The Big Bad Wolf had howled summoning all members of his pack to join him. I heard his call. The call of the wild. Without hesitation, I heeded his cry and followed where it's calling from. Somewhere in the middle of the woods, all members of his pack converged. The biggest gathering ever. And as we met, our hearts rejoiced for what we found could be the best kill we can ever have.
YES!!! The BIG BAD WOLF is in town! And it's bringing excitement to all bibliophiles like me. Wait, bibliophiles? Yep, you read that right; as in people who have great love for books, also known as bookworms.
I'm talking about the world's biggest book sale ever. It's visiting the Queen City of the South to bring the best books at the lowest price. Can you believe that? You have a wide variety to choose from with over 2 million books sold at 60-80% discounts. This is so awesome!
To give you a little background of the Big Bad Wolf's story, it started as a warehouse sale in Malaysia in 2009 offering various genres of books. It only had 120,000 books on its first sale but was met with a fantastic response from the massive crowds that it had drawn. Eventually, it grew bigger with an ever growing collection of books too. Apart from Malaysia, it had been to Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka already. Now it's visiting the Philippines for the second time, the first one being held in the World Trade Center in Manila last February. It's goal is to promote a reading culture that will create, inspire and empower every young reader. Also, Big Bad Wolf had partnered with Gawad Kalinga so part of its proceeds will go to the programs of GK.
I didn't want to miss my chance to get my own "kill". As much as I love to read, buying books can be really expensive. A regular softbound novel is priced at around Php 500-700. Hence, I only get to enjoy the leisure of reading through ebooks. Sometimes, I just borrow from my friends who can afford to buy printed copies. So my heart was overjoyed upon hearing the news a few months ago that it's coming to Cebu. Afterall, it's not everyday that I get a chance to buy the books I want to keep for myself at a very low price.
Earlier today, I joined the pack and went book hunting. Armed with my cravings and hunger to devour the books I've been wanting to read, I head straight to IEC Convention Center where the book fair is happening together with my friend who shares the same love for books as me. It is located in Mabolo, Cebu City.
Before we enter the hall, we were reminded of a very strict rule that they are implementing.
NO FOOD AND DRINKS ALLOWED!
Upon getting inside, a lot of bibliophiles around the city were already there to grab the books of their choices. And there were lots and lots and lots of books! Like seriously! I was so overwhelmed to see all of these books that at first I didn't know where to start. Of course, we wouldn't want to miss anything so we check out all the sections to which the books were divided.
You will find the non-fiction, business and economics and history books near the entrance. And farther into the room were the fiction, literature, comics, children's books, among others.
My heart melted upon seeing these books about the ever classic Rolling Stones.
And also books about these other legends in the music industry!
There were really a lot of genre to choose from. From romance, to crime, horror, mystery, sci-fi, classics and a lot more. I wasn't able to take lots of photos of the books that were there as I was already very busy hunting for my favorite authors. Browsing from one section to the other and deciding which one to choose was really hard when you want to take everything. Even if the books were really cheap, I can't really buy all those I like because I also limit my budget to a certain amount only. I should still practice wise spending so I had to choose my books wisely. Most of the softbound books cost Php 190 only while the hardbound books were at Php 230.
A moment of shameless selfie lol
I had a difficult time finding my favorite authors. It took us about 2 hours to roam around and hunt. As it turns out, most of the books I wanted to buy were already sold out huhu. So I decided to just stick with the classics because who could go wrong with classics, right?
I was able to buy 1 set of classic books which include The Little Prince, The Wizard of Oz, Frankenstein, The Prince and the Pauper and The Second Jungle Book and also the classic romance by Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility.
So how much was the deal I got? After I did my complicated mathematical computation complete with calculus equation lol, my book haul costed 67% off the real price of the books I bought. I only paid Php 580 for everything. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that exciting? Today's just one of the best days for a bibliophile like me.
The advocacy of this book fair is really awesome and commendable. I hope it can get more support so it could visit more cities as well to inspire more young readers and promote the reading culture.
For those who are in Cebu who haven't visited the fair, don't miss your chance to grab your favorite books at a lower price. The Wolf is here until the 23rd of July. Remember, it's open 24 hours so you can visit any time at your convenience. And for those who are planning to visit Cebu in the next few days, don't forget to drop by and check out the Wolf. Contrary to what Little Red Riding Hood told us that it's mean and it's gonna eat you whole, it's actually friendly and welcoming.
Enjoy book hunting!!!