In the
final analysis, it was rather touching or amusing, depending on the type of
person you are. Not that I didn’t want
to buy novels by Ian Rankin, but the buy didn’t set out to be a raid on Rankin
as it appears now. After buying 12 Peter
Robinson novels in ‘two fell swoops,’ I saw that there were two novels yet to
be highlighted in yellow on my ‘Peter Robinson’ list. I found one of them going very cheap with
Butterfly Books, another used books’ seller on Amazon. But I was loath to pay Rs.65 for shipping
when the book itself was priced lesser.
I had to fill the cart with books worth at least Rs.399 for the shipping
charges to be waived off.
I scanned
my memory bank for titles I was missing.
Eventually, I decided to search for those titles missing in my Ian
Rankin list. The prices were tempting
and I went berserk. I forgot about ‘the
Rs.399’ limit and the lone Robinson novel for which I was now filling the cart
with Rankin novels. I crossed all limits
and the raid ended only when I saw that I had filled all the gaps in my Rankin
list. The shopping cart now had seven
Rankins and one Robinson. ‘The 399
limit’ was breached long ago. All that
remained was to click the ‘checkout’ button.
For some
reason I postponed the ‘checkout’ and a few hours later the ‘buyout’ frenzy
became a hazy memory. The next day, I
remembered the books waiting in the cart and decided to ‘checkout.’
I went to
my ‘shopping cart’ and you know what … somebody had pulled the rug from
underneath the carefully planned purchase.
The entire rationale for which I ‘carted’ the seven Rankin novels had
collapsed. Of all the books available
with Butterfly Books, somebody had to go ahead and buy that one Robinson novel
I had in my cart!!! I felt like Rick Blaine ... huh ... !
I cursed
myself. I searched again and again
across all the used books sellers’ portals on Amazon. Absolutely no luck. The seven Rankin novels in my cart stared
back at me. Should I cut my losses and wait
for another opportunity for that Robinson novel to turn up? Would that opportunity come sooner or
later? I had put together the Rankin
novels with a great deal of fondness, no doubt.
I didn’t want to lose out on these too.
So, after a raging debate in my mind, the dust finally settled and I
pressed ‘checkout’ for a cartful of Rankin novels. Not that the package, when it arrived,
compensated for the laxity on my part for not being hungry enough, but the
sight of each Rankin novel separately shrink wrapped and each looking as good as
new, went a long way in consoling my bruised soul for some time.
That
Robinson novel that I had pined for and lost and another one, which too is not
on my list, are both available under used books on Amazon, but unfortunately
with two different booksellers and each would charge Rs.65 separately for
shipping. And that Robinson novel now
costs almost three times more with this used books’ seller than it used to with
Butterfly Books. Sometimes I feel like
kicking myself, and sometimes I smile, amused at how it all turned out in the
end.
‘After all,
it is only a book. Why get all het up
about that.’
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