Some last minute book fair tips

One last day at the book fair, and if you havent gone to SMX for this paramount event yet, there‘s still time — it’s closing at 9pm for the last day.

Now, the  last day of the book fair is a good time to go; for some it’s even the best day to catch it, as this is when the exhibitors bring out previously overlooked stock, or stock they’ve been reserving particularly for the last day, so you may see items that weren’t out on previous days.

Some exhibitors also prefer to let go of as much of their stock as they can rather than taking it all back to their warehouse, so watch out for price slashes. The last day is also when cutthroat competition sets in, especially for exhibitors carrying the same book — this year it appears to be Dan Brown’s Lost Symbol spotted in three different booths — so I am waiting to see if they’ll have a price war tomorrow (er later today).

Today was my shopping day, actually, despite the fact that no one believed I couldn’t shop properly on the first day due to the 8 books I ended up taking home, but believe me, today was the day for serious book shopping. I am posting the book fair loot, so those who want to get their own copies can still go to the book fair to get them.

I shopped with Marie and Honey, and when we were done, we were so loaded down with packages and very hungry by dinnertime. All three of us were broke, though, so we ended up eating at the food court (meals under P100) and commuting home (imagine stuffing ourselves into the multicab with all our bags).

This makes me fear for tomorrow, because at this rate, I will end up staring into space on my Singapore trip next week. I solemnly swear not to buy anymore books tomorrow, but I doubt, as I want to get my copy of  Mga Tambay sa Tabi-tabi from Anvil, and my classics fix from National Book Store.

Here, the combined loot from the past four (three, technically, because I didn’t go last Friday, which is really killing me because I missed out on an awesome buy)  days at the book fair:

A Different Bookstore

What I really love from this stash is the Diana Wynne Jones (House of Many Ways), which is a sequel of Howl’s Moving Castle, the book on which one of my favorite Studio Ghibli films is based. This reminds me, I’ve got to get my copy of Howl’s (I gave my mmp to Marie).

I was pleased to find (on a different day) an expansion pack for my 39 Clues cards. I got it for P120, because I couldn’t find any more books to bundle it with. But that’s less half the original price already so I got it anyway.

And then this morning they had new stock. Maan. Should stop by there tomorrow to see if they’ll restock, or bring the price down (they did last year).

Visprint

Visprint, a local publisher joining the MIBF for the first time this year, makes a great addition to the roster of exhibitors. Visprint is the company behind the Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah book and the Bob Ong books. I love their edgy lineup, and I know we’ll definitely hear more from this publisher, with the great books they have in the pipeline.

Got my copy of Roles signed by Siege Malvar, and today got my 2nd Trese volume signed by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo.  Also got a lot of freebies: 2 Barbara Cartland books (going to my sister), 2 ZZZ posters — one signed by Carlo Vergara, whom we re-met today (after the FFP discussion of ZZZ and 2 rounds of the muzikale for me).

UP Press

Will have to get this signed by him.

UP Press also carries the Milflores books, including two books whose covers I designed, the spec fic anthologies Spooky Mo by Marivi Soliven Blanco (P250) and Tales of Fantasy and Enchantment edited by Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo (P340).

OMF Lit

Doc Luis was at the booth a few days ago so I grabbed the chance to get this copy. I chose this because it’s illustrated by Panch Alcaraz, my illustration teacher. Will have to get this signed too, when she returns from Turkey.

OMF Lit also has a special on Hans Christian Andersen books (hardcover), for P100 each. There are three sets, and I think they’ll make great gift items this Christmas.

Bookmark

This is the reason I want to kick myself for not going on Friday — they had bargain copies of the Noli at P200 only!  Today they only had Fili bargain copies at P200, which was good enough for me, and because I wanted both I was okay with the P600 Noli (discounted, but not a bargain copy) — thrice the price of its sequel! And then we found out they had bargain copies of the Noli the previous day! Unfortunately, when we asked, they said they had no more copies, either at the MIBF or at their warehouse. Sad. I opened the books today, and I like the paper of the bargain Fili better (yellow specialty paper) than the Noli (white book paper). Grr.

I also got a postcard book for Maydayeve (p50) and a bunch of postcards for myself (P10 each).

National Historical Institute

Marie and I were attracted to this book because of the cover embellishment and the inside illustrations, containing the work of a French traveler who visited the Philippines.

They have a lot of interesting stuff too:  Noli and Fili repros, a repro of Morga’s Los Sucesos de los Islas Filipinas, a Rizal photo album (P435) and many more.

Adarna

Got books signed by Mayann for me and INK PRO Joel. Also got two bargain books for P20 each;  I chose Pilandok (not a series) and The Tikbalang.

And a few other pointers:

1) National Book Store brought out an extensive selection of Oxford classics (P150 at the stores) for P99, with 20% discount, so that comes up to about P80 each. Marie got 6 Austens today, too bad we couldn’t find a copy of Pride and Prejudice to complete her set.

NBS also has a great promo on The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (awesome, awesome series): buy The Hunger Games or Catching Fire, and get a chance to win one of the following prizes: a trip for 2 to Palawan, books 1 to 5 of The Underland Chronicles (the first series from Suzanne Collins), a shirt of The Hunger Games, or a Laking National mug!

2) Aklat Eklat (housed by Kraftek, across Lampara), which I talked about in my Day 1 post, can personalize your leather book cover in a matter of minutes — they can do that on the spot! They also have brass-plated leather bookmarks!

3) Grab a quick bite at the Oishi booth in the back where they give samples of chips and drinks.

4) Catch the Tomas Pinpin replicas on display in the lobby.

5) Simo and Pupung books for P20 and P30 at the New Day booth.

6) Tradewinds has the Kenkoy hardcover  compilation. They were out of copies today, but they might restock tomorrow.

7) Experiencing God daily devotionals only P99 at Church Strengthening Ministry.

8) Scholastic has a bag-all-you-can promo for P1995, including HP books

9) Storytelling sessions – Check Adarna, OMF and Lampara booths, as they frequently happen there.

10) Diwa has some great science gadgets kids will enjoy – static machine, electronic harp, and many more…

That’s it for now, will blog about MIBF highlights after this post. And watch out for my Catching Fire (waah!) review. Will be back at MIBF today to watch the Hunger Games LARP. Holler if you see me there!