Some girls love collecting bags. Or shoes. Or accessories. Or clothes. Me? I love collecting books. I love buying books – lots of them – even when it becomes unclear whether I will really get to read all of them. I love buying books whose authors and titles are unheard of or books which are written by known authors but are unpopular. I love the thought of having shelves upon shelves of books – though I have yet to achieve that.
I’ve recently watched the film, Confessions of A Shopalcholic, which is based on a book that I haven’t yet bought or read, and the protagonist there described her addiction as something like butter sliding down a warm toast – only better. For me that description is apt whenever I’m in a bookstore surrounded by books that I want to buy.
Of course books are expensive – as expensive or even more expensive than bags, or shoes, or accessories or clothes. And so I’ve relegated myself to buying books from Booksale. Someday, I would also have the money to splurge on Fullybooks or Powerbooks and even National Bookstore. But for now, Booksale meets my passion or maybe addiction to books.
For me each trip to the said store is like an adventure. I never quite know what book I’ll discover. Buying books for me involves a certain amount of risk. You risk buying an unknown title by an unknown author with only the synopsis or some reviews in the back cover to guide you. There is the possibility that the book is really badly-written despite the appealiing synopsis and th raving reviews. When this happens one can only sigh and say, “Buti na lang mura bili ko dun.” Then again there is the other possibility that the book bought is fit to be a bestseller – that is was an easy read, uniquely and refreshingly written and that it was well-worth the price – even more.
I’ve had my bad scrapes – books that were better left rotting in dusty library shelves and I’ve had my good hauls – books that were supposed to be price much higher for their splendid stories and well-written styles.
What excites me more in this book excursions is the possibilty of finding some award winning book, priced so low. Or some book priced high by other bookstores but sold cheaper by Booksale. Of course the books are second-hand, that’s why they’re cheap. Booksale is the ukay-ukay version of books. But then just like what my friend showed me about ukay-ukays, if you know how and where to look, you’ll find really rare and unique gems, seemingly brand new, for a very affordable and reasonable price.
In Naga, I’ve managed to visit 5 Booksale outlets. I wonder if there’s more. And I have yet to fully explore each one of them. In a place wherein the only decent bookstores are Booksale and the recently opened National Bookstore, I guess I really don’t have much of an option. Not that I’m complaining though.
Happy reading to all the bookworms out there and hopefully I’ll get to publish book reviews and a list of the books I’ve acquired here on my blog.
