I go to book fairs, used book shops and yes roadside vendors.
Now, I love books... but still I cant bring myself to buy books which end up being some hundreds of rupees. I am not crazy after original publications. I do not hanker after brand New copies of latest editions or first editions.
Dear Simple me, i am content with a locally printed copy decently bound on a good quality paper with non smudged print.
And my collection of thousand books thus has an assortment - new, old and locally printed.
Crossword on the Residency road is a favourite shop (for browsing). I was pleasantly surprised when on my recent visit(a few months ago) I found tht it no longer touted imported editions. Instead it had most books published by an(not the) Indian Book House (eg Shree Publications) .
Yup, i agree, the polish was not there. I mean, when i buy a book on the roadside, I am not too critical on the polish(i hope u get my drift), But in a Book Store of repute, i expect the books to be properly bound, the prints to be readable, the cuts to be parallel to the paragraphs. I surely am not going to pay 3 times the amount for a book I can get outside(read roadside) in exactly the same condition.
Hey, I see a few of you frowning at my ..., what should i say, meanness.., middle class thinking.. tht is more like it!!
I dont mind saving a few hundreds, friends, and about piracy? well.. i do not condone it of course, but then i surely do not agree on the hyped up prices of these huge set of items (not just books). Just because you earn the money(yes earn) doesn't mean you should spend it unnecessarily.
Am I rambling? neways let me know your thoughts.
