I bought a novel recently. An extremely good read, I must say. You know you’ve read a good book when you feel sad as the ending draws near. Sort of like saying good-bye to a dear old friend. But wait a minute, at the end of the book, I found a list of other books written by the same author. Hurray!! This author wrote sequels to the book I was reading. That means I get to see my “dear old friends” again!

Almost immediately, I began the quest for my books. First stop is of course, the usual bookstores in Kuching.

1. Popular Bookstore,
2. Tun Jugah Smart Bookstore,
3. Hock Lee Centre Times Bookstore,
4. Riverside E-Smart Book Shop,
5. Sarawak Plaza Books Unlimited,
6. Pustaka Negeri Sarawak

No luck there. They carry recent best-sellers or those by more popular authors. I couldn’t find the ones I wanted, which were written before 2000. Several bookstores offered to order the books for me. But that will have to be my last resort.

So, if I can’t get my books from local bookstores, I will go virtual instead. Amazon (www.amazon.com) seems like a good place to start. They have every copy I wanted, and even offer used books that cost as low as US$1.00 each. Having picked all my books, I discovered to my horror that Amazon doesn’t ship used books to Malaysia. The price for new books are comparable to local bookstores, but the shipping rates are too high. I will end up paying RM55 for each book, instead of RM32.90 if I can get them locally (see table below). Well, back to the old drawing board.

So, the search continues and I chanced upon another on-line bookstore that services readers from this region. It’s called acmabooks (www.acmabooks.com), and though their collection is not as big, they do have all the books I want. Not only that, they offer 23% discounts for Maybank2U and Citibank customers. What an excellent find! I braced myself for exorbitant shipping rates. Turned out it was only RM7.50 per order. And if I order more than RM200, shipping is free. Considering the reasonable rates and waiting time, I think I’ll give it a try.

So, did I end up getting my books? Not yet, for two reasons. First, I am still reading up on the credibility of this site. I am also talking to people who have bought books through acmabooks. My research so far has been positive. The second reason I have not gone ahead and buy is because I’ve already hit my RM700 quota for tax return. So I am waiting for January 2005 to come before I can start spending again.

So, I’ll let you know how the book purchase goes in 2005. Meanwhile, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

By LibraryNet Content Writer
- December 2004.-