KUCHING: For 17-year-old Maryanne Bulan, there is something special about holding a book in her hands, turning its pages and getting lost in a story.
The Form Six student of SMK Batu Bintang is among the visitors to the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale in Kuching, having attended the event since it was first held in the city.
With her 18th birthday coming up in December, Maryanne said she is once again looking forward to browsing through the shelves for books that matched her interests.
“I like crime, fiction and young adult books,” she said when met at the book fair.
For Maryanne, however, the price of books matters just as much as the story inside.
“If the book is too expensive, I won’t buy it. I’m looking for books that are affordable,” she said.
Her personal limit is around RM40 for a book, making book fairs an attractive option for a young reader trying to maintain her reading habit without spending too much.
Despite the growing popularity of e-books, Maryanne remains firmly in favour of physical copies.
“I like the feeling of reading a physical book. It’s more fun,” she said.
For 29-year-old real estate negotiator, Hazel Melville, discounted book sales similarly provide an incentive to read and explore more.
Hazel said she is mainly looking for books on personal development, business, self-improvement, puzzles and music, and normally spends about RM50 a month on books.
“Book prices do influence my reading habits. When books are reasonably priced or on sale, I’m more likely to purchase and read them,” she said.
She added that discounts also encouraged her to explore new topics and authors that she might not otherwise consider.
Despite the convenience of digital content, Hazel said she still preferred holding a physical book.
For 24-year-old civil engineering intern, Kristen Jenna Churchill, the choice between physical and digital books depends on convenience.
Kristen said she is looking for romance fiction novels and adult colouring books, with prices also influencing her purchasing decisions.
She normally spends between RM50 and RM60 on a book, but said e-books offered an affordable and space-saving alternative.
“Sometimes, just for the fun of it, I still prefer physical books, but normally I read e-books because they are free and save physical space,” she said.
Meanwhile, 55-year-old Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) lecturer, Shaziti Aman, has made books a regular part of her household.
Shaziti said she normally bought books from bookstores such as MPH and Popular, but would make a point of visiting book fairs when they were held.
“When there’s a book fair, we come. My children like books,” she said.
A mother of two children, aged 19 and 14, Shaziti said she encouraged both children to read according to their interests. While she prefers non-fiction, her daughters gravitate towards fiction.
Reading has been a family routine for years, with Shaziti recalling how she used to read to her daughters before bedtime when they were younger.
Although books have become more expensive over the years, Shaziti remains willing to spend on them when she knows her children will read them.
“If they read, yes. Because reading is important,” she said.
But she does not buy books blindly. Shaziti said she would first examine the language used, particularly when choosing books for her children, as she wants them to develop a stronger vocabulary.
“Sometimes, in some books nowadays, the language is too simple. So, I say no. I have to look for more so that they can build their vocabulary,” she said.
Like Maryanne and Hazel, Shaziti also prefers physical books, saying she even prints materials at work because she enjoys reading from paper.
She acknowledged, however, that physical books can be less convenient than digital versions, particularly because they are heavier and have to be carried around.
From a teenager searching for affordable crime fiction to a young professional turning to e-books for convenience, and a mother who has built a household reading culture, the experiences of these readers show that the love for books continues to take different forms.
