Book Fever
Photo credit to jasonlove.comBut them book sold in Malaysia is effing expensive....
The more interesting the titles by renowned author, the more expensive the book is....
Between RM 50 - RM150 for paperbacks!! and it cost lots more for hard covers
When i was travelling, i almost always go to bookstores.... at the airports, malls and such.. looking for interesting titles to read during my flight or lounging by the beach.....
and most of the new books i found are relatively inexpensive... just don't convert it in our currency.... if the value is one to one.. it is considerably inexpensive to buy the books overseas....
Why does books especially of international titles are soo expensive in Malaysia??.... and Sometimes, i found that books by Malaysian authors are also as expensive as foreign ones.... albeit not as much titles and quality...
It baffles me .... less of a mystery somewhat...
And the government is trying to increase our level of knowledge by promoting reading.. but the materials are damn expensive.... no wonder the programme never works and Malaysian are still reading an average of two books per year.. at their best!!
Totally defeats the purpose.... ?? sigh....
Hence, in order to satisfy my hunger pangs for reading materials, im always on the lookout for secondhand bookstores and bookfairs...
I remember when i was young, my parents always took us to Penang Street at Georgetown during weekends... We took the "becha" from the ferry jetty...
Among the nooks and crannies of pre-war shophouses, there's treasures of old second hand, books to be found at fraction of the price..... Great titles of all genres interweave with 50's comics and ancient magazines..... No system.. just dig in and you'll find treasure trove of books..... sadly, most of the bookstores have long gone with the wind.......
My late father was a book addict.... he'll be at his chair reading his favourite wartime books all day.... When i was young, in order to make us stop harrasing him with our tantrums, he will give us comics strip from the newspaper for us to read.... Our family weekend mornings will be spent reading... My mom is more into home decorating, cook books and occasional Danielle Steel's... :)
I blame both my parents on this book fever bout that have infected me...hehehe
Hence, I can only wish for :
The more interesting the titles by renowned author, the more expensive the book is....
Between RM 50 - RM150 for paperbacks!! and it cost lots more for hard covers
When i was travelling, i almost always go to bookstores.... at the airports, malls and such.. looking for interesting titles to read during my flight or lounging by the beach.....
and most of the new books i found are relatively inexpensive... just don't convert it in our currency.... if the value is one to one.. it is considerably inexpensive to buy the books overseas....
Why does books especially of international titles are soo expensive in Malaysia??.... and Sometimes, i found that books by Malaysian authors are also as expensive as foreign ones.... albeit not as much titles and quality...
It baffles me .... less of a mystery somewhat...
And the government is trying to increase our level of knowledge by promoting reading.. but the materials are damn expensive.... no wonder the programme never works and Malaysian are still reading an average of two books per year.. at their best!!
Totally defeats the purpose.... ?? sigh....
Hence, in order to satisfy my hunger pangs for reading materials, im always on the lookout for secondhand bookstores and bookfairs...
I remember when i was young, my parents always took us to Penang Street at Georgetown during weekends... We took the "becha" from the ferry jetty...
Among the nooks and crannies of pre-war shophouses, there's treasures of old second hand, books to be found at fraction of the price..... Great titles of all genres interweave with 50's comics and ancient magazines..... No system.. just dig in and you'll find treasure trove of books..... sadly, most of the bookstores have long gone with the wind.......
My late father was a book addict.... he'll be at his chair reading his favourite wartime books all day.... When i was young, in order to make us stop harrasing him with our tantrums, he will give us comics strip from the newspaper for us to read.... Our family weekend mornings will be spent reading... My mom is more into home decorating, cook books and occasional Danielle Steel's... :)
I blame both my parents on this book fever bout that have infected me...hehehe
Hence, I can only wish for :
- The government will lower the tax on imported books making it more cheaper for us to buy good foreign titles.
- Local writer will produce more quality writings at par with foreign ones, any language that is... I beleive we have not had any Nobel Priced winner of any sort yet aite ??
- Have more bookfairs per year and establish good secondhand bookstores.
- Promote the culture of book readings and book clubs..
I hope that this wishes will come true during my lifetime.....
~Amin~
P.S~ am currently reading "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell... halfway thru.. :P
Happy reading people!!
posted by Deen at
11:43 PM
2 Comments
