Free Music and Cheap Books In Xcess!

Today is Music Freedom Day! And in conjunction with the celebration, Bookxcess is having a Music Appreciation Night tomorrow (Firday) and Saturday, night in conjunction with ongoing their Music Freedom Day promotion:



This event is organized to appreciate some free performances by Malaysian musicians including Azmyl Yunor,

Here are the details:

Date: 4th-5th March 2011 Time: 8pm-9pm
Venue: Bookxcess, 3rd Floor, Amcorp Mall
Admission is free!

RSVP At the Facebook event page, and non-members will get a FREE BookXcess membership and one FREE book thong when they attend the event.

Even if you don't show up for the shows, at least go check out the promotion, which has the AWESOME Rolling Stone Cover-To-Cover box set going for 30% discount from its alrady discounted and cheap price:



Usual price is RM99.90, but for the promo, it's gonna be about RM63 only! Dammit, I should have waited....

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Oh, and at the same time, they're also having a promo for International Women's Day, with discounts for selected women-themed books:




And no, guys, I don't think back-issues of FHM or Maxim count...

Come Read Readings From Readings!

Hey everyone! If you have time next Friday, go drop by at the launch of READINGS, the new book by Sharon Bakar and Benard Chauly's Readings.

I'm just gonna cut and paste Sharon's blog post on the event. She has everything there anyway:

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The evening includes readings from the book; music from Dewangga Sakti, The Buntut Pulau Moonshiners and others; and local publishers’ book mart

Date : Friday, 25th February 2011
Place: Black Box, MAP@Publika, Level G2-01, Block A5, 1 Jalan Dutamas 1, Off Jalan Duta,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Time: 8.30pm – 12.00 am
Dress code: Smart Casual

Part of the proceeds from book sales in aid of Yayasan Orang Kurang Upaya Kelantan. Admission free, but donations welcome.

Contact sharonbakar@yahoo.com 017 2644956 for further information

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Here's the invite with all the details:

Borders on The Borderline

It was bound to happen sooner or later, I suppose:



BORDERS FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY

Now, before you start picketing outside The Curve and Times Square demanding that the stores stay open, bear in mind that this is probably only in the US. Not sure how it would affect its international stores, but considering the franchise is owned by another company here, I think the shops should still be opened here.

Doesn't make much of a difference to me though, I hardly go to Borders. In fact, have you SEEN the Borders in Times Square lately? They seemed to have misplaced it. No, really, I literally could not find the store the last time I went.

Apparently, after all that hoo-haa about being the BIGGEST BOOKSTORE IN THE WORLD 6 years ago, they've finally ripped it all out and relocated to a tiny little place on the lower ground floor of the complex. I guess they finally that the clientele at that termite warren of a shopping mall just ain't the reading sort, eh?

The one in The Curve seems to be going strong though (not sure about the Gardens one - it always seems so empty whenever I go there).

But yeah, I'm not exactly mourning the demise of Borders. Besides, I still prefer Kinokuniya anyway. The selection is still way better, everything is nicely arranged, and current, and they have a kickass comics/graphic novel section that no other bookstore can match. I've even come to prefer the Kinokuniya in Singapore over the Borders there (which seems to have lost its charm somehow).

The other bookstore I frequent more these days is Bookxcess, of course. New books at cheap prices? AWESOME. Plus they are only about 4-5 months behind the usual bookstores anyway. Considering how few books I've been reading lately (something I REALLY need to rectify this year), I would rather not pay a full RM100 for a hardcover when I can just wait a while longer for it to hit Bookxcess instead. Plus their Big Bad Wolf Warehouse Sales are just AWESOME.

It WOULD be nice to have a lot more bookstores around, of course, and the demise of Borders IS quite sad. It WOULD be sad if they closed down the Malaysian stores as well. But seriously though, I DO wish they would buck up on they selection of titles, and/or layout, because as far as I'm concerned, even after six years and several new stores later, Borders here still has room for A LOT of improvement.

The Big Bad Wolf is Back. Quick, Hide Your Wallets!

Ok, something other than beer and alcohol this time... but equally money-sapping.

The Big Bad Wolf Book Warehouse Sale is BAAACK!





Oh dear. Talk about bad timing. Just when every sen I have has to go into funding my personal biggest event of the year (and my life, actually hehe).

Luckily, it's in South City Plaza this time, so I won't be tempted to 'just pop in' liek the LAST one in Amcorp Mall...

Anyway, if you want to know exactly how money-sapping this sale really is, check out my past posts about it HERE.

Books And Beer Weekend! From Friday To a Thirsty Sunday!

Everyone's favorite bookstore Bookxcess turns three today! WHEEE!

*fireworks*
*confetti*
*Mexican wave*
*Double rainbows*

And to commemorate this great occasion, they're having some great promotions today till Sunday! YAY CHEAP BOOKS!

Check out the flyer below for more info!



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On a completely different note, beer blog BEERBEER.ORG is holding their inaugural THIRSTY SUNDAY this weekend.

For RM35 per person, you get to to taste about 50 different types of beer (if you like it you can buy more after that free taste); and a buffet lunch to boot.

The event's happening at BAKITA on Jalan Berangan (near Changkat Bkt Bintang I think); and it's on from 12pm to 5pm!

Here's the flyer for the thing:

The Day Books Take Over The World!

In two days time, there will be a reckoning.

On the stroke of midnight, on 23 April, books all over the world will rise up as one, and TAKE OVER THE WORLD. And major fantasy book series will take their thrones as Supreme Rulers of the world's superpowers.

In Australia, there was no challenger to Garth Nix's Abhorsen Trilogy. It's a book about NECROMANCERS, fer gawds sake. Who can beat THAT?

Meanwhile, The Journey To The West lays claim to China and Asia, beating out pretenders like The Romance Of the Three Kingdoms and The Red Chamber by virtue of having an awesome MONKEY KING in its story.

In Europe, a dispute broke out between His Dark Materials, The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter for the throne. In the end however, there would be only one book to rule them all - The Lord of The Rings.

And America? Well, Twilight can have America. It's a silly place anyway.

So that's World Book Day for you. If only reality were as cool as that. Sigh...

So, for the rest of us mundane humans, we'll have to be content with celebrating World Book Day by either reading a book, or buying some books.

If you're doing the latter, you could do worse than heading over to Bookxcess, where they're having a promotion from 23-25 April, giving 20% discounts ON TOP of their already cheap prices on 100 selected titles. Click to enlarge the image below to find out more:



Meanwhile, Kinokuniya is also having some sort of World Book Day thingy, where they've partnered with UNICEF to provide a bin where people can donate their books for charity.

On top of that, they're celebrating their NINE YEAR anniversary. For every RM30 purchase, you'll get a stamp on a card, and when you complete nine stamps, you get a RM30 rebate on your next book. It's not THAT GREAT a deal, but hey, better than nothing huh?

Now Showing: The All-New All-Awesome BookXcess!

WELCOME TO A NEW BOOKSTORE ORDER IN MALAYSIA!

The new BookXcess store in Amcorp Mall is now OPEN, and boy is it awesome. Not only is it FOUR TIMES BIGGER than the last store (the last one was 3000 square feet, while this one is a whopping 120000 square feet. Heck, it's even bigger than the Popular bookstore downstairs...); but because it's bigger now, it's easier for them to get more books with a greater variety in now.

What this means is that the selection of books now is MUCH MUCH better than it ever was. The selection is also slightly more up-to-date (many of the books are still being sold in conventional bookstores for FULL PRICE), and there is a whole lot more variety as well.



Here's what I got:

• The Complete Peanuts Collection (1950-52): RM24.90
• The Complete Peanuts Collection (1953-54): RM24.90
• The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish (Gaiman): RM17.90
• Crazy Hair (Gaiman/McKean): RM17.90
• Dangerous Alphabet (Gaiman): RM17.90
• Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman: RM24.90
• Tintin In The Land Of The Soviets: RM19.90
  

Speaking of Tintin, they also have the COMPLETE Tintin collection (in smaller, hardcovers) for RM199 (normal price is RM500+):



There's also loads of Tolkien, Terry Pratchett hardcovers going for RM24.90, the latest Robin Hobb (The Dragon Keepers, which I bought for FULL PRICE last year. Grrrr), and an awesome Moby Dick pop-up book for RM30 (look out for it, it's pretty damn awesome!)

Not much in the way of graphic novels, though I did hint to JAc and Andrew that they need to get more in... they said they'll look into it. heh heh. I did see some Will Eisner, Tintin, the graphic novel versions of Pratchett's Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, and Gaiman's Coraline, and a few others.

There are also loads of paperback fiction, including this pile of Dang Brown paperbacks going for RM9.90:



The children and young adults section is very good as well. Among the best deals there are the complete Narnia series, Artemis Fowl, Darren Shan, and best of all, the COMPLETE Abhorsen trilogy omnibus by Garth Nix going for... RM19.90!



They've also moved the Reissued Magazines store on the 2nd floor into the new lot (though the one on the lower ground floor will still be there).

Oh BTW, in addition to the video contest I posted yesterday, they're also having another contest where all you have to do is take a picture of yourself in the store, and you'll get one of two free books!

So what are you waiting for? Go get some cheap books now! And don't EVER complain that you don't buy books or read them because they're too expensive anymore!

Booking Books At The ALL-NEW BookXcess, Opening Tomorrow!

It seems like only yesterday that a tiny little bookstore called BookXcess opened up on the second level of Amcorp Mall, next to a used magazine shop they owned. The book was a heaven for book lovers - it had NEW books for second-hand prices, and unlike many used bookstores, many of the titles were fairly recent.

A few months after that, BookXcess expanded to a corner lot on the third floor, and finally looked like a REAL bookstore. And now, business has apparently been so good that they are expanding AGAIN - to the CINEMA LOT next door that recently housed the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale (also run by BookXcess, BTW). It's a far cry from that tiny little bookstore they started out with, that's for sure...

So who said Malaysians don't buy books, huh? (Though it could probably just be me and Sharon Bakar sustaining their business all this time... heh)



The grand opening of the shop is TOMORROW, and they're already tempting me with a whole lot of awesome fiction books on their blog.

Among the books I'm planning to get are Folklore of Discworld: RM19.90 (Original price: RM49.90) and Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman: RM24.90 (original price RM112.90), and anything else I can get my grubby hands on (you can see their list HERE and HERE. They've even got the Dang Brown books going for RM9.90 only, for you folks who are into that sort of thing...)

Oh, and they're also having a contest where you have to video yourself reading their 'Ode To Cheap Books (For All)', and the best videos will win RM50-RM150 book vouchers (which at BookXcess means AT LEAST 5-6 books).

So yeah, hop on by to BookXcess tomorrow to check out the NEW STORE! And hands off the Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchetts please. They're MINE! ALL MINE!!!!

The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale Will Huff And Puff And Blow Your Budget Away...

UPDATE, 26/11/2009: In case you're wondering how the sale is like, I've got a 'review' of the sale up HERE.

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Book addicts beware. The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is coming back, so you better lock up your wallets and purses in houses of bricks (not straw or wood), or it will huff and puff and blow your budget away.

No, this is not good news at all, especially book addicts like me who can't resist cheap books. Remember the last time I went to the Big Bad Wolf Sale? Well, go HERE and HERE to refresh your memory.

Anyway, here are the details, from their Facebook invite:

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The Big Bad Book Sale is back! It will be TWICE as big as before, with over 200,000 books and magazines coming in just for the sale. Best of all, the prices are 70% to 90% off the recommended retail prices!

Start Time: 26-11-2009, 10am
End Time: 02-12-2009, 9pm

Location:
Level 3 (former cinema lot opposite McDonald's), Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

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This is not good. Not good at all. Yer gods, and I was so proud of my self-restraint during the Penguin book sale....

Happy 2nd Birthday To The Best Cheap Books Store in KL!

I got this in my email recently, and I was surprised.

Has it been two years since Bookxcess was born? I remember going there when it just opened, in a tiny shoplot next to their Reissued magazine store in Amcorp Mall. It was hard to believe how cheap the books were going for, And they were ALL NEW. I eventually wound up going there more often than Payless (which I used to frequent A LOT as well).

I even blogged about it once (back when this was a much more dedicated BOOK blog) and the owner Jacqueline actually emailed me personally (she's nice, BTW).

They must have been doing well, because by and by, they eventually moved the shop to the third floor, a corner lot which was HUGE when compared to the previous store. And they got even MORE books!

I've bought fantasy novels, hardcovers, children's books, recipes books, and even Edward Monkton books there for AT LEAST 50-60 percent less then normal bookstores (some were even much cheaper). These days, I've caught myself thinking, "Sould I wait till Bookxcess gets it for cheap later?" when I'm considering buying a new book in a normal bookstore (Sorry, Kinokuniya, I still love you though).

Anyway, besides the main bokstore, Bookxcess also has the Reissued magazine stores in Amcorp (CHEAP imported magazines!), and recently started the Big Bad Wolf sale which was one of THE best book warehouse sales EVER.

Don't believe how good Bookxcess can be? Well, go check out their website, because it lists all the latest books they get, and also whatever offers they have as well. Alternatively, go sign up as a Facebook fan, or subscribe to their blog.

Of course, the best way is still to actually GO to the shop and see for yourself. It's on level 3, Amcorp Mall.

And if you go this Saturday and Sunday, they'll be celebrating their 2nd anniversary.

So, if you purchase above RM200 nett, you get a voucher worth RM20. There's also a “Buy 2, Get 1 Free” selection of books and also the 20 selected titles for RM2 each only. AND there's a new shipment is due to arrive this weekend as well! ARGGGH!

Happy 2nd Birthday Bookxcess!

It was BIG, it was BAD, and it Wolfed down all my money

Went to the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale yesterday around 2pm, and it's pretty damn good. The crowd wasn't so big when I went, though apparently it was 'madness' in the morning, according to Jaqueline (of Bookxcess fame, also behind Big Bad Wolf Books).

Lots of good stuff around - His Dark Materials books for only RM10-15 (forgot to check the prices), fiction and non-fiction novels for RM8 only (MOST of the books were RM8), cookbooks for RM3-5, Magazines for RM3.

Lots of fantasy stuff, though a lot of it were Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance stuff. Saw lots of Wheel of Times too. Lots of Archers, Grishams, Ludlums, and so on around too. Apparently the kids section was good too, but by the time I got there most of it was gone. They MIGHT have more today and in the weekend though. Lots of unopened boxes around...

What did I get? Well, I bought a total of SEVENTEEN books, for a grand total of.... RM117. That's just crazy. I've never gotten so many books for so little money EVER.

I got some good cookbooks (!), a Guide to Drizzt (which I nearly bought from Kino a few months back for RM75...), some Garth Nix Seventh Tower books (RM5 each!), and lots of RM8 novels by Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men, Alice Sebold's Almost Noon, Haruki Murakami etc etc.

Now... excuse me while I go see what else I can find today... :-p

Bad Book Blogger. BAAAAD Book Blogger.

I've been rather slow on the uptake when it comes to books lately. Haven't finisheda book in AGES, and haven't even bought a single book in almost 4 months (oh wait, do cookbooks and home improvement books count? You know you're getting to domesticated when you start hanging out in the cookbook and DIY section...).

HEck, I even missed the MPH Warehouse Sale recently, and god knows I love THOSE.

Oh well, at least there's something to look forward to this week. The people behind Booksxcess have come up with the Big Bad Wolf Books, which will be having it's inaugural book sale this week, from 14 (Thu) to 18 (Mon) May 2009.

According to their leaflet, all books will be between RM5 and RM20 only... Awesome....

Here're the details: