Big Bad Wolf Book Sale 2015

With the year end holidays fast approaching, I decided to take a short break with the family and attend a preview of the Big Bad Wolf Book 2015 Sale. The missus was lucky enough to obtain a preview pass by taking part in an online facebook quiz. So it was a good opportunity for the family to get a look at the books available before the general crowd swarms over the regular sale event.    

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale 2015 - Preview Pass

A one day only event that meant lesser crowds and more elbow room to look for books

With my only prior experience being the mid year Big Bad Box Sale, this was my first Big Bad Wolf Book Sale event. It's touted as the greatest book sale in the world but I wouldn't go that far. I wasn't overly impressed with the book selection on hand. It's was a good preview sale not a great one.      

It being a preview event on a working day meant a smaller crowd and more elbow room for me

Books galore stretched from one corner of the hall ...

... to another, giving rise to many opportunities to spot a bargain

Being a SciFi/Fantasy genre buff, I was pretty apprehensive going into the sale. Sadly, this genre isn't very popular in the country, at least I don't think it is. But I was reasonably surprised to see that they had quite a number of tables dedicated to the genre - at least five. Although that good vibe soon dissipated when I couldn't really find that many titles I was actually interested in. Buying books just for the sake of a bargain wasn't an option due to the very tight budget the family was operating from. That being said, I still managed to find some awesome (though few) book bargains in the genre.

Horror, SciFi and Fantasy were the three genres I targeted in the preview sale

Art books and comics were sought out too but those were few and far between

My paperback loot from this year's Big Bad Wolf preview sale

My personal loot revolved mainly around the horror and SciFi/Fantasy genre with a couple of art books and a comic thrown in. Prices were very low with the hardbacks and paperbacks in my selection ranging from RM10 to RM12 (USD2.40/£1.60/€2.20 to USD2.90/£1.90/€2.60). The artbooks, Baby Blues comic and Ender's Game boxset were a tad more expensive at around RM15 to RM25 (USD3.60/£2.40/€3.30 to USD6.00/£3.95/€5.50). All in all, my personal loot came to about RM187 (USD45/£30/€41). Not too bad considering this total would have only gotten me only a hardback and a paperback at normal price, especially when the ringgit is currently so depreciated.

One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them

On a related note, I'm pretty chuffed to have persuaded my 12-year-old son to start reading The Lord of the Rings. I was even more pleasantly surprised when he excitedly recited the ring-verse (poem about the Rings of Power) from memory. To me, reading this Tolkien classic is a rite of passage that transitions one from the Young Adult genre to the proper world of SciFi and Fantasy. I leave you with a quote that perhaps resonates with most miniature painters I know. As Samwise Gamgee's old gaffer used to say, It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish. Wise words indeed. So what are you waiting for? Start the project you were meaning to start ... and finish it.