Bookworms’ delight: The books sold at Books for a Better World are sourced from charity stores such as Salvation Army and donated by the public. — ART CHEN/The Star
Book lovers are spoilt for choice these days as there are so many ways to get their hands on a title now, be it a digital or physical copy.
Even those reading on a tight budget have a number of decent alternatives to choose from.
There are second-hand stores in the Klang Valley and websites that offer pre-loved books to readers looking for affordable options to feed their interests.
Some of these sellers are even giving back to the community by channelling part of their proceeds to charity.
Making a difference
Barely five months into its establishment, Books for a Better World (BFBW) has opened a second store within the same Petaling Jaya mall where its first store is located.
The books, sourced from charity stores and donated by the public, are priced from RM5 for fiction and RM10 for non-fiction.
BFBW’s website, in the meantime, sells new books by local publishers and Malaysian titles.
Low does the sorting, cleaning and assessment of book condition herself. — Photos: RAJA FAISAL HISHAN, CHAN TAK KONG and AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star
BFBW director Adrian Ung said the store was an expansion of an existing side business.
“I started off selling some of my pre-loved books online.
“Then I started hunting around at Salvation Army and Kedai Bless looking for books to sell,” said the business management consultant who co-founded BFBW with a partner.
“I built a relationship with those stores and now buy books from them as well as Parents without Partners.
“When word got around, people started donating books to us.”
Ung said BFBW’s name reflected its co-founders’ hopes of making a difference through books and to promote literacy by encouraging children to read.
“We have committed to dedicating 15% of our annual profits to charity, with priority to Salvation Army because of our long-term relationship with them.
“I used to get books on consignment from Salvation Army but have now committed to buying on a monthly basis.
“It takes time to sort through the books as not all are usable.
Ooi (right) and Sin started Dokusho Bookstore online before expanding this year to include a physical space in Jalan Kelang Lama, Kuala Lumpur.
“Unfortunately, telephone directories or outdated reference books have to be sent for recycling,” he said.
BFBW also has a literacy programme, where it sets aside books to be given to organisations such as community libraries, children’s homes, refugee centres and old folks homes.
“We give away children’s books that do not sell well here to organisations that request for them.
“We also try to support those in need. For example, the cash that we get from recycling unwanted books goes towards buying groceries for an old folks home nearby,” said Ung.
BFBW hopes to work with corporate partners, whereby companies and their staffers donate pre-loved books for its literacy programme.
“We are also designing a collection bin that could be placed at public places for book donations.
“We hope to establish a physical store and reading corner at another Petaling Jaya mall by the end of this year,” he said.
BFBW is open from 10am to 10pm daily.
It operates on a self-service concept when there are no volunteers around, where customers are entrusted to pay via ewallets or cash drop-offs.
BFBW is located at G-043, Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
For details, visit bfbwsb.com or call 012-913 8121/ 017-812 8121.
Cultivating reading habit
Bibliophile Carol Low runs not one but several book-related ventures, all to encourage and cultivate the reading habit among Malaysians, particularly the younger generation.
Bookaholics Anonymous is an online second-hand store selling books that are donated or rescued while The Joy of Books is an online rental service featuring newer books from Low’s personal collection.
She also runs a street library to encourage children in her Kemuning Utama neighbourhood in Shah Alam to read.
“Bookaholics started off as a bookcrossing initiative, where I would leave books in random places such as cafes and convenience stores in Kota Kemuning (for others to pick up and read in the hopes that they would do the same).
“But with lockdowns and more contagious Covid-19 variants spreading last year, I had to switch to the current online model.
“The website still offers a selection of free books as a continuation of the bookcrossing initiative,” said Low.
Ung says the bookstore dedicates 15% of its annual profits to charity.
The books are priced from RM12 for fiction, from RM15 for non-fiction and RM25 onwards for special interest (such as first editions).
“I get the bulk of my second-hand books from Salvation Army, which is how I built a relationship with them.
“We inked a formal partnership in June, whereby a portion of sales from Bookaholics is dedicated to them,” said Low, adding that she also sourced for books from friends and social media.
For books that could not be sold, Low would ask if her contacts wanted them or gave them to people in need.
The last resort would be to dispose and recycle.
“Most people prefer Bookaholics’ services over Joy of Books, because they want to keep the physical copies.
“Men tend to favour history, political and business titles, while women enjoy both fiction and non-fiction books.
“Thea Stilton, David Walliams, The Mysterious Benedict Society and Captain Underpants are the popular children’s series,” said Low.
The mother of two boys observed that children who read today were more mature in their choices, such as eight- to nine-year-olds who were able to read the entire Harry Potter series.
On how to encourage children to read, she suggested that they be allowed to read what interests them.
“Leave room for communication and ask them what they think about the books.
“There is no way to build a wall around them since information is just a click away, so parents should have open communication with their children,” said Low.
Bookaholics will be opening an office in Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam, Selangor next month.
Walk-ins will be limited to a schedule to be determined later.
For details, visit bookaholicsanonymous.com
Education on the agenda
Dokusho Bookstore opened its physical store in February this year to cater to customers who prefer to “browse and touch” their books before purchasing them.
It started as an online second-hand bookstore in 2017, then expanded to include a physical space in Southbank Commercial, Jalan Kelang Lama, Kuala Lumpur.
Dokusho, which means the act of reading in Japanese, belongs to husband-and-wife team Ooi Jian Sheng and Sin Yi Wen, who also hold day jobs as engineering consultants in wastewater management and pharmaceutical industries, respectively.
Ooi said: “We both studied in the United Kingdom and enjoyed browsing at small bookstores whenever we travelled around there.
“We wanted to replicate that experience upon our return here and offer people a chance to explore reading at affordable prices.
“Dokusho started off with selling books from my personal collection before expanding our sources to include charity stores, garage sales and public donations.”
Although both platforms sell second-hand books, Sin said the ones sold on the website were different from those in-store.
Voon says only 10% of the books received are sorted by volunteers and sold at RSI’s warehouse.
All books, whether fiction or non-fiction, are priced at RM7.90.
Books in “not-so-good condition” are sold at RM1.
Dokusho has committed 7.9% from its physical store’s monthly revenue to Teach for Malaysia, a non-profit organisation on a mission to give all children in Malaysia the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
“We chose them because of their education agenda.
“We will also be dedicating a space for them in-store to give them a platform to raise awareness of their cause,” said Ooi.
To encourage children to read, Sin said Dokusho’s store had a children’s book bank offering free books for the young ones to take home.
Each child is allowed five books per visit.
“We hope to create a higher literacy level among children and that this effort has a positive effect on the community,” she said.
On customers’ preferred genres, Sin said the range was diverse, with men preferring non-fiction titles, women both fiction and non-fiction books and children going for the Wimpy Kids, Percy Jackson and Harry Potter series.
Those with more than 50 books to donate can make arrangements with Dokusho to collect them from their homes.
In return, donors will be given store credits that can be used in-store or online.
Dokusho’s store is only open on weekends from 10am to 5pm.
For details, visit dokusho-bookstore.com or WhatsApp 011-1138 2619.
All for community work
Red Shields Industries (RSI) Malaysia, the social enterprise arm of Salvation Army Malaysia, is tasked with the responsibility of collecting and selling pre-loved items.
“We accept items that are in good, working condition with a resale value.
“These are donated either by the public or corporations.
“For the Klang Valley, all collecting, sorting and related activities are done at our warehouse in Taman Perindustrian Subang, Subang Jaya, Selangor.
“Clothing, electrical devices and household items such as glassware and food containers are among the high-demand items people look for,” said Red Shield Industries Malaysia general manager Lewis Voon.
He said RSI received about 2,000kg of book donations monthly and sold around 200 boxes of them monthly.
One box containing 30kg of books is priced at RM150.
RSI Malaysia also receives books from its Singaporean counterparts.
“Only 10% of the books received are sorted by our volunteers and sold at RSI’s warehouse, at prices starting from RM1.
“The rest are bundled together in boxes for sale,” said Voon, adding that some books could not be sold because they were damaged and had to be recycled as paper waste.
“About 80% of book buyers are sellers or dealers that sell books for profit, while the rest are individuals hunting for good deals.
“BFBW and Bookaholics are the only partners whom we have worked out a partnership with as they have been regulars at RSI for over two years,” he added.
On why people donate pre-loved goods, Voon said reasons included decluttering, relocation or migration, death in a family and parents with grown children.
All proceeds from the sale of goods are channelled to Salvation Army to support its community work in Malaysia.
Salvation Army’s work includes providing residential care for children and the elderly, educational programmes at its kindergartens and daycare centres, special programmes for young people with special needs and various social programmes through its community service centres.
