Secondhand

When I go book hunting I prefer the secondhand stores. Unless its a recently published book, I stay away from 'proper' bookstores.. There's just some kind of immense joy I get when I find an Asterix, or Tintin, or Peanuts, or Garfield, or Calvin and Hobbes(Yeah I mostly go for comics..) secondhand. It just isn't the same when I look at a brand new copy.. one that hasn't been opened, spine intact, no writing on the first page..

And hey, theres always the fact that its cheaper to buy it secondhand. You can bargain with the seller too. And if you don't want to keep it, most sellers let you return it, charging a small reading charge (10-20). Its cheaper than a usual circulating library and therefore great!

If I see a used book store, I have to go in and browse. It's a compulsion. And I almost always walk away with a purchase. Not surprisingly, a large chunk of my pocket money goes in buying/borrowing books. (The rest of it goes in food, believe it or not..)

Most used bookstalls/stores have a majority of novels of every kind. I guess those are the most popular to read and return. When I can't find a comic I usually get one of those.

There used to be sooo many of these stores at Flora fountain.. pity the BMC decided to get rid of them. Thankfully they left the job half done and about 5-6 of these stalls remain. And on Sundays, it seems all the others who had to leave come and sell their books on the footpaths (the BMC is off on Sundays..). Thats when you can easily buy books for very cheap coz these people just want to get rid of their stock..

Thunderstorm

It's raining cats and dogs outside at the moment. Finally, I can assure myself that the monsoon has arrived. It certainly took its time getting here..

I love the moments just before it starts to rain. You can always tell.. The wind picks up speed.. distinct chill in the air.. no sun to speak of..

I just love thunderstorms! My favorite part has got to be the sound of the wind howling like some rabid beast, rattling the windows, trying to get in.. I love to burrow under my blankets and just lie there, listening.. I'm not a big fan of thunder.. mostly because it can jolt me awake.. but usually I can sleep through the best of them.

In such weather, most people tend not to venture out. My cat Felix, however, doesn't let himself be fazed by a bit of rain. He still demands to be let outside. And somehow, when he returns, he's never wet.. if at all he is, its only a few drops here and there or maybe the end of his tail. It's highly suspicious.. Like today, he went out when it was absolutely pouring! And when he returned some 3 hrs later, he was completely dry. How does he do it?? If I were to go out I'd be wet in 30 seconds flat. Even if I simply stood under my building, the spray would get me.. And so, I am forced to conclude that Felix has some weird rain-repelling-energy-force-thing going on and he uses this to mess with my mind!

I could extol the virtues of storms for a loooong time.. but the rain's dying down now, and my blankets beckon.. or something like that :)