There's this unique
déjà vu feeling whenever you enter a bookshop that makes the inside of you
unceasing to want for more.
That was what I felt
when I came inside Fully Booked shop in Mall of Asia (after more than two years).. I was momentarily in
trance as I've scanned the place decorated with books on a creative point of
view. I couldn't help but to get magnetized immediately in trying to devour the
sharply lined-up spines in the shelf under Biographies (lately, I've been
eyeing on those true-to-life stories of some of the greatest people on earth).
I was kind of
entering a modernized museum, the lightings were surreal, the shelves were
staggering, giving a distant pleasing
look to approach one because of the huge labels. A book hunter would easily led
to where he want to look at or find the book he's seeking because of the
panelized approach to the bookshelves' tags. It was this simple, it's pretty
inviting, and so approachable that you need not to get a hand in looking for a
specific title or author.
From the way those
books, shelves and ledges were placed, it was neatly accessible and readable
from a man's eye view. I've seen other bookstores in the Metro but nowhere
could they match how FullyBooked has properly designed their placement of
shelves, it has the touch of fashion into it, considering the teeming eloquence
it's presenting to its audience, shoppers and visitors.
Time flies when
you're inside. I was indulging as I read the summaries, the titles and amazed
by the front covers' arts.
Unlike in SM North
Edsa, this branch in MOA do not have a reading kiosk or couches where you can
further luxuriate in skimming through the pages. I've noticed that each books
were covered in the plastic celluloid where you couldn’t just open it, 'twas like
some sort of a seal or protection.
The absence of a
reading nook is tolerably understandable because this branch is not that much
spacious. I believe it's only fair to exclude one, the hallways were broad
enough for someone to squat or stand incase he wanted to spoil in further
reading.
The Cashier's and
Customer Service' lounge were neatly placed that did not serve as an
obstruction but an area where you can
wander to ask queries. The wall behind the cashier's was an adage "When I
get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and
clothes" (Erasmus), which reminds me how customer's are flocking in lately
to bookshops. I turned my head into a 360 (but of course with my body rotating
as well) and I was saddened by the number of visitors. You could count on your
fingers how many people are in, minus the staff, that led me thinking on the
current trend when it comes to digitalizing prints nowadays.
You may visit the shop with their contact listed here.
G/F Southwing SM Mall of Asia
Tel 02 5560264
The intensifying
demand of gadgets such as the iPad and other eBook readers, not to mention
those smartphones where you can download an app so you can read a book (in any
kind of format) is downright killing the printing press and bookstores, not
only here in the Philippines but abroad as well. Bookstore chains in the US are
closing down, even those who have been far long enough in the business.
I've asked one of
the staffs how is the trend of sale compared to when the digital media was not
yet in the market, and she said that it was really hurting for their sales
volume.
We have to accept
the fact that fewer people are in to reading books, lesser now are the humans
who are to be considered as bookworms. Adding to the pie in hurting the
bookstore business is the cut-out share
of the digital media, who would want to carry a hardbound these days when
infact you could load the latest novel of James Patterson outright through your
iPhone's iBook or into your Galaxy Tab straight from a torrent site? (Yep, it's
pirated, but it's free). Moreover, the convenience and the state-of-the-art
digital effects of these digitalized books are nowhere to match especially if
you loved technology and gizmo.
Just my two cents on
these softbound and hardbound books, I still find it priceless whenever a real,
physical book is in my hand. May that be a novel, a technical manual or just
simply a planner or a diary. I'd sound traditional and sentimental but it boils
down into one thing, and I would call it preference.
I rode in a jeep one
day going to the Southern part of the Metro and someone's holding a paperback
copy of John Grisham's latest bestseller. It was a fairly brand new book, as I
tried my best not to look so interested in it, while the reader was smiling through
the pages.
I have stopped
buying physical books when I had my iPhone two years ago, so I was a converted
as an eReader bookie, I've read a lot more, get opened up to a plethora of more
authors and titles I couldn't imagine I'd have them on my list to read. Neither
I felt excitement nor intimacy, I just felt contentment. And I guess, my vision
has blurred and I have to have wearing my eyeglasses most often than not.
I would still take
pride in reading a book inside the train, in a bus or under a tree, may that be
a paperback or a hardbound. Methinks that these physical materials in a book
somehow makes you grip, indulge, and be more personal to the story that was written.
That as you turn through the pages, it's
as if an intimate bond is formed between the reader and the prose being
conveyed by the author. A real, tangible book serves as a gateway for you to
feel deep down the story as it unfolds through your eyes and imagination.
-mac
