MANY THOUSANDS OF authors aspire to ‘make their name’ by publishing their writing. Most of these people hope to follow in the footsteps of, say JK Rowling, and to achieve fame and become a bestselling author. This hope is exploited ruthlessly on social media, especially, so I have noticed, on Facebook and X (formerly ‘Twitter’).
Every day, I notice a steady stream of advertisements promising to convert your piece of writing into a bestseller. Some ads offer to convert your manuscript into a book that looks as if it has been produced by a recognised commercial publishing house. Other, provide editing and mentoring services. Yet more of them, promise to promote your book on social media. Some will guide you as to how to make your book more prominent on Internet search engines. And others will review your book any number of times. There are even websites that will write the text of your book using AI. All these services naturally attract fees, and these can in some cases be quite hefty. If despite using these miraculous sounding services, your book neither sells well nor achieves great acclaim, you might be considerably out of pocket.
The problem is that very few of the myriad books written have either any outstanding literary merits or appealing features. The services offered in the ads offer profits and huge readerships on the horizon. But will they materialize, or will they remain mirages that fade away after you have parted with your money? I have never used any of the services that I have seen advertised. I wonder whether they would be honest enough to say that despite their best efforts, the submitted work is likely to be a failure, or do they not care.
THE ARTIST ANDREW Salgado was born in Canada in 1982. He graduated at Chelsea College of Art with a Masters Degree in Fine Arts. He lives and works between London (England) and New Brunswick (Canada). Until 28 June 2025, there is a wonderful exhibition of his imaginative, colourful paintings at Beers gallery in Little Britain, close to the Barbican and Smithfield Market.
The exhibition has the artist’s chosen title “Self-portrait as a Stack of Books”. Several of the paintings on display and one sculpture portray books. Salgado is an avid reader, and he says he has been influenced by some of the authors he has read. Whether they contain books or not, his creations are intriguing and hint at confused imagery of dreams. As to the artist’s intentions in the collection of works at Beers, the gallery’s hand-out noted:
“Asking Salgado about the intentions, symbolism, or directive in this collection of paintings – because it’s obviously ripe with his (now) trademark imagery – he becomes deferential, ambiguous, and almost evasive about everything from idea to technique, to presentation, and even the compelling title piece: a rare venture into sculpture which seems – whether through its books or its chair, or its uncanny, discombobulated human parts – to reference the paintings and even the act of painting itself. But also books. Words. Memory. Fallability. That head at the apex is glass. It’s his.”
It is right that the artist is evasive. He leaves the enjoyment of interpretations of his works to the viewer, and that is admirably democratic.
If you have not come across Beers gallery already, it is always worth visiting their exhibitions. The works they display are often joyfully colourful and never dull.
I HAVE VISITED BANGALORE regularly over the past 31 years. Each time, I have been impressed by the city’s numerous well-stocked bookshops. Many of them are now located along the short Church Street, which runs parallel to a stretch of the much longer MG Road. At the last count, I found 9 bookshops along Church Street, which is less than half a mile in length.
Bookworm
One of these shops that impresses me most is called Bookworm. Its location has changed several times since I first found it in 1994. Now, it is housed in a former mansion set back from Church Street and reached by a tree shaded pathway. It contains many rooms, each of which has walls lined with bookshelves filled with books from floor to ceiling. Much of the floorspace in these rooms is covered by piles of books. The books range from the latest releases to out of print and secondhand volumes. Recently, a small room has been added to display rare antiquarian editions. Despite this, there are many old and interesting books within the other rooms.
Bookworm is an ideal place for browsing if you have plenty of time on your hands. If you are pressed for time or know what you are looking for, the helpful staff will either know where to find what you are seeking, or will search for you.
When you have selected what you wish to purchase, some of the newer titles are subject to a discount at the cash desk. The older books and secondhand editions are priced very reasonably.
Although there are other superbly stocked bookstores in Church Street, notably Blossom Book House, Bookworm is my favourite. It is truly a magnet for bookworms.
WHENEVER CLASSIC BOOKS were recommended to me during my childhood, I never bothered to read them because I hated to be told what to read by people who had no idea what interested me. Therefore, until a couple of months ago I had not read anything by highly acclaimed British authors such as the Brontes, Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen, Scott, Trollope, Thackeray, and Dickens. I have read and enjoyed English translations of French authors including Balzac, Flaubert, and de Maupassant.
This summer (2024), we paid a visit to the delightful coastal town of Broadstairs in Kent. This place is rich in souvenirs of the author Charles Dickens (1812-1870). It was in this town that he worked on several of his novels. After our brief visit to Broadstairs, I was suddenly filled with the desire to begin reading something by Dickens to see what I have been missing for so many years, and to discover whether I ought to have followed the many recommendations I was given (during my youth) to read his work. I began with “Nicholas Nickleby” because some of it had been written in Broadstairs. After reading and enjoying this 600-page novel, I moved on to “Martin Chuzzlewit” (762 pages), which I have just finished. That I have already begun reading “Oliver Twist”, another novel by Dickens, shows that I have begun to like Dickens’s writing.
I do not find that reading Dickens is easy-going. Often, he says what could be said in a few words in many sentences, thus spinning out the story. Another problem is keeping track of the vast numbers of characters in the stories. It felt to me that every few pages, a new character is introduced. Some of them appear for a few pages and then disappear for a long time, only to reappear much later. So, when they do reappear, it is sometimes difficult to remember anything about them. As for the plots, they are complex, but fascinating. Despite the lack of conciseness, the huge number of characters, and the length of the novels, Dickens knew how to keep the reader engaged from start to finish. He had to do this because at first his stories were published as monthly episodes in magazines. If he had not kept his readers engaged one month, then they might not have bought the next episode a month later. Even though the plot acquires more and more sometimes seemingly unconnected strands, I felt instinctively that eventually they would coalesce. How Dickens kept track of what he was writing and did not ‘lose the plot’ amazes me. And how well he holds the reader’s attention is also a marvel.
Dickens’s mastery of detail amazes me. It is fascinating to read how parts of London, which I know well, were when Dickens was writing about them. His minute descriptions of aspects of daily life in early Victorian England are of great interest. His ability to portray villainous people is something else I have enjoyed. The villains and crooks are, for me, the most enjoyable of the characters in the two novels I have already read. Page after page, I realised that in the end they would receive their comeuppance, but how this happens eventually is a wonderful surprise that is revealed in the final pages of the books. Would I recommend reading Dickens? Well, I have been enjoying what I have read so far. To those who read quickly, I would strongly suggest trying Dickens. But for those who read slowly, I am not so sure. My reading habits have changed over the years. Had I attempted Dickens when I was younger, I doubt I would have read an entire novel. Now, in my retirement, I find that I am reading faster. Although Dickens should not be read too fast because of the incredibly large amount of detail he includes, I find that I can now cope with his writing and enjoy it. I am glad that I ignored the many who tried to persuade me to read Dickens when I was a child. I am pleased that at long last I have discovered how much fun it is to read his novels. I shall certainly be carrying something by Dickens to read during my next long-haul aeroplane journey.
IN 1965 I HAD to apply for admission to secondary school. As part of the preparation for this, the headmaster of my preparatory school (The Hall in London’s Swiss Cottage) interviewed each of the pupils who were ready to apply for admission. I was one of them. With some trepidation, I met him in his office. One of the questions he asked was: “What do you read?”. I answered: “Thrillers”. Then he asked me which thriller writers I liked. I answered: “Ian Fleming. I enjoy the James Bond stories.” Mr Cooper, the headmaster, seemed upset by my response. After a moment, he asked: “Don’t you read Margery Allingham?” I had never heard of her, and when I told him this, I felt that he thought I was a ‘lost cause’. Now, 59 years later, I have not yet read any books by her, but thanks to Mr Cooper, I have known about her for a long time.
In the last few years, I have published 3 books about Albania and the Albanians:
ALBANIA ON MY MIND
This book describes Albania as I saw it when I made a trip there in 1984. Then, the country was being ruled by the isolationist, Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha. The country was even more isolated from the rest of the world than is the case with North Korea today.
REDISCOVERING ALBANIA
This is a description of a visit I made to Albania in 2016. The book describes Albania as we found it then, and compares it with what I saw in 1984. It also contains descriptions of Albania made by other travellers at various times in the last 300 years.
FROM ALBANIA TO SICILY
This is one of the few books in English to describe the past and present of the Albanian-speaking people who migrated to Sicily in the 15th century to escape from the Ottoman armies that were invading the Balkans. It provides an in-depth study of the lives of this interesting group of people.
These three books are available as paperbacks and as Kindles from Amazon
NEAR BOMBAY’S FLORA Fountain there are several booksellers on the pavement. They stock both new (original and pirated copies) and old books. In general, the vendors are amenable to bargaining with their customers.
Today (in December 2023), I found a second-hand, oldish book about the history of Bombay. It looked as if it would satisfy my requirements. I asked the price. It was 800 Rupees. Because I have become accustomed to hagling over the price I offered 600. I was hoping that we would eventually agree on a price of about 700. The bookseller was adamant. He would sell it for 800 and no less. He kept saying it had been 1000 when it was new … long ago. I walked away, and viewed other bookstalls nearby.
Keen to have the book, I returned and offered 750. The stubborn vendor said to me: “What is 50 Rupees to you? You are rich man.” I walked away, and joined my wife who had just engaged a taxi to take us elsewhere. Seeing me board the taxi, the bookseller ran up to our vehicle, and proposed that we pay 780. My wife, who was not yet in the vehicle, offered him 750, which he accepted.
The man was right. What was 50 Rupees to me? Only about 50 pence. However, that was not the point. Getting the book was one thing but the pleasure of fighting to reduce the price, and succeeding, is another. And the sense of achievement after serious bargaining leaves me with a curiously fine sense of contentment.
A FEW MINUTES WALK from our hotel in BARODA (Gujarat) brings you to Patel Bookstore. The owner of this small bookshop stocks ‘pre-loved’ (not ‘secondhand’) books. Some of them are arranged on surfaces under the verandah in front of his shop and on its counter. The rest of them are on shelves and on the floor of the part of his store behind the counter. The shop has a chaotic appearance, but I am sure Mr Patel knows what he has in stock.
Mr Patel, a friendly gentleman, has a huge stock of books in English – much fiction and slightly less nonfiction. He also sells books printed in Gujarati.
The owner of the shop is happy to buy back books you have bought from him. When you make a purchase, he writes the price you paid in the book, and how much he would be prepared to buy it back when you have read it. He is also happy to buy other volumes that you wish to dispose of.
Even though I could not see many books that appealed to me, I love visiting idiosyncratic bookstores like that run by Mr Patel.
yamey 