Any book fair advertised in the newspaper has me waiting with eager anticipation,this involving checking the paper regularly and hoping a last minute cancellation wouldn't rob me of the pleasure of exploring the fair.Last year it was cancelled because the organizers were being offered three days for the fair and they wanted an entire week.
Jaipur saw two big book fairs organised by two different newspapers separately every year.Once a roving newspaper cameraman caught us browsing books at a stall and the kids saw themselves in the newspaper the next day.The only headache being the loud music played on loudspeakers repeatedly (usually a song for little children).
Browsing through books is a wonderful process: Something about the cover catches your eye,you read the title and note the name of the author,despite the 'bestseller....' claim you read a little bit about the book on the back cover,flip through the pages carefully so that you don't read the ending and then buy it.It then becomes a member of your family and is 'my' book and 'our' book from the time you slip it into your bag.
The book fairs have numerous stalls: rare books,used books,college and school books all jostle side by side.
Buying books on a whim was unthinkable when I was young.The local library and a network of friends ensured we read all the books and that ,many ,many times over.If I want a book these days, I just browse my online library's web page and place an order.Books are delivered home, tightly bound in cling film and the ones to be returned are picked up by the delivery man.So easy right?
Books not in the library are ordered by the numerous book stores and they arrive packed in good cardboard at our doorstep.These are fresh and smell nice.No one has claimed ownership before us and it moves with us around the rooms of our home finally peeking out of the book cupboard befriending other books ,some who have been with us for years.
The book stores are clean roomy spaces with gentle music playing in the back ground and neatly arranged according to genre.Small soft stools to sit on and browse through.
Today I visited a second hand bookstore that sells books by weight.Thousands and thousands of books, arranged in no particular order, filled the walls and lined the floor.It must have been an old house and all the rooms including a washbasin are filled with books.Thoughts race through my mind:
So many people can write.So many books that have no home in their owner's cupboards.It is sad for an author to see his creation filling shelves and growing old alone in a place like this.
I found a copy of Roddy Doyle's ,Barrytown Triology (weighing 450 grams)and in it was a ticket ,maybe used as a book mark,of the British Rail dated December 8, 1993.For a book ,(I am assuming was purchased before the journey or at the station) ,more than twenty years old ,it is in good condition.After I read it, it will find a home in my book shelf.Though the boy who sold it to me announced cheerily that he would even buy it back from me (by weight), if I ever wanted to sell it.
But we all agree that there are some wonderful books worth their weight in gold.May they reside in our bookshelves.
Jaipur saw two big book fairs organised by two different newspapers separately every year.Once a roving newspaper cameraman caught us browsing books at a stall and the kids saw themselves in the newspaper the next day.The only headache being the loud music played on loudspeakers repeatedly (usually a song for little children).
Browsing through books is a wonderful process: Something about the cover catches your eye,you read the title and note the name of the author,despite the 'bestseller....' claim you read a little bit about the book on the back cover,flip through the pages carefully so that you don't read the ending and then buy it.It then becomes a member of your family and is 'my' book and 'our' book from the time you slip it into your bag.
The book fairs have numerous stalls: rare books,used books,college and school books all jostle side by side.
Buying books on a whim was unthinkable when I was young.The local library and a network of friends ensured we read all the books and that ,many ,many times over.If I want a book these days, I just browse my online library's web page and place an order.Books are delivered home, tightly bound in cling film and the ones to be returned are picked up by the delivery man.So easy right?
Books not in the library are ordered by the numerous book stores and they arrive packed in good cardboard at our doorstep.These are fresh and smell nice.No one has claimed ownership before us and it moves with us around the rooms of our home finally peeking out of the book cupboard befriending other books ,some who have been with us for years.
The book stores are clean roomy spaces with gentle music playing in the back ground and neatly arranged according to genre.Small soft stools to sit on and browse through.
Today I visited a second hand bookstore that sells books by weight.Thousands and thousands of books, arranged in no particular order, filled the walls and lined the floor.It must have been an old house and all the rooms including a washbasin are filled with books.Thoughts race through my mind:
So many people can write.So many books that have no home in their owner's cupboards.It is sad for an author to see his creation filling shelves and growing old alone in a place like this.
I found a copy of Roddy Doyle's ,Barrytown Triology (weighing 450 grams)and in it was a ticket ,maybe used as a book mark,of the British Rail dated December 8, 1993.For a book ,(I am assuming was purchased before the journey or at the station) ,more than twenty years old ,it is in good condition.After I read it, it will find a home in my book shelf.Though the boy who sold it to me announced cheerily that he would even buy it back from me (by weight), if I ever wanted to sell it.
But we all agree that there are some wonderful books worth their weight in gold.May they reside in our bookshelves.
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