I found out, not without much delight, from the newspaper a couple of days ago that the Times Bookshop is running its popular sale this week. Held inside a store as spacious as a hangar, it is an event which, for all that it’s worth, deserves a mention. I always look forward to this biannual showcase of bargain books for several reasons. One, quality hardbacks from equally quality authors are sold at such a discounted price it makes one wonder if the proceeds from the sale is sufficient to cover the cost of running the event. Two, the selection of books is overwhelming enough, if one is serious, to warrant spending more than a day perusing the heaps of books spanning the length and width of a football field and still he or she will walk out discontent and unsettled. Three, there is no match for the sheer size of the crowd flooding the venue. It is quite simply, a singularly magnificent effort by the book merchant to provide Malaysians with a copious source of cheap literature and to make accessible to many impecunious urban folks the otherwise expensive hardbacks and paperbacks sold at exorbitant prices in bookstores.
Since my discovery of such literary treasure trove, I have never failed to make an appearance. It is always an occasion I cherished and made great effort to attend even in times of inconvenience. The cheerful atmosphere and the feeling of camaraderie amongst the bibliophiles, whose vigorous eyes scan en masse the row of books as far as their visual fields extend, has an uncanny way of comforting myself that I am in the grateful company of like minded and like interest friends.
I have no complaints for the organizers, despite the cramped and narrow aisles. My only hope is that this tradition of organizing a worthy books sale does not vanish with time. It is after-all not very frequent we see the latest Stephen King hardback lying forlornly atop a mass of books with a price tag of RM20, waiting for the next unsuspecting King fan to throw a fit of surprise.