10 Tips to Make the Most out of the 34th Manila International Book Fair Without Burning a Hole in your Wallet

by Wanda of The Yellow Library


If you're a book lover like me I know you have a tendency to splurge on books! But you also can't resist going to the book fair this year, so here are a few tips on how you can maximize and economize at the same time!

1. Get free passes

National Book Store, Fully Booked, and several other book stores and publishers are giving away free entrance passes like these to the book fair! Visit their stores and get your hands on one of them to save on the P20 entrance fee! Yes it may just be P20 but better to let that go into your transpo, snacks or book budget instead!


2. Know the exhibitors and activities

Do your homework prior to your visit so you can plan your trip accordingly. Get as much information as you can about who's going to be there and what's happening.

Also interesting to note is National's schedule of activities which include several book signings with local and international authors alike. Looking forward to those this Sunday!

3. Meet authors and have your books signed

It's not everyday that you meet authors, and it's free! (other than the cost of the book itself, of course.) Purchase is not strictly required for most signings so if you're really tight on the budget, you can even bring your previously purchased books to the fair and have them signed by your favorite authors there. I'm not sure what the value of signed books are but I think they're definitely worth more than unsigned ones!


4. Buy books by local authors

Don't be like my former self who didn't even bother to cast locally published books a glance. After a friend's recommendation, I was amazed to discover the quality and variety of local books, not to mention the fact that they are soooooo affordable! The Precious Pages booth is the place to grab some of these great finds, especially the Visprint area which carries some noteworthy titles.


5. Go with your book lover friends and pool your purchases to get freebies

What's a fair without the company of friends? Get your reading buddies to go with you so you can pool your purchases and get freebies with minimum purchase requirements. The minimum might seem too high at first but pooling your purchases will make it easier to reach!

6. Get free refreshments

If all that shopping has made you hungry, skip the trip to Starbucks and grab a cup of FREE coffee at the Goodwill Bookstore booth instead! You save P150 and there's even a sofa where you can crash on!

7. Let your kids join in the games and activities

I didn't bring my son with me but I'm sure he would've enjoyed the various games and activities. Several booths had toys and games that kids could enjoy for free, plus interactive storytelling sessions. Check the schedule of activities for more details. Here's a photo of Alex the Lion of Madagascar taking photos with fans!

8. Grab great deals

This is it! What we came to the book fair for! The point of all that saving was so that we could spend more money on books! Yehey!

9. Learn in the various seminars and forums

The exhibit area is just the tip of the iceberg! Check out the schedule of activities for a wide range of learning sessions held at the function rooms including "How to Write your own Book" by Isagani Cruz on Saturday at 6 pm, The Filipino Reader Conference at 5:30pm, and storytelling sessions on Sunday.

10. Have fun!

The best part of all! Not so hard to do when you're surrounded with books!


So far this is the list I came up with. If you want to add some more, by all means please write them in the comments below! Thanks for reading and enjoy at the fair!

Reposted here with permission from the author.

For the complete version of this article (with photos), please check this link:

http://wandafulworldofbooks.blogspot.com/2013/09/10-tips-to-make-most-out-of-34th-manila.html



Thank you, Miss Wanda and Read Philippines!