Recent Flights of Book-Banditry


Man, I've been too busy to keep track of my flights of book-banditry in the last few months. Just the other day, I bought a fairly recent American edition of Grey's Anatomy (P225) and the feminist theologian Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza's path-breaking work on feminist hermeneutics In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins (P115). There's also a collection of George Plimpton's anthology of sports essays On Sports (P120). (Plimpton, founding editor of the Paris Review, died a few months ago, didn't he?). Last Sunday, I made a big catch of bargain books at P20 each, including Pete Hamill's long essay on Journalism at the End of the 20th Century, A.J. Cronin's novel The Citadel, J.G. Ballard's short story collection War Fever, and an O. Henry Short Story Awards anthology for the year 1984.

And I know I still have more books yet unaccounted for, including purchases made in Gensan over the Christmas holidays (surprise of surprises, the National Bookstore branch at the newly opened Robinson's Mall there had a treasure trove of bargain-books for the picking. Among other titles I found there a hardcover new edition Oxford English Bible for P200, which is a steal).

I also see more and more back issues of Granta magazine surfacing in BookSale outlets. A good sign. They usually go for P75 but the newer editions are priced at between P115-P150. On the other hand, I hardly see back issues of Harper's and the New Yorker magazines in the stands these days.