Last year, Best Book Stall had this big sale sometime in August. This year, it’s MR Book Stall’s turn.
Advance warning of the Sale came sometime last month. I had gone to their Panjagutta outlet, to pick up a book stored for me, and there was this huge Agatha Christie collection, all books in very good condition, paperbacks for 50, and hardcover Book Club editions for 60 rupees each. Considering that the books were piled upto my shoulder-height, it should have been the complete Christie collection. Hell, it even included the autobiography. “There are more books coming.” The fellow sitting there warned me.
Two days later, I was in Abids, and paid a quick visit to MR again, just to find out if there were any more of the Sandman/Manga comics in stock ( I am usually dripping Optimism, when it comes to finding comics ). I got a bundle of Gary Larsen instead, and then the Big News.
“We have a new godown nearby.” He says, very nonchalantly. I can feel him watching my reaction, as he adds – “Almost a million books. All new. It’s still being sorted out.”
I was sceptical. A million books? Im-freaking-possible!
He asked me to come over the next day, which was a Sunday, so that he could take me to that warehouse personally. Okie dokie, that’s what I did. A short auto-ride, a long traffic jam, down a flight of stairs to….
Paradise.
Ok, so I have seen books being piled before, right? Last year’s sale was good enough, and I was there as they were pricing the goods. I had seen order being created out of chaos, as mountains of unsorted tomes were laid neatly in rows on shelves and tables. I had even chipped in at Best, pointing out which books were “sale-able” and what were not.
But this was insane. No way I could even think of sitting down and going through all the stuff at one go. It would require three to four days of dedicated browsing ( allotting the max-patience limit of six hours per day ) to find out what was there. Trying hard not to scream with glee, I took a walk around ( actually, it was more like hopping around, there were simply too many piles ) They showed me the science-fiction/fantasy books, which contained gems I had been searching for since I was born. ( Seems like it anyway ) And hallelujah! The prices were perfect! Mad paperbacks for 20 Rupees each, Peanuts paperbacks 20 each, all fiction priced between 40 and 60 rupees, depending on the thickness and how old the editions were.
There are tonnes of encyclopaedias, and Time-Life compendiums, and Readers’ Digest collections, and loads and loads of girlie fiction, the ones with the muscle-bound hunks and luscious females on the covers. There are also leather-bound collected editions of the Classics. Like, you have 5 Mark Twain books together, sleekly bound, for 150 rupees. A seven-book Robert Louis Stevenson collection for 200 rupees. I found two books on Norman Rockwell, an artist I have admired a long time, but had been unable to get anything of his that came at a decent price. My Philip K Dick and Robert Heinlein collection is officially complete. ( The ebooks don’t count )
I went there again yesterday, and filled two cartons with stuff I wanted, and paid a small deposit, because I am really short of money this month, and I have a trip to Bangalore to make next weekend too. There were a couple of ladies there yesterday, with kids and husbands in tow, and they picked up something like seven cartons full of children’s books.
One beautiful thing I saw and didn’t buy and that tortures me was a HUGE fully-painted version of Peter and the Wolf. Shucks, I should have put it on my pile. I think those ladies must have bought it by now.
Ah! What be life without purpose – and Big Book Sales?
beatzo tell me its still on
i wouldnt mind coming down to hyderabad for a day
*sheepish* *gleeful* *sheepish*
yep.. next flight out..
or better still.. can I send you a list and you bring it down with you :D
no problemo.
if i am going i will let you know, and then i could bring along whatever i find.
It’s still on. Fact is, it hasn’t officially started yet. Best to come over when it begins, otherwise you will miss out on some unsorted piles.
yea.. wouldn’t want to miss the serial-mom stuff ;)
To someone in a country where most bookstores have at most a handful of shelves containing books in English, reading your posts can be torture :-)
Hah! That’s rich, coming from folks who watch RotK-before-it-is-released-in-India.
Touche :-)
But given a choice, i’d take well stocked bookstores with plenty of books in English over such movie-going opportunities, any day.
to their Panjagutta outlet
Where’s this? Does it have any comics you’d reco?
Right after you cross the Panjagutta crossroads, while coming through Sowmajiguda, you have it almost next to the Police Station.
No, it does not have any comics. You want comics? Give me a buzz if you want comics on cds.
which reminds me… I’ve recently got some stuff… and some’s on the way. I’ll send it over when its substantial to fit on those shiny magnetic coasters of mine. psst.. Watchmen.
For the pleasure of reading, let me first try to find some book versions of comics to read…I love sitting alone at night with a comic book!
Where’s the original MR stall (where I’ll get *some* comics)? Koti?
Abids. Opp the bus stop, near Saremisons, the stationary shop. I don’t think you’ll get any comics there too. Very hard to come by comics in Hyd, unless you’re lucky or you crave the Asterix-Tintin-Calvin-n-Hobbes type stuff which are found everywhere.
ayya! Such is my city?
Will ping you on yahoo for contact info.
Noooooo… I can’t believe this would happen when I’m not in Hyderabad!!!
Waah!
Till when does this go on? Maybe I should make a trip to Hyd.
“Maybe”??
I did not expect this from you, my friend. :-D
….put it on my pile
correction: ….put it in *one* of my cartons filled and piled with books.
(:|
actually, even the second carton is full now. So it should be “put in a new carton.”
Or, to complicate things a little more, “put the contents of the first ( or second) carton in a bigger carton, and put it along with them.”
What was that Kevin Kline used to scream out to an unsuspecting passerby in *A Fish called Wanda*? Ah yes, you are that B-)
Paradise..
Beatzo, you angel, I’m in Hyderabad this Wednesday evening, and next Monday morning. Please to quickly give fundes man. Where is this store in Hyd, and how far is it from the airport, and how does one get there with one auto and no Telugu?
A simple answer to all your questions would be – give me a call sometime Wednesday evening. Your ‘umble tour guide shall take care of the rest.
Wow!
And your number would be..
Re: Wow!
Oops.
9849316877.
sounds like Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, only way better. Am very jealous.
Go buy up a storm. Better yet, drool longingly for days and days. We bibliophiles fantasise about times like these – all is well with the world, as PGW would reassuringly reiterate.
Enjoy, dude.
The Chocolate Factory analogy fits…almost! for me, the perfect sale would be somewhere I find Vertigo and Dark Horse comics in bulk, at prices to die for. Aaaaaah. Just thinking about it gives me goosepimples.
tell me you’re an Ennis fan. :)
about Choc. Factory, btw, what are your thoughts on the remake? [Dir. Keaton, *ing Depp.]
Ennis? In school, I scrounged the last of my pocket money to buy Demon issues #42-45. It was only later I came to know that Garth Ennis is the writer, after which I bought the first 30 issues of Hitman on ebay. Am desperately waiting to read Punisher and Preacher.
You will notice that “desperate” is a term I use very frequently with regards to comics.
Dir Keaton? Isn’t that Burton you are referring to? As always, a Tim Burton movie, and Depp to boot….smells like – a chocolate factory!!!
Keaton was a notquite Freudian slip. You’d identify with the Batman recollection by that fab director, would you not? :)
Ah. It’s that time of the year when we ask beatzo for books.
Ask away!!!
You are living in paradise…and don’t let anyone convince you to the contrary!
No such sales here at Delhi, except the weekly Daryaganj second hand book market. I am sure you will love that market too. I have spent many great afternoons there browsing piles of cheaply priced books searching for gems I had been looking for…and always manage to empty my wallet.
I have been to the Daryanganj book market once upon a lifetime, in 1998, to be precise. Decent collection, though I didn’t quite know what to look for then.
the links that you wanted….enjoy!!!
http://www.animecritic.com/reviews-alpha.html
http://www.music-depo.com
heh heh why don’t you get a few books for me , if you don’t mind:
1.The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
2.Life and Times of Michael K. – J. M. Coetzee
3.Schindler’s Ark – Thomas Kennealy
4.Living to tell the tale – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
5.A book on Pink Floyd. I have forgotten what it is called.Just check if they have anything. I leave this to your judgment, but the book I am talking about was rather different from the normally available “The Beatles: A History” or “My Life with the Doors”.
6. Any Dave Barry you can get hold of.
Remains of the Day and the Marquez book are very easily available here, and for quite cheap too. Schindler’s List ( the book has been rereleased as List now, not the old Ark – so that readers don’t get confused.) also pops up from time to time.
I suppose you are referring to the Floyd book “Saucerful of Secrets”. Haven’t seen it anywhere other than first hand-stores, and even if I do get it, I will keep it. Sorry about that. ;-)
There was a huge Dave Barry compendium, a three book collection, available for 200 rupees, that one of those ladies yanked out and bought before my very eyes the other day. Will look for other Dave Barry books for sure.
So I can cross out three on the list . * grin*
Me wants the Pink Floyd * pout *
Who’s the lady * lascivious sneer *
aha aha! the tik tik tik. Long live mononoke.
It’s called a Kodama – a tree spirit. :)
i dint know. i havent seen the movie :)
touche.
What is this movie you are talking about, by the way?
The one with a princess monoke riding on large wolf’s back and fighting against with a crazy lady Yibushi or something with the help of a confused, infected lad, Ashitaka, and with little tree spirits that made the sound of tik tik tik. Hence, tik tik tiks
Can I add a “no”? ;-)
(mon)o(no)k(e)