In search of the P99 books

It's September and it's bargain book sale season in the Philippines with the month-long National Book Store cut-price sale which has been going on for as long as I remember being a bookworm.

Since the start of the sale, I have been to 10 or is that 11 or 12 branches so far: Katipunan Avenue, Trinoma, Quezon Boulevard, Mall of Asia, Avenida, Shang Mall, Podium, Megamall, Greenhills, Eastwood, Greenbelt, Galleria, in the last two or so weeks. And I topped this off by stopping at the Bestsellers store in Galleria after my NBS Galleria raid.  It's been a bookstore a day or even 2 a day, after work or as a weekend treat.  Great way to keep your mind off the things that you don't want to dwell on, like the looming book deadline and other even bigger things.

What is all the frenzy about... well for bookworms, the scent of a sale is enough to get us going. Books at discounted and even low low prices- that is heaven!  I must confess I do like brand new books, the ones that smell freshly minted and so crisp and clean. And I am very partial to hard covers and big books, that's why the library

 cum house I live in is full.

But after this dizzying dive into bargain sales I have discovered that I can get more for my money and still have the same hard cover stash, but in greater numbers.

So back to the narrative of what I did in every NBS branch I visited.  I started by just sorting through, thinking I would find a good read or two. But when I dug into the P99 bin in the NBS Katipunan branch I was hooked. I think I took home 3 bags of books, my excuse was that it was mostly for adding  to my BOOKMOOCH inventory, mostly hard covers that were selling at 99 pesos each. Hardcovers go for at least P1,000+ [$21-$23] when they get to the Philippines!!! And here I  was all these years paying full price for books that would get to the P99 bin in a year or even less.

So that first night that I got home I sorted through the books, such a pleasure to open the plastic bags and go through the books one at a time. [I miss my bookstore owner days, especially when the books I ordered arrived.  It was my special activity, only I could open the boxes.  And sort and tag and mark and wrap :-) Those were the days when I had Libreria.] 

After sorting, I realized I didn't have many of the titles [fiction mostly]  in my library so I decided to go back and start visiting other branches.  On my visit to a third or fourth branch, I encountered a fellow bookmoocher, JoelG, who pointed the way to the p99 bin and spent time talking about our purchases. He also told  me about some other titles he had found in other branches. The rest of the bookmooching Filipino addicts shared their own finds online on our Shelfari and Ning discussion groups, and that further fueled the fire.

Among the many treasures I found were The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad, Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, What is the What by Dave Eggers, Divisadero by Michael Ondatje, The Thirteenth Tale, Three Cups of Tea, The Abstinence Teacher, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, Alexander McCall Smith's The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and other titles, Suite Francaise, and even a Raymond Feist title.  At bargain, bargain, bargain prices... in hard cover or at least trade paperback, in great condition.

But finding them wasn't that easy. I sorted, I dug, I kneeled, I dug, I re-arranged and I dug, I table-hopped and I dug, and I went round and back, and I dug again. I kid you not, yesterday in the Greenhills branch I practically fixed the display tables while I was digging. Guess my bookstore owner caring for books will never go away, pity the books all piled and bothered...

The saga is about to end, as the sale reaches its end-stage. While there are 11 more days before the sale ends, most of the branches have little to show and to sell anymore. The last two days were disappointing, like waiting for Christmas and waking to find you skipped a day or a season. For those who want to catch the tail-end, try the Bestsellers store at the top level of Galleria or the Katipunan Avenue branch, they still have a whole table full of P99 books. Sadly, the other branches that I have been to have less than a tabletop to offer... and the good titles are all gone.

But the good news is that the bargain gets better, 20% off on the P99 books in Katipunan Avenue. Good enough reason to try and catch the P99 books while you still can...

I am sure the best friend will have a chuckle and a frown and a word or two to say... I hear you already.

Organizing the books...

Over the last few days, I have been able to take my cousins' donated books out of 2 medium-sized cartons and transferred them to plastic boxes. Still reluctant to mix them with my own books as these are for the library I still dream of opening up in the next year or so.  

I have reclaimed the living room reading room area on the first floor.  It looks like a house again, not a stockroom for books.  But there are still piles and piles of books around.

The dogs are actually waiting to run around the house again. But not just yet.  Still have one or two piles of books that they could play around with and that would not be good for them or for the books.

P.S. I indulged myself last Monday and got a new phone. Not yet  the dream phone but close enough.  I am trying out the Samsung i780, my excuse was I wanted a phone that could help me blog even while I was mobile.

So far so good.  It is light, easy to use, and the touchscreen function does not take over the ease of use of the unit, unlike the iPhone that I tried out and gave up on after a week.  Comes with age? Maybe so. But my daughter gave up on her iPhone too, or the iPhone gave up on her. She is now using a Nokia E71.  I must say that is a good-looking phone. And it has a keyboard too.  So far, she says it is working fine.

P.P.S. Had dinner at Friday's in SM Mall of Asia last Friday, wanted to indulge during the 888 hullabaloo.  The greeting was typically Friday's, boisterous, welcoming, big and loud.  Arah, our server, was up to the challenge of 3 nitpicky customers.  Unfortunately, the food was not up to our expectations.

We tried two new dishes, Dragon-something chicken and a Tortilla-crusted fish [yes, the names were forgettable because the taste was blah].  We had to ask Arah to just wrap them up, even before we got half-way through it. Their Friday's Shrimp was the saving grace, the fries were yummy, I had too much!!!  

Too bad the dishes we tried fell short of the photos and the sell and the gung-ho attitude of their staff. While I appreciate the service, the food leaves much to be desired.

I should remember to take photos next time.  The next adventure is on Monday, at Fely J's in Greenbelt 5.  Will definitely take photos.

Growing up and growing with books

This is one shelf in my hallway bookcase, one in a 6-row, 4-column floor-to-ceiling bookcase.  It is full, and there are more books waiting to find their place in this bookcase or any of the others in the living/reading room, the den, the guest room or my bedroom. 

I thought my problem of not enough shelf space was an uncommon one, a reflection of what some have called my addiction or a creeping malady... lo and behold, I am not alone.

Found these articles that echo how I feel about books and why I keep so many around me.. One in the L.A. Times written by Carol Mithers, puts together the whys and hows of several bookworms' collections.  Another one called My Father's Secret Bookcase tells of growing up in a book-loving family living in a bookswamped home.

Brings back my childhood days when the bookshelves ran from one end of the living room to the other, given that there were actually two living rooms in that Fordham St, White Plains house. 

I discovered Pogo which lay at the bottom of the left-most shelf, nearest the corridor that led to the bedrooms.  Since I preferred my company to playing with my rambunctious cousins, I progressed from Pogo to a book about a travelling bookshop to Inside Africa, which was at the topmost shelf on the right-most case in the other side of the living room.  

Four decades after, I find out from google that Inside Africa was published in 1955 and is now one of the rare books. I found a cover photo and it is just as I remembered.  

Been on a book binge ever since my shelf-climbing days. And climb I did, since one had to literally go up those shelfs to access the books.  No folding ladders in the 70s yet, and since I would usually sneak out to the books during naptime, there was no one around to help me get those books.  I think climbing those shelves using hand and foot, was the most strenuous physical activity I ever had.  I would and I did climb anything to get to the books.

From rummaging through the eclectic library of my mother, gathered during her days in New York, both as a graduate student and an employee at the Philippine Consulate at the ripe age of 9 or 10, I started reading more books for my age group, and devoured Nancy Drew, the Bobbsey Twins and the Hardy Boys.  

Then in the 6th grade, somebody gave me 

a slim paperback written by Anne Mather and my Mills & Boon phase began. Romance after romance after romance became my constant companion.  From there I moved on to Sidney Sheldon, Valley of the Dolls and even The Harrad Experiment.  

One summer, I was introduced to Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull.  I was touched by the quest and the insights of JLS. Perhaps because I too was searching for myself then.

Why do I remember these titles and authors from thirty years ago?  Because they were my friends and my confidantes and my companions in the journey through teenhood and high school and college...

In college, I discovered J.R.R. Tolkien. Or I was jolted into realizing I had not read The Lord of the Rings, an unforgiveable, unimaginable oversight which was pointed out by no less than our USC Chairman Lean Alejandro at that time. I bowed my head in shame and asked a fellow journalism classmate about Tolkien.  Same violent, incredulous reaction:  YOU HAVE NOT READ LORD OF THE RINGS?  I got  a dog-eared copy the next day from my classmate, and did not put the book down until I finished it 48 hour after. I never much  liked fantasy before that, aside from the Snow White and Cinderella fairy tales.  But that book swept me off my feet, it was grand, it was human, it was provocative.  You can imagine my delight when the films were finally made. Before the Peter Jackson opus, there was only half-a-tale on film, animated at that. My fascination with fantasy continues to this day, with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time as the most enjoyable series after The Lord of the Rings.

Somewhere after Tolkien, I met Ayn Rand and her Objectivist Philosophy. I loved the way she wove her characters, especially in We, the Living and Atlas Shrugged. In my 20s, reading her was like continuing my protest actions in college.  A totally different view of being and living in those days.  I read most of her novels, and started collecting her books.  Even had a hard-bound copy of Atlas Shrugged which someone borrowed and never returned. I think it was at that point that I decided I would be more selfish about my books, especially the hard-cover expensive ones that I like to collect. 

Even during my college days, I continued to raid my mom's shelves. She had progressed to T. Lobsang Rampa, Edgar Cayce and Kahlil Gibran. I read them and loved Kahlil Gibran the most.  

Over and over again, through the years, I would meet so many authors and plunge into new worlds and exciting lives. Up to my early 30s, reading was my foremost activity outside of work.  Like I kept saying then, give me a good book over a boring date anytime. And I had proven myself right once or twice, the once or twice that I agreed to go out on a blind date.  Enough said. Yes, I was a bookworm then, I am still a bookworm now, I will always be a bookworm...

The list goes on... Louisa May Alcott, Antoine de St Exupery, Anton Chekhov, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn's A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Dante, D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterly's Lover, John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman, Leon Uris, Robert Ludlum, Dan Brown, The Last Cato, Labyrinth, Janet Dailey, Barbara Cartland, Andrew Greeley, John Twelve Hawks...

The reading never stops, the hoarding goes on, the dilemma about where to put the books stays the same, day in and day out.  Growing up and growing...now that one my bestfriend would have a lot to say about.  What a life in books I have. Thank God.

New mooches

Came home from the post office today with a stash of 10 packages from bookmoochers around the world. Let me share the treasures that came in the mail today.  

It's like Christmas at the stroke of midnight when you gather round the Christmas tree to open your presents.  And since I know that my presents are all books this time, I am even more excited.  Each package is wrapped so well, with the book enclosed in newspaper, plastic, bubble wrap and enough tape to criss-cross the world several times over.

Hearsay: Strange Tales from the Middle Kingdom, by Barbara Ann Porte. Mooched from Autumn Frymark in Waco, Texas, USA.  Hardcover with dust jacket. 

Have Your Cake and Eat It Too. Illustrated by Mary Engelbreit.  I collect all things Mary Engelbreit and bookmooch is helping me grow my collection.  Mooched from Carrie Ansell in Washington, D.C., USA.  A heartwarming gift book.

Voyage to Atlantis, by James W Mavor. Another topic of much interest to me.  Mooched from Delia in Australia.  

Since I have started blogging, there is more excitement with the arrival of the mooches because now I get to share what I have received online. And even though I have one sure reader for every blog entry I make [that's what best friends are for, among other things], I hope that people who find their way here will get into the mooching habit too.

Back to the mooch loot.  The next package has two books from Sorchah in Illinois, USA.  It's In the Bag: The Complete Guide to Lightweight Travel, by Barbara DesChamps. Yes, I do need to learn how not to bring my entire closet when travelling around Europe.  And Au Revoir Parisienne, by Elmer Williams. I do love Paris, wish I could live there even for just a little while.

The next two hardcover books came from Laurie B in Peabody, MA, USA.  Anne Geddes' Until Now.  I love her innovation in capturing the wonders of children.  King Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, part of the Great Illustrated Classic series.

It's A Girl Thing, by Jan King from SpongeBob Fishpants in Seattle, WA, USA.  Heard the line "It's a guy thing" a year ago, and when I saw  this title I just had to find out what it meant for us girls. This book was one of the 5 packages in a flat rate mailing envelope.  The nice thing about this form of packaging is that some Bookmooch members let you fill up this envelope so you can mooch more than one or two, sometimes even up to four books and they send in one envelope.  

Eight books so far and four more packages to open, in between text messages and phone calls. My best friend will have a comment in the morning after reading this post. Definitely a comment.

Another package of two books from Suzi in California, USA. The Da Vinci Legacy by Lewis Perdue, a paperback. I enjoy the mix of mystery and history. Many of these types that do entertain and inform.

The Treasure of Montsegur by Sophy Burnham, another papaerback.  Both of these books come with a yellow Bookcrossing sticker, check the link to find out how a book can cross the world just by being left on a bench or a cafe.

Four books from Alina in MI, USA. Mikhail S. Gorbachev An Intimate Biography, by the Editors of Time Magazine.  Burnt Toast and Other Philosophies of Life by Teri Hatcher.  Goldie A Lotus Grows in the Mud, by Goldie Hawn with Wendy Holden. Three more titles to add to the biography shelf.  

And Quick & Easy Recipes ENTREES Food Writers' Favorites, edited by Barbara Gibbs Ostmann and Jane Barker.

The last envelope had two books too, from Kristina in Belton, MO, USA.  Two storybooks.  The Bremen Town Musicians and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, retold by Constance Hieatt.

Sixteen books to add to the library. Still haven't figured out how to make everything fit. Will try to move them books around again.  Even have a few more books to add to "my to be mooched inventory". 

The overflow is contained, until the next notice from the Post Office arrives.

Mooching for books, a treasure and a pleasure

Today I took another trip to indulge the book addiction and retrieved 11 packages from the Central Post Office in Quezon City, from the USA, Lithuania, New Zealand and Singapore.

Thanks to my weekly visits to retrieve packages, the kind lady who releases packages just let me take them home without the required opening to check on the contents. Well, my face is already a regular fixture for them so no hassle.

On the way to work, I proceeded to open each one, slowly so as not ruin any portion of the precious contents. The first one was from Lithuania, two slim tomes wrapped in plastic, both old books written by H.G. Wells. Mooched these from Dovile, a fellow booklover.

Then I opened the one from Singapore, a book about Atlantis, from George. The next one was an old paperback on Stonehenge from Michele in Texas. There was even a beautifully packed coffeetable book on Ancient American Treasures from Glenda in California.

All in all, a total of 16 books received through the Bookmooch network. I read about it from an article in the Manila Bulletin in March, more than four months ago. The concept was interesting: for those with books sitting on the shelves, here was a chance to find a new home for them. The concept appealed to me because although parting with any book is excruciating, the idea of giving the book to someone who wanted it and would take care of it allowed me to consider giving my books away. Especially since there was the prospect of receiving books in return.

So I signed up, ready to send out my books. First had to choose what to give away, believe me, that was not easy. Then listed it in the inventory, receiving 1/10th of a point. With each book I was adding, I was building up points. Enough to use to request for the books I had seen in the inventories of other Bookmooch members.

The point system gives you more points for sending internationally, and also takes away more points for mooching books from abroad. The main expense to a moocher is the cost of sending the book to the requesting party, and with postage also comes packaging. Then again, depending on how much of an obsessive-compulsive bookworm you are, the packaging pretty much varies.

The first book I received was Me & Mr Darcy, from Aspa in Greece, in less than a month since I signed up and mooched a book. The first book I sent out was to Nina in the United Kingdom, a book about getting hitched. She got this 18 days after she requested the book from me, quite fast as I sent it Priority Mail, not knowing there were less costly options for sending out the books.

Four months after, I have received 71 books, and am awaiting 72 more. On the giving side, I have sent out 83 books which have found their way to their new owners, with 48 books still in transit. My pending outbox for books tonight has 23 waiting to be mailed.

Every time I see a notice from the Post Office, my heart flutters from the excitement of adding another book to the bulging shelves. Every time I wrap the requested books in plastic and print out the mailing labels, I realize how small the world has become, what with strangers albeit fellow booklovers sharing their most precious of treasures.

I have been asked by my best friend if it is worth the drain on the budget, the price of mailing out a book starts at P48 and goes up depending on the weight and the destination. And I reply, of course, where else would I be able to find old books, rare titles and not pay too dearly to own them. And how else would I be able to add on to my pop-up books collection without going back to New York and its many many bookstores. [Lucky for me, the best friend likes books too, and indulges me while gently reminding me about bigger responsibilities and the long-term situation.]

Mooching through Bookmooch is a wonderful way to grow my library and meet new people who happen to share the same love for books. Even better, mooching through Bookmooch has meant finding treasures galore, not only in the books but also in the booklovers who make mooching such a pleasure.

Give it a try... but be ready to moderate the greed, and the addiction.



Swap books at BookMooch.com