It is my first time to go to MIBF, and I must say it was (VERY) successful!
With the fear (yes fear) of books running out, I went on the first day that is Yesterday, September 17th right after my last class. Supposedly, my last class is until 10:45, but I think MIBF was made for me because we got a free cut for the last class! So my class ended at 9AM. (I only have two classes during MW)
Sadly I went alone, hence no pictures of me around the book fair. I do not take selfies simply because I am too shy for it. Yes I’m relatively shy. If I weren’t I should’ve started booktubing right now.
My first stop was National Book Store.
*Credits to NBSAlert @ Instagram
NBS was straight to the
point, at the entrance to MIBF. I spent at least 30-45 minutes at their booth
just wandering around. I honestly did not know what to buy since I don't think
they were on sale except for a few textbooks, and classics. Everything else was
pretty much regular priced. I ended up buying a total of 7 books! The booth was
big and all over the place. (I don't have pictures cause I'm a crappy
blogger, forgive me) From college textbooks, school supplies,
books, books, and BOOKS! The Penguin Dropcaps are so pretty but expensive. I was so sad that they were more than P800 ($18+). I was making a point to spend a lot but get more books so I ended up NOT buying a drop cap classic. But they're so pretty though! I wish I had one! If only it was on sale. Also the Grimm's Fairy Tale compilation. I wanted it so bad but it was more than a thousand pesos! So I disregarded it and I will probably save it up for later.
Despite wanting to buy cheaper books so I could buy a lot, I made sure to buy the Legend trilogy boxed set by Marie Lu because I heard she’s coming sometime this fall (Sept-Nov) in Manila, so I have that to look forward to! I read Legend in 2011 but I never got around to reading the next two books in the series anymore. So that's that. Most of the staff there were wearing The Young Elites shirt and I was kinda jittery, but then I saw it was to be released at October 6th so I was like ‘aww, I thought they’d have an early release.’ But of course, I’m kidding. I know they wont! Hahaha. I bet the staff was creeped out at me because I was just staring at her, waiting for her to move her ID aside so that I could see the release date. But she didn't. So I looked at another staff's shirt... now I can't wait to marathon them!
Despite wanting to buy cheaper books so I could buy a lot, I made sure to buy the Legend trilogy boxed set by Marie Lu because I heard she’s coming sometime this fall (Sept-Nov) in Manila, so I have that to look forward to! I read Legend in 2011 but I never got around to reading the next two books in the series anymore. So that's that. Most of the staff there were wearing The Young Elites shirt and I was kinda jittery, but then I saw it was to be released at October 6th so I was like ‘aww, I thought they’d have an early release.’ But of course, I’m kidding. I know they wont! Hahaha. I bet the staff was creeped out at me because I was just staring at her, waiting for her to move her ID aside so that I could see the release date. But she didn't. So I looked at another staff's shirt... now I can't wait to marathon them!
I’m pretty sure they have a
signing scheduled out for MIBF. And it’s Jennifer E. Smith (author of
Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight) and Lissa Price (author of
Starters) on the 21st with 200 slots, so be sure to check that one
out! I heard those books are good! (Not that I've already read it)
My next (and final) stop was Fullybooked.
Ooooooh
dear lawwd. As soon as I saw their booth and entered, I know I was in heaven. My
kind of heaven that is. Where you pay for the good things in life. Heh.
Aisle F is the location of their booth. Fullybooked will always, always be my
favorite bookstore. I've spent a good 1-2 hours in Fullybooked. Alone. In heaven.
Books. Oh. I regret not entering here first. Why? BECAUSE EVERYTHING /almost/ EVERYTHING IS 20% OFF. That's kind of a huge deal with Fullybooked
because their books are relatively expensive rather than the previously
mentioned bookstore. But along with the 20% discount, it's cheaper, cheaper than the other party.
Their booth is so huge and perfect! I
got a bit confused with the way things were there because the books were
ordered per publisher and not alphabetical/genre. It’s not like how I am used
to when going to my nearest Fullybooked branch. I guess it’s because it is
easier to track and help customers when looking for a book.
But in line with that, my only complaint
with their booth is that they mixed up publishers. I asked for "Code Name
Verity" by Elizabeth Wein (been
dying to read this) and I couldn’t find it anywhere! It’s not like they had
ordered their historical fiction in one section, and I didn’t remember who
published it! So I went to the customer service and saw a familiar staff from
their Rockwell branch (Hi kuya!) who
was very nice and accommodating and asked where I could possibly find the book.
He told me it was in the Hachette Book Group section, so I looked, and looked,
and looked but it was nowhere to be found. There was like 2-3 columns so I was
confused, that I went around for a good 5 times double checking everything. So
I asked the kuya from the customer
service and he had someone to assist me. It turns out that they placed it in
Random House’s section, and admitted that they made a mistake with where they
placed the books and apologized. (Apology accepted!) I really love the Fullybooked
staff! They’re all smiley, even the kuya guard who gave me a basket when he saw
me having a handful of books already. It felt kind of weird that I ended up
helping an elder woman who was supposed to ask advice from a staff (I ended up helping her instead cause I was
just right beside her. LOL) because we were in the New Adult section. She
was looking at Colleen Hoover’s books specifically “Slammed” and “Loosing
Hope”. I just told her that if she didn’t know, “Loosing Hope” is a sequel to
“Hopeless” but then she asked if it’s a Christian book... I ended up telling
her ‘no’ because I’m pretty sure that CoHo doesn’t right Christian books.
Minutes later, I then got a little
tired. And then, when I saw the pile in my basket trolley, I headed to the
cashier (but I got distracted a bit on the way) and checked everything out. I
ended up getting around 15 books from there.
I LOVE FULLYBOOKED!
After purchasing books from the two bookstores, I tried strolling around the book fair. But I terribly failed. I had
three plastic bags with at least 6-7 books each. So I guess you guys could
picture that one out. And again, I was alone. So I had a hard time circulating
the whole fair but I did pass by other booths. I didn’t invest on them though!
Most of the other booths I saw were either religious or educational. I did not
get to see the other booths because I felt very much tired (because I was sleep
deprived) so I headed home. I swear to God if I had someone with me, I wouldn't have bought this much books.
I'm actually hoping to visit again on the 19th or 20th. Or maybe I wont. Who knows?
I posted a teaser picture in instagram, but here’s the titles of the
books that I have purchased in MIBF!
If you're wondering what's the other 3 hardcovers in the instagram picture, they're Pre-MIBF purchases.
The Jewel by Amy Ewing, Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson, and Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley.
This is an annual book fair
that happens in mid-September. Have fun in MIBF 2014, from September 17 to 21!
I hope you guys liked reading this post! Until next time! :)
Here's little self-camera shot in the car while on the way to SMX Convention Center!
*Kuya means older brother in Filipino/Tagalog
