I haven't purchased a single book in the last two months. Its just either been too hot to go out or I've had the usual one-day-weekend. This also has got to do something with the truth that a little over half of the books I've bought here are still unread. Its just been aimless surfing of the web and a movie or I've had the usual one-day-weekend.
How can I describe what it's like to walk into Crossword or Landmark on a not too crowded day (which happens more often in C than L, L isn't strictly a bookshop) and then sift... Sometimes I spend hours, though I've never picked a book and started reading it right there, that is something I don't feel right about. There are always so many books that plead to be read. (Thank goodness for Credit Cards and denial, they make shopping a guilt-free experience.) The smell of those pages, the excitement of turning over the book to read the blurb, the touch of paper.
But I always miss having someone to discuss a book with. I'm not even sure what classification I'd give to my preferred 'genre' of books. Fiction I can promptly say, I've never had any patience with non-fic, especially the self-helps(there's an abundance of these in the market nowadays, the ones which will land you right on top of the corporate ladder, help you build a fat fat bank balance, furnish you with the secret steps to be a people's person and blah), I also find myself turning away from contemporary acclaimed writers whose books are usually depressing, and Indian writers who follow the same trend. Or maybe they project themselves thus, to look high-brow and literary. Not having read many, its hard to say. I gobble up Classics, Mrs. Christie and Mr. Wodehouse, give me all YA books and I'm happy! Older Indian authors were a cheerful lot, Ruskin Bond, R. K. Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand off the top of my head, I remember those tiny NBT and CBT books, the only ones with stories set in India...tattered copies of some are still there at some, I just can't bear to part with them, I still love them. At that time, in junior school, the only source of books was the beloved school library and Universal Book Shop in Hazratganj where there was a ready stack of these books. Of course one doesn't see them anywhere anymore. I've been browsing through their website right now though, maybe I'll find something after all...
