Nabila

No! There are actually many ways to save money on books. This post is actually inspired by readbycindy's tweet a few weeks ago and her video talking about how she managed to pay off $145000 student loan in 3 years which is basically: DON'T BUY BOOKS (and of course you need to find the money). And I saw her videos, she literally didn't buy books, the only physical books she owned was a gift from people, I think but she still managed to have a Booktube channel, a bookstagram account and read tons of books. It was such an inspiration for me because she managed to contribute to the book community without spending too much money on books, which is amazing.

So here are the ways we can save money while still reading tons of books:

LIBRARY

Library: the most obvious and popular option. Of course, we still need to renew our library cards after a few years and there's the thing about the limited time of borrowing (but we can extend it). But still, I found that my local library really helped me in reading more books. We can read a book, free of charge and if we don't like the book, it's okay, at least we didn't waste any money on that book. I know some people are not privileged with easily accessible transportation to go to libraries and there's also the thing with crappy libraries... which brings me to my next suggestion:

DIGITAL LIBRARY

Digital library enables you to read books in the form of e-books and audiobooks and I know some people hate using these forms of book but beggar can't be chooser, if you're too lazy to walk to the library (like me) or the nearest library you can borrow tons of new and interesting books are hundreds of kilometres away (also like me), my only choice is to just borrow from a digital library. The most famous one and the one I'm using is Libby (available in the App Store and Google Play Store).

Libby enables you to use your existing library card to borrow books. In Malaysia however, the digital library available on this app is limited to five: Sabah State Library, National Library of Malaysia, Perbadanan Perpustakaan Awam Selangor, Penang Digital Library and Forest City. I use Sabah State Library and National Library of Malaysia and so far, it's going good.

BOOK SWAP!

I usually used this before I started reading more English books. Since every reader around me mainly read Malay books and I have tons of Malay books, my friend and I usually just swap books (I lend her a book and she lends me her book).

E-BOOK

I know, the majority of people really dislike reading an e-book. I love physical books better too; we can smell the book, hold the book and it provides a better reading experience. Although I love physical books more, I usually opt for e-books lately if I choose to buy books (usually when it's a new book and it's not available from the library). E-books are cheaper than physical books and you can get it right after you purchase it. FIXI books are available on Google Play Books so you should really check them out if you're a fan of their books. I usually get books from Amazon and use the app Kindle as my reader. For books that I got for free, I use MoonReader as my reader.

BOOK SALE (BIG BAD WOLF, PARTICULARLY)

I haven't go to many book sale in the past but the only one that I went to (POPULAR book clearance sale at a mall because they're closing their branch there) had some really interesting offer. There were hardcover books that usually have RM70+ price and in the book sale it only priced RM12+.

Don't forget about Big Bad Wolf! BBW for the first time came to Sabah in June but unfortunately, I was broke during that time so I didn't go. But I know that they usually have a 50% to 90% price drop for many interesting books so anyone who has the chance to go should really go.

BOOK DEPOSITORY


DISCOUNT + FREE SHIPPING?! Count me in. Oh yes, this is one of my favourite online bookstores. There are always up to 60% discount for both hardcover and paperback books, they ship free to almost every country, including Malaysia, what's not to like? Although the shipping can take longer time because it ships from countries like the US, Switzerland, Australia and the UK, it's worth it. If there's any problem with your book, you can always contact the Customer Service which is really awesome, by the way, speaking from my own experience. 

BOOKXCESS ONLINE 


My second favourite online bookstore: BookXcess Online. I think in Peninsular Malaysia, there are some BookXcess stores. In Borneo, however, there is none. That's why I mostly opt for online bookstores to buy my books. BookXcess offer up to 90% discount for their books, with normal shipping cost. They are awesome as well.

BUYING PRELOVED BOOKS 

I don't have any experience of buying preloved books yet but I do know it's a really good option. I follow a lot of preloved bookseller accounts on Instagram and a lot of them offer books in good condition with definitely affordable prices.

SHARE MONEY TO BUY BOOK WITH YOUR FRIENDS

This is the last option I can think of. I never did this because I love to know that a book I bought is always in my bookshelf; I'm okay with lending it but I don't really like the idea of co-owning a book... But maybe it's just me😂 I saw a well-known author recommended his readers, who are mostly still studying, to share money with their friends to buy his new books. I thought it was a great idea, especially for students. If you like this idea, you may try it!

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BLURB: When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know... (Goodreads).

“I don't want tea," said Clary, with muffled force. "I want to find my mother. And then I want to find out who took her in the first place, and I want to kill them."

Attempted murder, character death, child abuse, homophobia, kidnapping, memory manipulation (nonconsensual), murder, violence

This was one of the books that I thought I would never read. I tried several times before 2019 but I just couldn't. But then I started reading the book in 2019 just for the sake of making fun of it... and instead got hooked to the series, its prequels and sequels. Note: don't ever read a book for the sake of making fun of it ever again.

First of all, I hate the writing of this book. It was very underdeveloped and very early 2010s, which, if we think about it, is relevant since this book was published in 2007, and probably started being written in the early 2000s. For me, it's forgivable, the only reason I finished this book despite its poor writing was that I kept reminding myself that this book was published in 2007.

On the other hand, the storyline, the world-building and the characters were pretty solid. As all of the standard young adult fantasy books, at least the first 10 chapters were spent for world-building, and Cassandra Clare really did a decent job in introducing this world and its magic system to the readers, which I really appreciate. There was nothing confusing and everything was pretty straightforward, and enough explanation was done for the readers to get absorbed into the world, at least for the first book. The way she wrote about her characters also clicked really well with me.

The storyline was also written really well. I liked all the twists that were included in this book, except for that last one (if you know, you know). And surprisingly, despite the poor writing, the narrative of the book was actually quite fun to follow. Jokes and puns were inserted in the most inappropriate times, coming out of the mouth of the most unlikely character, which is always welcomed by me. I love those.

The characters that were introduced in this book were not easy to love, since almost all of them, especially the main character, made really reckless, questionable decisions but it should be noted that they were just 16 to 18 years old teenagers. Coming from a person who finished the whole series and its sequel, the characters do grow on you. It was very fulfilling to see the characters grow wiser by each book, and I can say with absolute certainty that I definitely will cry if any of them die, despite disliking them in the first book. 

And yes, 2 stars. I LOVE THE SERIES. BUT THE FIRST THREE BOOKS? JUST NO. NOT IT. I initially gave this book 3 stars but I realized how high that was for this book, so I reduced it to two. Will I recommend this book to anyone, ever? No. But I will recommend the series, as a whole, if anyone is interested in reading the prequel and sequel series, which are 10000 times better than this one.