2ND HAND STORIES

WORDS: MADHUKA KARUNARATNE/ PIX: TASHIYA MIRANDO
I'm a great believer in second hand books. The first book I read by myself was Dame Enid Blyton's Five Go Adventuring Again at the tender age of five. It was bought from Shanthi Booksellers in Bambalapitiya, long since vanished. Most of the books my parents bought me those days were from Shanthi. This would be the start of a lifelong book habit. Locating worthwhile second hand books is an art. A lot of patience and willingness for legwork is required. The truly amazing finds are located in the most unlikely of places - the pavement. This means conducting your book hunt by car is just going to get you a parking ticket.

Make Sure to visit;

BIBLIOMANIA

32, Hospital Street, Fort, Colombo 1 Tel: 2432881

I'm not going to do this place justice by writing about it. Bibliomania is a must see. It's a bit like a warehouse with floor to ceiling bookshelves. Each shelf is clearly labelled which makes things so much easier when you're browsing for hours.

Mr. Hameed, the proprietor, is a fascinating man and is more than happy to chat with you. He knows his books too – another plus. If he doesn't have what you're looking for in stock, he will gladly take down your number and call you if he comes across it. Prices are reasonable – if you have Rs. 200 on you – that's good for around three books.

My find – The Mating Season by P G Wodehouse for Rs. 150/- (price brand new – Rs. 575-595/-)

BOOK CARE

Most second hand books are weathered. My rule is: If you find something rare and tattered for a good price – buy it. You may never find it again, especially if it's an out-of-print book. You can always restore them later at one of these places:

PAPERLAND – 114, Galle Road, Col 4 (Opposite Sapid Restaurant, next to Little Lion) TEL 2598964/5

SOFTWAVE – 107D, Havelock Road, Col 5 TEL 2502295

The cost for a hard cover rebinding will depend on the size of the book. For a 300 pager the cost will be roughly Rs. 650-700.

SENANAYAKE BOOK SHOP

366, Galle Road

Wellawatte (seaside)

The bookshop formerly known as Book Lovers Paradise, expanded a year ago and changed its name. The now Senanayake Book Shop flaunts a new fascia and is much easier to find. Gone is the cavernous, gloomy shop with books rotting away in heaps. Everything is now displayed in an orderly fashion and is more or less categorized. This is the place where I came across a book I've been searching for all my life – Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster – I found a hardcover edition for Rs. 50. For something slightly newer, like Bridgett Jones' Diary, you'll have to fork out around Rs. 300. Still, these books are nearly new and considerably cheaper than prices for brand new. My only complaint about this place is the bookshelves are too high and the best books are on the topmost shelves.

PETER'S BOOK SHOP ET AL

D R Wijewardena Mawatha

Most people are familiar with this stretch of road with five adjoining books shops. The proprietors are veterans when it comes to second hand books. The upside is each shop contains a humongous collection of books but the down side is price. You can get away with a low price if the book you want is not a well known title or author. But for authors very much in demand like Stephen King and the like, the prices are a bit higher than other shops. A good place for textbooks and the best for (fairly) recent popular fiction, if your wallet will survive it.

SARASAVI BOOK SHOP

NUGEGODA

Walk into Sarasavi and take a right at the cashiers' counter and you find yourself in front of the bargain books section. These consist of books and magazines that are a little shop-soiled or have ratty covers – but are otherwise in good condition. Not a very large collection but if you're starved of reading material and need a quick fix you might want to pop in.

BOOK EXHIBITIONS

What to watch out for

Book exhibitions are a paperback junkie's paradise (and a claustrophobic's hell). But if you're willing to trudge for what seems like miles from bookstall to bookstall you can find some fantastic books you wouldn't otherwise find in the respective bookstores themselves. I found this wickedly illustrated oversize version of Terry Pratchett's The Last Hero for Rs. 495 from the Vijitha Yapa stall at the last exhibition (publisher's price over 6 Sterling Pounds).

It's best not to get carried away. Having a rough idea of what new editions cost in bookshops helps. On the whole, it's always a good idea to be very careful with second hand bookstalls in these places. In my experience the second hand book people use this as an opportunity to get rid of unwanted, slow moving stock. People tend to buy absolutely any sort of rubbish (I myself am guilty of this) just because they think it's a bargain. So these guys bring their most unappealing books and to add injury to insult – jack up the prices.

Sometimes the big name bookshops have independent book sales to sell off their damaged and old books. Vijitha Yapa Bookshop does this every once in a while. Their next sale is scheduled for December this year and will be either at their outlet at Unity Plaza or Crescat Boulevard. For more details, call the manager on 2596069.

ROUND TRIP

When planning your book-buying spree, I suggest hitting all places in one day. A weekday is best when business is slow and the vendors are more open to haggling (Important: always haggle).

Don't even think about driving – unless you have the luxury of a vehicle with a driver. Bus is obviously the most economical mode but if you can afford it, trishaw is the best option because a) you're less likely to get lost b) you won't have to lug your purchases with you.

SUGGESTED ROUTE:

MCCALLUM STREET

five bookshops

PETTAH – BIBLIOMANIA

Trishaw fare - Rs. 70/- to 100/-

Pavement near Regal Cinema (walking distance)

COLPETTY PAVEMENT

trishaw fare - Rs. 150/- to 200/-

BAMBALAPITIYA PAVEMENT

Trishaw fare - Rs. 80/- to 100/-

WELLAWATTE - SENANAYAKE BOOK SHOP

Trishaw fare - Rs. 100/-

The whole trip by bus should be less than Rs. 50/-. Don't forget to keep an eye out on the pavement while travelling.

Finally, there are a few important things to remember before setting out on the hunt; a) if you get lost, chances are you will stumble upon something more interesting than what you were looking for b) always look in the bottom-most shelf – most people don't bother and the good books hide there and breed c) don't dismiss books with unintelligible covers d) if you're allergic to dust, leave the country. My parting gift – the wisdom of Ford Prefect; "Time is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so."

Some interesting books I fond there were Thomas Harris' "The Red Dragon" (Rs. 150) and David Niven's Bring on the Empty Horses (Rs. 175)

PERMANENT PAVEMENT VENDORS

Colpetty – close to the Fed-Ex building (seaside)

This gentleman is elusive in bad weather but his dilapidated bookrack is a permanent fixture on the pavement. This is the best discovery I've made in the recent past. Once you have visited his makeshift shop twice or thrice, he knows the type of books you go for. On a bad day when he knows he doesn't have anything that will interest you, he'll tell you so as soon as you stop by. I've found some amazing books here and I've yet to come across anyone to best his prices. He sold me Peyton Place for Rs. 30 and Nineteen Eight Four for about the same price.

BAMBALAPITIYA

- OPPOSITE MAJESTIC CITY

1) In front of Navavi

2) In front of Majestic Bakery

The number of booksellers on this stretch varies but these two can be found there on most days (excluding Sunday). What you find here depends entirely on luck but it's always worth stopping to check as you pass by. I got lucky recently when I found them selling the Tin Tin books for Rs. 150. These were almost new books in very good condition. They were selling them for that ridiculous price because the price tag on the back said Rs. 385. If they only knew the current going rate was Rs. 695, they'd have been kicking themselves.

FORT – OPPOSITE REGAL CINEMA

Fairly large collection of books, but worn from being exposed to the elements. The proprietor is usually found in this spot come rain or shine (which explains the sad state of the books). If you're willing to sweat copiously and get sun burnt you can unearth something of interest. Prices – Rs. 25 up.
