Walden, for quick book buys

What you see – At first glance, Walden may seem like a cramped store with the innumerable wares that it stocks, Books, pens, toys, chocolates, watches, CDs, key chains…you have to see it to believe it.

 

Locating and reaching Walden is nonetheless very easy as it is right there on the main road with the bold red letters and the rainbow-colored stripes identifying the store. This is the second branch of the store. The older one is located in Begumpet.

 

What you get - With more than 6,000 titles under their roof, it is a place where you can be sure to find almost every book you want. They have different sections for fiction, non-fiction, biography, comics, interiors, child care, sports and more.

 

The titles that they have are interesting since they span the new and the old. So under fiction you can find George Orwell’s 1984, Arabian Nights, Catch 22 and even the lovely Bridges of Madison County. You can find almost all of William Dalrymple’s books here. Ken Follet’s famed Pillars of the Earth is right there on the racks too.

 

Biographies occupy two shelves here. The store assistant, Ram, tells us that there are not many takers for biographies. The only ones who pick it up are those who idolize a personality. The collection ranges from The Private life of Chairman Mao by Zhisui Li to Benazir’s Daughter of the East. No prizes for guessing that the latter is a best seller here.

 

Comic lovers have lots to choose from too. Spiderman, Archie comics and Peanuts are some of the prized ones. What however really caught our eye was the entire collection of Calvin and Hobbes, boxed and priced at Rs. 5,000. This one is said to have the author of the comic strip, Bill Watterson’s comments too. Parents could even pick up fairy tales for their kids here.

 

The magazine section comprising Auto, Cosmopolitan and more, is just beside the billing counter. Then there are audio and video educational CDs too. Interesting ones include those on tax planning and retirement planning priced at Rs. 499. Management guru Dale Carnegie’s CDs are available too and so are those with games. When it comes to games, while the new ones like FIFA-08 are available at Rs. 999, the age-old Prince of Persia game CDs find some space on their shelves too for Rs. 499. We did not find Need for Speed and Robocop though. We were told that these would be in display soon. Music CDs supplied by Music World are there too.

 

Gift articles such as marble showpieces starting at Rs. 95 to wallets priced at Rs. 325 can be found at Walden. Do check out the lampshades, laughing Buddhas, greeting cards and soft toys when you visit the store. And for chocolate lovers, there is some variety available here - be it Twix or Mars.

 

Our verdict - This store is good for quick buys. The variety is huge and easy to find. Basically it is a place where you could drop in to buy a quick gift for someone or a nice book before running for a vacation. It isn’t a place where you could spend some leisure time, browsing through the books to zero in on one. It’s a place where you could go after you have decided on a title to buy. Simply because, you can’t plonk yourself anywhere and read through, to shortlist your buys. The staff is polite and will help you find your book. Parking space is limited and lighting could be enhanced. Credit cards are accepted and it is open on Sundays too.