Anyway, one place that is compulsory for me to drop by whenever I go to Penang is Chowrasta. Not only because of the fruits pickle (betul ke term tu for jeruk?), but also for the books. It is located right opposite of one big police station along Jalan Penang.
It's a bit hidden at the end of the 1st floor of the building (jeruk is at the ground floor). I discovered this place during my study time in early 2000 and it has been my favourite treasure box ever since. I also have blogged about this place in my old blog (twice I think) but I'm gonna write about it again today :)
When I reached the bookstore, it is a bit shaby but somehow warmth feeling running down through my spine once I see the owner. They never changed, the same uncles with the same smiles. Only the hair changed, additional of gray hair and maybe some wrinkles.
It's weird though, that we don't really have any relationship and yet, I kinda miss them.
Moving on, we spent 4 HOURS at the bookstore and had to go back when I see MrComot already restless hehe
Books heaven
Everything is stacked up to the ceilingThis place is well-known for their second-hand book but they also sell new book and that will be a bit expensive (but still cheaper than normal bookstore). They also bought over books/comics/magazines but I never sell anything yet, so I don't know how good the offer is.
That day I also found old Beano comics (earliest generation on paper) and it is at RM2 per piece. I didn't take it because it has thousands of pieces. If only I have lotsa money, I will buy the collection *sobs*
I have the whole title from Sidney Sheldon and the full set of Tintin, so I ran out of idea what to buy. I mean, I don't really read now. I tried John Grisham, can't finish it yet. Nich Sparks is a bit cheesy for me, McNaught wayyyy cheesier, Stephen King is too high for my vocab and so on. I tried to find Khaled Hosseini and Christopher Moore, but sold out so I decided to buy on something that I don't know if I'm going to like it or not, but I read that most blogger have it - The Shopaholic Series!
I managed to grab 6 of them which is, Confessions Of A Shopaholic, Can You Keep A Secret?, The Secret Dreamworld Of A Shopaholic, Shopaholic Abroad, The Undomestic Goddess, and Shopaholic And Sister. I also bought Kitchen God's Wife from Amy Beh and Water Wings by Lauren McCrossan. I read few pages and mcm best so I decided to give it a try.It is priced at RM20/piece only (ada yg RM22), you have to haggle a lot. But it's worth the begging since it is not a secondhand piece. Oh ya, I have this fetish to buy new book even though I want to read it one time only. Konon2 nak buat collection la.
And last not least, I bought Asterix!!!!
This will be my ultimate collection!!! The thing with asterix is, it is very expensive (considering it has hundred over series and priced at RM44.90 each). Even if I buy from Chowrasta it is still expensive to me, for me to have the whole set at one go.
So guess how much I got for Asterix?
RM30 each okkk! It's dirt cheap! And totally new! So, bollocks to Kinokuniya, MPH, Borders or whoever want to squeeze RM40 over out of me! Gahhhhhh
Since I am no rich man, so I just buy 11 pieces to add into my current 6 pieces. Leaving me hundreds more to go *sob sob*
Help me! I want Asterix!!I also bought some Comic Capers series. My fav will be Bananaman!
Do you know how bananaman become bananaman?
Eat banana lah! What else. Duh~
Haha whatever, but I think it is cute and funny.
The place is really insane I told you. With lotsa books at incredible low price, even if you plan not to buy, you still will buy, at least one.
The only minus point for this place is, they *might*not have all the books that we wanted. Like I wanted Chris Moore and Khaled Hosseini. Even Asterix is not available completely. Only few titles are ready.
So my advice is, keep the uncle's phone number and give them a list of what title you would like to buy. They may arrange it for you. And I forgot to do that for my Asterix. Maybe if you go to Chowrasta one day, you can get the number from me? 1st shop from the row eh. Mucha gracias :-*
So this is my current reading ;)New and cheap :D
enjoy reading dear.. the confession of a shopalcholic tu me baca belas2 kali kalau x silap.. :p
ReplyDeletehah! another shopaholic victim. i bet u gonna love every tiny bit of it. kinsella really rocks thousands gazillions times okay. tanya fiena. not to mention the movie, me so tak sabar to see okeh. oops..over kejap.
ReplyDeleteanyway, me too love the chowrasta book heaven big time wlupun itu ane kadang2 mengada rasa mcm nak lempang je. hoh.
on the completely different & menyampah note, apa buat 10 entry satu hari ni???? me tak puas hati betul okkkkkk!!!! *pukul andes*
ReplyDeletebila la me bleh update my blog ni..haihh.
em..ya kat situ mmg byk buku..tp kena habiskan masa yg sgt lama kan nak cr buku tu..em tak pernah lg cr buku lama2 kat situ..may b some other time..=)
ReplyDeletemalas mau pg sana..so nanti aku datang library kat kota damansara utk pinjam buku,bole???? =p
ReplyDeletezaman dulu-dulu kan..mr.polt yang kenalkan me dengan kedai-kedai macam ni. the most favourite spot yang dekat CM tu..kan mr.polt kan? ahahahaa...memang sesak nafas, tapi best giler. rasa macam nak minta keje kat situ je.
ReplyDeleteRena, wahhh me tatau pun u baca! Cool cool, me baru baca few pages and mcm best
ReplyDeleteBee, bila laa movie tu nak kuar. Uncle tu mmg mcm tu but u buat muka bodoh and tak layan then baru u get all the privacy. They have to compete kan. And bila masa me buat 10 entry, dengki sgt okkkk. Me pun boring dah tgk entry lintah u tu ok. Sila update :P
Maria, me selalu kumpul duit utk pegi situ, sebab rasa mcm rugi kalau pergi tapi tak beli. But it's a bit hapak and stuffy, kalau duduk lama2 boleh pitam
ReplyDeleteSiluman, dialu-alukan tapi ada kad keahlian ok. Yuran tahunan dikenakan haha. Takdela, datang je la pinjam :P
Lalink, dekat CM tu ada satu kat groundfloor tu kan? Situ pun best jugak but better la. Chowrasta ni lagi hapakkkk
hi..i also have the complete series of teh shopaholic..btw, i rasa "confession of shopaholic" and "secret dreamworl of shopaholic" is the same story with different title, isn't it?..sorry kalau salah :D enjoy.. ;)
ReplyDeleteMizzhiga, I'm not sure la sama ke tak dua tu, I have yet to read it. Nnt pas dah baca semua, kalau sama I'll blog about it :D
ReplyDeletehi there, i'm dropping by just to inform that i've linked your blog on Chowrasta Market to mine. i tot your pics and description of the 2nd handbook dealers are the best i can find in the net! hope you don't mind - thank you!!
ReplyDelete