What I Want to Know from the Back of a Book

Back of the book:

“Splendidly written.”                 “Delightful.”                      ”Thought-provoking.”

 ”A thrilling read!”                     “Riveting plot.”                

“A brilliant novel.”        “You must read this book!”       “A wonderful book.”

“An imaginative work worthy of high praise.”

“Pages filled with great insights.”         “Enchanting!”              ”An excellent novel.”              

–those kinds of blurbs do nothing for me.

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Why don’t people bring books?

Whenever I go out, I almost always bring a book. If not, I bring a notebook so that I can write, or I send an audio book or the audio recordings of The Economist to my phone. I bring these things because I don’t want to get bored while waiting for something. I don’t want to waste my time staring at the wall, floor, or other random surfaces while waiting for the mrt, waiting for my doctor or dentist to arrive, waiting for my turn during a job interview, or waiting in a restaurant for my friend.

There are numerous waiting moments that can happen in a day. You can’t escape them. They are always there. Whether it’s a few minutes or an hour long, those moments can be irritatingly torturous. Books are boredom saviors because they rescue you from the trap of negative feelings. I don’t have to be irritated or angry if something is delayed because those times are converted to moments where I get to go on adventures in a fantasy world, be engrossed in a tale of mystery, or fall in love with a dashing character.

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The Story Behind the Bookworm Brigade at Maginhawa

On June 30, I went to the Bookworm Brigade with my bag of second hand books. I was excited to meet people and to sell books. In this event, participants were allowed to swap books for free, donate books, or sell them for P100 or less.

Jonver, Jonard, and Cariza

This event was organized by Cariza, Jonver, and Jonard. They were just three friends who had an idea, and they turned that idea into reality. They said they were just talking on Twitter, and they were telling each other that they wanted new books, but they were low on cash. Swapping books became a logical solution, but then they thought, “Why not invite more of our friends?” then they became more ambitious and said, “Why don’t we create a Facebook event?”

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Wishing for an Online Second-Hand Bookstore: The REaD Hunter

“Get him!” Little Ja said to her cousins, and there was a mad dash toward the poor young man who said he’d buy carrot juice the next time he’d pass by, but he didn’t.

This was just one of the crazy things I did when I was a kid. My cousins and I sold carrot juice right outside our house, and we were all bent to earn not just a little, but a lot.

My mother always dreamed that I’d become a businesswoman, so early in life she encouraged me to sell stuff. If you’ve read Ja’s Childhood Businesses, you’d know that I had tons of businesses when I was just a kid. I would often sell something depending on what was trendy. When that trend ended, I’d abandon selling that and start selling the new trendy thing. Eventually I stopped because, even if I was earning, it was hard to run a business while I was studying.

Now I wish I had a book-selling business. It will be an online second hand bookstore called The REaD Hunter, and it will sell the most awesome books on the planet.

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What do you love about second-hand books?

Second-hand books are way cheaper, so why do you need to buy a new copy of the book? Both will have the same contents anyway, so unless you are looking for something that has been recently published, it seems reasonable to prefer a second-hand book.

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