David Lamb that I read soon after and was
very impressed by David Lamb’s writing. I did not know then that he had also
written a similar book titled ‘The Arabs’ that I found soon afterwards. However
I am yet to read it since I had decided to read all the books I can find on a
particular region, or country or people in keeping with my developing interest
in history and geopolitics. Luckily, last Sunday I came across a nice copy of ‘The
Closed Circle- An Interpretation of the Arabs’ by David Pryce-Jones.
The paperback copy I found was published in 1990 and runs into almost four hundred and fifty pages. I read the first few paragraphs in the introduction and some random paragraphs in the inside pages and was instantly hooked. Since I am currently reading other titles I want to read ‘The Closed Circle’ sometime in the near feature. Btw, I got this copy for a hundred and fifty rupees.
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.
Not very long back, in fact after
reading ‘Balkan Ghosts’ by Robert D. Kaplan sometime last year, I developed a
desire to know more about what happened in other parts of the world, and what
is happening now. In short, history and geo-politics is what interests me of
late. Fortunately I found more such books by other writers most of them
journalists. Though I haven’t read all such books that I‘ve managed to buy I am
glad I had decided to read such titles because it increases my understanding of
the events in different parts of the world.
Each such title that I read makes me want to read more such books so I
buy all such books whenever I come across them.
Last Sunday at Abids I spotted a mammoth book and at first I was hesitant to even look at it. But when I looked at the cover I decided to buy it though the first few pages were damaged a bit. It was a copy of ‘The Great War for Civilization-The Conquest of the Middle East’ by Robert Fisk. Right away I knew it was a great title and the blurb on the cover seemed to strengthen my feeling.
Sometime ago I had been lucky to
find a beautiful copy of ‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius that I now cannot
find in my shelves. I do not remember reading it but I feel that I was lucky to
find it. I had read about it in ‘English August’ by Upamanyu Chatterjee in
which the main character refers to it. Also very recently, last month in fact,
I had found a title in the ‘Penguin Books Great Ideas’ series, small books that
easily fit in a small bag and very convenient to read while travelling. It was
a copy of ‘Why I Write’ by George Orwell that I bought for a hundred rupees at
Abids. At Abids again last Sunday I came across a beautiful copy of
‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius with a cover I couldn’t take my eyes off and
bought it.
I don’t really know why but I
keep buying several copies of a few titles that I liked. I also buy copies of
some books I haven’t read. One such book is ‘An End to Suffering’ by Pankaj
Mishra that I found some time ago. This is another title I haven’t read yet I
bought another copy I saw last Sunday at Abids. The reason why I bought it was
that it was a hardcover copy that was for sale for just fifty rupees. It was in
good condition so I picked it up.
It was a foolish of me not to have picked up a copy of ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’ by Jared Diamond when I first saw it in a pile of books at Abids a couple of years back. I was not aware it was such a good book so it was just ignorance that made me skip buying the book the first time I saw it. After some time I read somewhere about ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’ and began to look for it at Abids and other places but I could never come across it until last Sunday when I finally found it again. This time I did not hesitate but just swooped on it and picked it up. I got it for hundred and fifty rupees.
The next find too was something I
did not think twice before buying it because the title itself was enough for me
to want to buy it. It was a copy of ‘The Weekenders: Travels in the Heart of
Africa’ and the word ‘Africa’ was enough to make me grab it right away. ‘The
Weekenders’ contains a couple of short stories and travel essays by writers
like Alex Garland, Giles Foden, Victoria Glenndinning, and Irvine Welsh who
were sent to Sudan to write about the place and the conditions there. This was
commissioned by Daily Telegraph and all proceeds from the sale of this book would
be spent on aid in Sudan.
The next find too turned out to
be a travel title. I saw a copy of ‘Far Horizons’ by Frank Gardner. I hadn’t
heard of Frank Gardner till I saw the name on the cover of ‘Far Horizons.’ On
the back cover and inside it says that Frank Gardner is the security
correspondent for the BBC and has travelled widely covering many events, and
places all over the world. The title further says ‘Unusual Journeys and Strange
Encounters from a Travelling Life’ which was enough for me to buy it.
The last find was another
interesting book. This is the second dictionary related non-fiction book that I
found recently, the first one being ‘The Professor and the Madman’ by Simon
Winchester and it was a title on the making of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Coincidentally, ‘Satisdiction’ by Ammon
Shea is a compilation of some unusual words he came across in the Oxford
English Dictionary. I love words and always want to know more about them so I
didn’t think twice before picking up the book for fifty rupees. I started reading
the book right after I got home. One of the words I liked was ‘Agelastic’ meaning
someone who never laughs. It seems the right word to describe me.
2022 doesn’t seem to have begun well for me blogging-wise because I haven’t been able to post about the rest of the books I bought at the Hyderabad Book Fair last month. I have also not been able to post about the Sunday Hauls of the past three Sundays either. That’s because I had no time to write the posts since I was busy with work and also last week I was in bed with fever. However I will post the backlog stuff later but will begin with the haul I made last Sunday at Abids.
It was another of those mornings
that begin cloudy and gradually become sunny. After a week spent in bed ill
with cold, cough and a mild fever I was glad to be outdoors at Abids. The first
find was an old looking book that had an attractive cover. It was a copy ‘Conflict’
by Aamir Ali, a name I haven’t heard before. I was intrigued by the cover as
well as the name of the author and the fact that it was published in 1947 by
National Information & Publications Ltd., Bombay. There was a stamp saying
‘Growth Centre, Hill Fort Hyderabad’ that made wonder what it could be. There
was also a name written on it- Mohinder Singh on one of the front pages and
while reading it I came across another name inscribed in black ink- Rajinder
Singh. I wish I could find more about all these that I found about the book. It
was not in a good condition with the cover on the spine torn but since it
looked like an interesting book I picked it up.
The next find was a copy of ‘Gaff
Topsails’ by Patrick Kavanagh. I had read about Patrick Kavanagh somewhere so I
picked it up hoping it would be a good read. Another thing that made me buy the
book was that it was a Penguin title. It says on one of the inside pages that
it is Patrick Kavanagh’s first novel. There’s also a stamp on one of the front
pages saying ‘Barter Books, Alnwick Station, Northumberland’ that I found
interesting. I didn’t come cheap though as I had to shell out a hundred and
fifty rupees for it.
The next day at the Hyderabad Book Fair in the same stall where I had found a copy of The Mute’s Soliloquy’ by Pramoedya Ananta Toer I got one of the most pleasantest shocks of my life. I was speechless when I spotted the four titles of the Buru Quartet by Toer on the same shelf where I had found his memoir the previous day. I simply couldn’t believe I could get so lucky. I grabbed them off the shelf before anyone could lay their hands on the titles, did not bargain with the seller and paid him whatever he asked. Only after I dropped them in bag and walked out of the stall did I feel a kind of joy fill up my heart. Later at home I checked out each of the four titles that make up the Buru Quartet: This Earth of Mankind, Child of All Nations, Footsteps, and House of Glass. I am now wondering what to with the copy of Footsteps that I had found long time back.
Next find on Day 2 of the HBF was a copy of ‘A Dandy in Aspic’ by Derek Marlowe. I remember having come across this title mentioned somewhere and thought it might be good so I bought it.
Sometime back I had found a copy of ‘The L Shaped Room’ by Lynne Reid Banks and after reading it decided to buy every book that Banks has written. I found a copy of ‘The L-Shaped Room’, soon afterwards and also a copy of ‘Two is Lonely’ by her a year later. The next find in HBF was a copy of ‘An End to Running’ by Lynne Reid Banks that I saw on top of a stack of books. I got this title pretty cheap at fifty rupees.
Another find, the last book of the day, was a nice copy of ‘Funny Boy’ by Shyam Selvadurai. I had read about this book somewhere but couldn’t find a decent copy all these days. So when I saw this copy I immediately pounced on it and bought it.
The prices were a bit high but I did not mind because the book fair
comes only once a year and all the books I bought were pretty good titles that
would have been difficult to find all at one place.
