Weekend of the Bookworms

Been a while since the firstborn and I spent time together, him being busy with work, as always. The still single (aduhai!) news editor shares my reading habit and can be counted upon to recommend good reads.

Naj's a quiet, laidback homebody who has comics (Calvin & Hobbes is a staple) for breakfast and fiction & fantasy for lunch. He also keeps giant-sized Transformer toys and makes mean pasta dishes.

So when he called to ask if I would like to go shopping for cut-price books at this particular outlet called BookXcess in Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya, over the weekend, I jumped at the idea.   

Since my forays into book shopping had not, thus far, extended beyond One Utama's MPH and The Curve's Borders where book prices were standard and steep, I was excited at the idea of finding decently-priced, brand new books. 

Claustrophobic me usually stay away from high traffic shopping areas, and Amcorp Mall is definitely one such place come weekends. This is especially so because of its extensive, multi-floor flea market which, I must admit, is a treasure trove worthy of return visits.

Sunday at Amcorp Mall has often been described as 'geek's fantasy', with lots of great deals on comics, toys and other random collectibles.

Here one can find LPs, old china and brassware, krises and other weaponry, pictures, posters and photographs, gadgets of yesteryears (turntables come to mind), an assortment of numismatic and philatelic items, and many more.

I spotted a couple of absolutely charming miniature Wedgewood plates depicting the rustic English countryside, which somehow reminds me of Constable, and cute cookie tins with 'windmill' and 'red rooster' themes, but they just have to wait till the next visit.

Much to my relief and delight, shopping was a breeze since the Chinese New Year balik kampung exodus had already begun, thus the crowd wasn't big enough to intimidate.

In all, we bought eight books totalling slightly over RM150 from BookXcess. Averaging less than RM20 per book, that's very decent indeed. Here's my personal haul of four, which should last the month: 

Corduroy Mansions (Alexander McCall Smith), Woe Is I - The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English In Plain English (Patricia T. O'Connor), Friendly Fire (Alaa Al Aswany) and Every Living Thing (James Herriot).

I have not been able to say 'no' to Alexander McCall Smith since his irresistible The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, with Precious Ramotswe, touted Botswana's only (and finest) female private detective, hit the scene over a decade ago. 

Corduroy Mansions has been described by Daily Express as 'quirky and original' and I can't wait to plunge into it. Choice morsels:

Welcome to Corduroy Mansions in Pimlico; comfortable and genteelly weathered, it is home to a delightfully eccentric cast of Londoners.

At the top lives William, with a faithful ex-vegetarian dog named Freddie de la Hay, and an indolent son who he hopes will soon fly the nest. Four young women share the first-floor flat, including twinset-and-pearls Caroline, and Dee, vitamin addict and avid subscriber to Anti-Oxidant News.

And round the corner resides Oedipus Snark MP, possibly the world's only loathsome Lib Dem, who has succeeded in offending everyone he knows, and many others besides. But what dark revenge is being plotted by his mother, Berthea Snark, and his girlfriend, Barbara Ragg....?

Woe Is I is a book only pedants will love, I think, and I'm saying this in a positive way. The book has been described as a humour-lightened guide to better English and I can't agree more.

With contents like Comma Sutra: The Joy of Punctuation, Death Sentence: Do Cliches Deserve to Die? Yours Truly: The Possessives and the Possessed, and The Compleat Dangler: A Fish out of Water, how can I not agree, ever? 

Friendly Fire is a collection of short stories by Egyptian writer Alaa Al Aswany, the internationally bestselling author of The Yacoubian Building and Chicago.

I discovered Yacoubian Building two years ago and was immediately smitten by Aswany's moving portrayals of ordinary folks living in the rundown tenement building, and has been a fan ever since.

His background too intrigued me; medically-trained Aswany is a journalist who writes a controversial opposition column, but makes his living as a dentist in Cairo.

But it was the last book in yesterday's pile, Every Living Thing by James Herriot, that truly, truly made my day, all because I had been looking for this title for quite a while to complete my Herriot collection.

James Herriot, pseudonym for English veterinary surgeon and writer, James Alfred Wight (1916-1995), brought to life the world of country vet practice with his humorous, often amusing accounts of his experiences with the taciturn, gruff farmers of Yorkshire.  

Holding a Herriot in my hand brings me back to my teen years when I was first introduced to his work through All Creatures Great And Small.

Over the years, I had immersed myself in All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful and The Lord God Made Them All (besides his other works, that is). And now, finally, the fifth and final instalment to the series!

Boy, it takes so little to make me happy. This must be one of the cheapest I had ever paid for thrill and contentment, all RM19.90 of it...