My good friend, Saras, came away with three carrier bags of books.
The lovely Leon with his spoils.
I found Phek Chin from Silverfish who was enjoying something of a busman's holiday - from books to books. (Buying for herself this time.)She was chatting to a couple of students from the International Islamic University (Above - Bushra and Takzera) who had compiled a four-page typed list (!) of the fantasy titles they have already so they could see exactly which holes they have in their collection. There's nothing like being organised.
I always meet you at warehouse sales, said Tina. This time we introduced ourselves properly. It happens that today is her birthday and I guess the Pay Less visit was an early treat!I bought just half a dozen books (including novels by Jane Smiley, Jose Saramago, Anita Shreve, Brian Moore) - was too busy gossiping though to give the sale the concentration it really needs!
If you missed the opening yesterday, nil desperandum. Stocks are being constantly replenished and there are boxes upon boxes of wonderful surprises which haven't been opened yet. I may make a second trip tomorrow.
Anyway, what goodies did you find this time?
19 comments:
Arrrrgh....I can't go for it this time....
Anyway, had already bought so many during the big bookshop sale at Atria. Filled more than 60% of the rm 1000 book rebates offered by latest budget for my next income tax claim.
BTW, Sharon, what do you think of the recent budget?
Tax rebate for books increased from rm700 to rm1000.
Actually, if it is believed that M'sians read 2 books( or is it more in any latest survey?) a year, how much does a voracious reader ( er, I mean books buyer) spend in one year?
Do books buyers actually keep book bills and submit for the claim since it was introduced a few years back?
How much do you buy and when and how much are you willing to part for a book you really like? One hundred, two hundred bucks?
Eh....sorry, sound so patronising laa, but I think some people (hahaha...nosy parkers like myself???) are curious about what others spend... Am researching for a story.
Meanwhile, have a good weekend reading your new found gems, Sharon.
i will post this front page yvonne - some very good questions
Sharon, it was great seeing you there as well! Oh, I missed the Brian Moore books! Anyway I got mostly American editions of Brit authors like Doris Lessing, Fay Weldon, Helen Fielding Penelope Lively,Seamus Deane, Muriel Spark, Deborah Moggach and Barry Unsworth. A very nice surprise to find 2 Tama Janowitz and one Nicholson Baker. Thanks for recommending The Shipping News and Poisonwood Bible. And, after I left, I went over to Kino (lugging 2 bags of heavy books) to get Jon McGregor's So Many Ways to Begin. I predict him to be on the next Granta's Best of Young British Novelists list.
I'd like to answer one of Yvonne's quesetions.
I do most of my book purchases online, especially from acmamall.com (formerly acmabooks.com), a local online book site (sort of like Malaysia's answer to amazon.com). I can print my invoices from there when it's time to file my income tax returns for the year. They also give free shipping with purchases of RM200 and above.
Hah, you've made me famous, Sharon! Seriously, I'm running out of space and there are books spilling out of every corner of my apartment. I bet the same with all your readers. I have a question to ask: What do you do with books (fictions) you've read?
chet - thanks for the link and i'm in admiration at how organised you are
tina - i keep all my books. in the past i have "culled" books but nearly always ended up regretting it. i will just keep adding bookshelf space to the house - i'm lucky in that i still have plenty of walls to use.
a good way to get rid of books you don't really want anymore is to bookcross them ... the best spot for bookcrossing is silverfish i've found (you can also pop in there and pick up books for free that other people have left)
i don't feel so guilty about having so many books because i do lend them to friends (though i only stay friends with people who return them) - if you click on the link to "my library" under "bibliocollection" in the sidebar, you can see the books i have - tho' i haven't finished entering them yet
btw - i think one day i will donate my beautiful library to a good cause
Sharon - in response to your current lead story (the one in response to Yvonne's various questions), I thought you were describing me when you said "chuck it all out and start again". That's me, too - lots of receipts all over the place. The only place I'm organised is inside my accounts at the various online sites I buy from - where there are neat records of my past purchases (read indulgences).
I also buy a lot from www.ereader.com which is an ebook shop - I even have an elibrary there, so if I ever lose any of my ebooks, I can go and download from there to my home PC.
P/S - I still have your two books you lent me the last time I visited with some gummibear cupcakes, which I plan to return as I would like to remain on friendly terms with you.
i would also like to remain on friendly terms with you, so i shall soon return your Hawksmoor.
chet, visitor - worry not, i know where to find you both! ;-D
chet - it's a good idea to keep the online receipts
i went to payless today! got 5 bags of books for this children's library we're setting up, and i managed to get some reads for my own to. its up on my blog :)
pat - is the children's library a project with daphne lee? do tell more!
enjoyed looking at your books on your blog and gald you had a good time. tried to leave a comment on your blog but xanga didn't like me for some reason ... tortoise tom yam??
yes! it's the same library project as daphne's. we are in the midst of accumulating books and processing them. so far it is going well ;)
er, yes, xanga's a bit iffy. you have to sign up in order to comment. oh well :D
yes! tortoise tom yam. I'm not too fond of tortoises but i am very very fond of tom yam.
Hi, Sharon,
I'm Fei. I read your blog constantly, and like your blog very much. I went to payless's booksale yesterday and got myself 3 bags of books...:)
I'm a chinese-educated, I read and write better in mandarin. I started to read english books 2 years back, I don't read fast, but i enjoy them.
I found myself Primo Levi, sabastian faulks, marilynne Robinson, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, Walker Percy and katerine anne porter this time. I never read their works, but knew that their works are good, willing to give a try.
Btw, I went to the Atria booksale as well, 3 times...kept buying and buying...I don't even dare to tell my friends how much I've spent. I keep all my receipts, just to have a picture on how much I've spent on books.
I'm glad to know you and ppl who are bookaholic as well, then I won't feel so 'guilty' (although i never will) to spend most of my salary on books all the time.
pat - good luck with the library - you really are both doing something really necessary. would love to hear how you get on with it.
fei - it's so lovely to hear from a fellow bookaholic like YOU because then I wont'd feel so guilty *LOL*
the book sales are probably the best way of encouraging folks to become enthusiastic readers. when books are cheap you are prepared to take a risk on authors you've never heard of before. you've picked up a lot of good stuff, fei. hope you have a great time reading them.
I also want to be on good terms with you so I MUST return the Accidental SOON!
Unfortunately I don't really live where I used to live very often anymore (the Chinese school traffic jam drives me insane), so haven't been able to stop by...
Maybe you could do a Book Reunion. To reunite you with your books that have gone walkies!
book reunion is a good idea - a bring your books back party at my place. tell me when you're free and we can fix a date.
(not just because i'd like my books back but also because i'd love to see YOU ... and snowy, of course)
any you're free to borrow anything else that grabs your fancy
Oh... I went to school with Bushra and Tazkera. Not surprised Ms Yeoh -- I mean, Phek Chin -- was talking to them: she was our librarian! (And I still can't help calling her Ms Yeoh)
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