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Writing about a Book Buying Binge


Last weekend, for less than 30 USD, I bought the bunch of books you see in the pic.

Some would say I should support the writers and buy at the book shops and not at used or rejected book sales.

My answer: At these sales I take risks on writers who I would not normally buy at full price. Tony Morrison and Jeanette Winterson were my discoveries at sales long ago. I then went on to buy those authors at full price.

I am a mad reader who probably rips through two books a week, so the sale hauls help…

I also like to feel I’m rescuing the books, because remnants which do not go to loving homes after the sales are sent to be pulped. And then reading is good for you: all reasons listed here.

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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One Comment

  • foxandmaus says:

    I often get my books this way, though I confess that I have a serious addiction problem with nice, new hardback books. There really is nothing like holding one in your hand and opening to the first page.

    I, alas, am not a fast reader and never have been. A book is a major time commitment for me and so, I tend to be pretty picky when it comes time to pick up something new. More often than not, my "something new" is something old, written long before my own time. I don't know why. I'm not really a help for the new, struggling writer. 🙁