Book Haul
Yesterday, I managed to visit the Bangalore Book Festival, right on the last day, though it was raining so hard that I feared the canvas roof would come down! I’m very proud of myself for having given myself a budget and managing to stick to it - on previous such occasions, I’ve been known to go berserk and return home with a staggering load of books, some which I would discover later that I didn’t even want. This time, the discounts were good too. So, the haul was as follows:
Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adhichie - this is a novel set in Biafra, a province in Nigeria that tried to break-away and set up an independent Igbo country; both the historical context and the story itself are very good. I’ve read this one before and thought it is a book really worth having on one’s shelf. Price: Rs.225.
After the Ice, by Steven Mithen: Ever since reading Jared Diamond’s ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’, I’ve become really interested in pre-history and the beginning of human societies; coincidentally, I’ve also been looking to read about the Ice ages and their impact on human evolution. This book promises some good information on those lines. Price: Rs. 350
Irandaam Jaamangalin Kadai, by Salma: The festival had a good number of Kannada and Tamizh book stalls as well. This Tamizh novel, by a Tamizh Muslim writer, deals with issues of family, society and Muslim women. It’s been published by Kalachuvadu, a magazine and publishing house that deals with alternative/ progressive literature. Price: Rs. 225
Breaking Barriers, by Parvathi Menon: This is an account of 12 women in India, who were among the pioneers of the Indian feminist movement, and broke social norms and taboos, in a far more conservative time. This has been published by Leftword, a leftist-marxist publishing house. I’m really looking forward to reading it. Price : Rs. 75
The Travels of Ibn Battutah, Edited by Tim Mackintosh Smith: Along with Fa Hien and Huan-Tsang, Ibn Battutah was one of the illustrious travellers we learnt about in school. From an India-centric perspective, certainly, these travellers appeared more interesting than people like Columbus and Marco Polo. This book is an abridged version of Ibn Battutah’s ‘Travels’, his account of his journey over West Asia, India, China and parts of Europe. Price: Rs. 125
One of the interesting things about the festival was the diversity of stalls, from well known names like Oxford University Press and S.Chand to much smaller presses. I got to see quite a few books which most large bookstores don’t stock. Overall, a really well-spent afternoon!