Book Castle
Sunday, April 22, 2007
I was hanging out with my bestie (I have 2 besties :D) at Tun Jugah, browsing through the fiction section at Popular Bookstore. I was undecided on buying either The Undomestic Goddess at RM32.90 or The Givenchy Code at RM34.90. So there I was holding both books in hand with what must be a dubious expression on my face for my friend grabbed hold of my arm and said, "You want cheap, second hand books? Let's get out of here." Somewhere along that line lah. :P
Book Castle is situated along Jalan Keretapi, just after the cross junction from the Sarawak General Hospital (Don't take my word for it, I'm really, REALLY bad at giving directions).
It has been operating since last year but today was my first time there. The moment I entered the shop, I was greeted by this heady smell of old books, although not totally unpleasant. The first 30 minutes was a total blur. I can only remember scanning line by line of old books, hoping to stumble upon some interesting titles.
I have to admit, 40% of the books must have been published before the 80s but if you are to go there, it's advisable for you to just keep on looking thoroughly as the books are not arranged according to the year (should you be more interested in the more contemporary ones, say those of the 90s), although they were arranged alphabetically.It is not only novels they sell but also reference books including Computing, Law, Medicine, Language and backdated collection of Readers' Digest stories. The Computing books might be a little outdated for your tastes but then again, you'll never know what trinkets you might find among the floor to ceiling shelves so do check out this place every so often. The prices range from RM3 to RM16. I didn't check out the heavier readings but the maximum price shouldn't be more than RM25. They also have this promotion whereby if you buy 2 books, you get one FREE!
As for myself, I bought two books, Maya Angelou's 'The Heart of A Woman' (RM10) and an English Language reference book, 'Learning English Through Literature' (RM8) with the grand total of less than RM20! I was really glad that I didn't pick up the book at Popular earlier.
posted by Anonymous @ 6:43 PM,
6 Comments:
-
At April 22, 2007 at 10:46 PM,
Robin Wong said...
-
Hmmm...
U know what, for the past 2 years, I have been downloading books in e-format, and been reading them off my laptop. I read 3 stephen king novels, 1 grisham and 2 dan brown. I could not read too much at a time though, computer screen and all, nothing beats reading and flipping the pages !!!
I just bought stephen king eye of the dragon for 5 bucks (aussie), and its first hand !! Oh joy... -
At April 23, 2007 at 5:15 PM,
Unknown said...
-
are they free? I mean the e-format books? I think I'll still prefer the conventional way of reading books too. hehe. 5 dollars is fuggin cheap! It's also cheap in sg... wonder why books are so expensive in Malaysia?
-
At April 25, 2007 at 12:27 AM,
Robin Wong said...
-
oh the 5 bucks stephen king was a clearance stock, so yeah, that figures... but the book is brand new !!!! ahahahaa..
e-formats are all free, just have to know where to look. I prefer to finish a book/novel in just a few sittings over maybe 2-3 days. But I just cant do that by reading off from computer screen. If I actually did so, I think by the time I finished the books my eyes would have been out on the keyboards already !!!!
But for the sake of having them "free".... yeaahh... -
At April 27, 2007 at 8:18 AM,
Sprite said...
-
Maya Angelou should be a good read! Good choice! I think books are like cars. When they're brand new they cost top dollar; as soon as they are taken off the shelf, their value goes down the drain. At least that seems to be the case with the bookstores. Not sure. Anyway, it sounds like you owe your friend lunch! :)
-
At May 5, 2007 at 3:02 PM,
Ian said...
-
i wonder if that shop not only sells old books, but buys old books :P
-
At May 7, 2007 at 6:46 PM,
said...
-
Yes, they do buy used books. Just bring them in for a price quote.
