Upon my return to the book scene, I stumbled upon a whole new trend in the book business: "Books by the Kilo." These are second-hand and bargain books, likely stock that didn’t sell, which stores pass on to second-hand sellers at a very low price. These sellers, in turn, sell the books by weight instead of per book. It's really an amazing business model.
One of these sellers, Nameless Books, held an anniversary sale on September 14, offering books at 200 pesos per kilo. They claimed to have two full containers of books for the event. I was excited, but the sale was in Filinvest, Alabang, which is a two-hour commute from where I live. I almost decided not to go, but a friend from the south offered to drive me home afterward, so I happily agreed!
When we arrived, it was a bit overwhelming. Most of the books seemed to be UK releases, and there were even some in Russian and German. I spotted a few titles by authors like Laurel K. Hamilton with UK covers. Though there were plenty of books to choose from, many were older titles. I didn’t see any recent releases, but I did find works by prominent authors like John Grisham, Terry Brooks (his Shannara series), Tom Clancy, the Fifty Shades series, Twilight, Marian Keyes, and Lauren Weisberger. There were also lots of classics, such as Grimm’s Fairy Tales and works by Oscar Wilde.
Besides fiction for adults and teens, there were reference books and children's books as well. Honestly, I was slightly disappointed, as I didn’t find the books I was hoping for. Then again, I wasn’t sure what exactly I expected. So, I browsed through the piles, checking out covers that looks interesting or authors I recognized. If a synopsis intrigued me, I added the book to my pile. I mostly picked books that caught my eye, without focusing too much on the author.
Of the five books I bought, I was only familiar with one author, Kelley Armstrong. I have a few of her older books, including her vampire series from the early 2000s (I’m not sure if it’s still ongoing). The book I picked up, Dime Store Magic, is about a witch, and it seemed interesting.
Another book that intrigued me was Alice, about a mental patient who suddenly exhibits symptoms of "Alice Syndrome" (like in Alice in Wonderland), with a murder mystery twist. I’ve always been drawn to dark fairy tales, so I couldn’t resist this one.
Kiss and Die is about a female serial killer who targets wealthy men that cheat on their wives. The premise was too interesting to pass up.
No Logo caught my attention, seeming to be set in a dystopian society.
Lastly, Relentless is about betrayal between close friends and a web of lies. It sounded fascinating.
There were plenty more books in my shopping bag initially, but I had to cut down on my budget, especially since there were toys available at the event, too. In addition to the 200 pesos per kilo book sale, there were toys being sold at 450 pesos per kilo as well.
Overall, I spent 1,130 pesos—320 pesos on books and 810 pesos on toys.
As soon as I saw a Jenga set, I grabbed it immediately. I’ve wanted one ever since I heard about it, but I never bought one because I always found it too expensive (over a thousand pesos for some wooden blocks!). Another favorite of mine was a crocodile figurine that doubles as a game—you lift its mouth and take turns pushing down teeth with your friends. If you push the wrong one, the mouth snaps shut.
The other four toys were more of an impulsive buy. I initially picked up a miniature shopping basket to store onions and garlic in the kitchen, but it ended up on my bedside table holding trinkets instead. I also bought some cat figurines and a gray rabbit, which I didn’t plan on purchasing but couldn’t bring myself to put back.
I really hope they hold a similar event up north next time so I don’t have to travel 2-3 hours again. I had a lot of fun sifting through all the books and toys, and I hope I have a bigger budget next time!
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