The moment the doors leading to the colossal Big Bad Wolf Book Sale Colombo 2019 opened at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC), it felt almost like a scene off 300 as early risers charged into the hall carrying an air of ‘warrior-like’ propensity and making a beeline towards the neatly displayed book islands. Bat of an eye later, a number had their carts full to the brim. Some had two, few even had three.
Many booklovers were described as being ‘on fire’ whenever they witnessed a book that is worth buying or simply, just by being surrounded by them. With the aim of grabbing the first copies of their favourite books, crowd gathered outside the venue prompted to a panic-buying state to make sure they were amongst the first to make it to the 3rd edition of the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale, here in Colombo.
The Book Sale officially opened to the public from 18thOctober and will go on till 28th October, where it will be open from 10am to 10pm on weekdays and operate 24-hours non-stop over the weekends. Starting from 10 am on Friday and ending at 12am on Sunday throughout the 11 days Sale period.
As usual, amazing discounts were on offer ranging from 50% – 90% off recommended retail price and it was noted that rare books which are hardly available in Sri Lankan book shops have been rolled out this year by the World’s Biggest Book Sale.
Looking at the number of books, it clearly indicates that the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale team assured it was a dream come true book howl for every fan. Their first weekend was buzzing with people of all ages who came from various parts of the island to buy their most cherished books. As a consequence of an increased demand over children’s book during the first weekend, the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale team has been earnestly restocking children book islands with all the new titles available including activity and sound books along with their pre-school and educational workbook range.
Visitors included families who were browsing through books towing their children alongbeing literally intoxicated by the sheer amount of new titles and awe-inspiring collections that were being displayed. Apart from fiction and children’s books, each and every book island was filled with a crowd gathering around to inspect each book and try to grab a bargain. Genres covered content on cookery, cars, romance, fantasy fiction, comics, graphic novels, young adults and a whole lot more.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of books you read, but reading can always elevate a person to a greater level of awareness and intellect. In a nutshell, reading is the most valuable investment that you make in yourself as it allows you to grow. The struggle we face is to convert a non-reader to a reader but we believe that it takes only one right book to convert a non-reader into one and the best habit you can inculcate is reading because you become what you read. “said Jacqueline Ng, founder of Big Bad Wolf Books as she welcomed Sri Lankan’s to the Sale.
The Sale, better known as a reading advocacy organization, is on a mission to spread the love of reading and to change the world one book at a time. It is for the hopes that by creating this platform, more people in this world will have access to affordable books and through these books, people will be inspired to chase their dreams.
Amidst the buying frenzy, visitors have been seen generously supporting The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm, Red Readerhood’s (RRH) initiative. Upholding their belief in giving back the best to the least, Big Bad Wolf Book Sale joined hands with Centre of Hope this year, a charity organization that operates a care home and educational centres located in Ampara, Batticaloa, Colombo and Mullaitivun. TheBook Sale has got the ball rolling by pledging 500 books to start this collection. All visitors can purchase and donate books towards this worthy cause during the 11 days Sale at the designated area in the hall before their exit.
Book lovers that comprised of hordes of friends came together leading their companions from one stall to the next, making sure they were led to the books they were looking forward to get. The enthusiasm was undoubtedly hyped-up and many of the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale enthusiasts lingered around the venue for hours on end, whilst anticipating their next visit to the Book Sale.
