Books Box Sale: How Many Books Can You Pack Into Each Box? ;)

If you don’t already know, the annual Books Box Sale is back again (4 – 13 August) and it’s a real book buffet. Just get a box for $50 and you can take as many books as you want (*as long as they fit into the box, and the box can be sealed flat, i.e. no bulges). I went for the media preview session yesterday and came home with 2 full boxes of books! In the picture you see above, that’s one box of books I packed myself. There’s a trick to it, which I’ll share with you in a bit. And yes, I paid for it! 😛 In one box, I managed to pack 33 books, and in another, 39 books. So each book costs less than $1.50! (@_@) What was more shocking was the selection of books available. Some of these titles I’ve actually paid FULL PRICE for in bookstores (usually over $20 each) and they are available at the Books Box Sale! What?! Like the book ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes‘ I reviewed two days ago. Ridiculous, isn’t it? I think I’ll adjust the amount I spend on books every year by saving up the money I usually spend on buying unhealthy stuff like bubble tea and during the next Books Box Sale, return home with four boxes of books! 😀 I really need a new bookcase!

*Tip for packing: First arrange the books you’ve selected according to height, then place them into the box as I’ve shown you above. Do not stack them up! Smaller books can be used to fill the tiny spaces remaining and really thin ones can be placed flat on top just before you seal the box. 😀

Available in both hardcover and paperback at the Sale:

*sniff sniff* You can get it at less than $1.50 when I’d already paid over $20. 😦

There’s Belinda Lee’s award-winning book too – Larger Than Life

I’ve reviewed ‘Larger Than Life’ as well, if you remember. Oh gosh. Just buying two titles at regular bookstores is the equivalent of getting an entire box of books at the Books Box Sale. Grrr.

And here’s another book that I already own, having paid full price for it:

There is one very Singaporean word that fully encapsulates how I feel about this: Sian.

There are books for just about everyone. Many of Richard Branson’s books are available, and there will be some from female authors you love as well:

I spent over two hours at the preview and my neck was aching by the end of it, from looking down at all the titles. There are so many! There’s everything from kids books to cooking, literature to pets, history to business. And lots of fiction books too.

I found Signed Copies:

Books I didn’t even know existed, written by people I know:

That’s Magic Babe Ning!

And lots of coloring books, even the famous (and expensive) ones from Johanna Basford:

*If you bought them at full price previously… well well well… you can pack dozens of them into a $50 box now.

And there are FREE books for students too! Read T&Cs:

And lots of kids and toddler-friendly books. Here are just a few:

Enough said! You have to head down to the Books Box Sale. Make sure you follow the organisers on Facebook so you can be alerted to things like flash sales, crowd situation updates, new stocks, etc: https://www.facebook.com/sgbookdeals/

It’s quite easy to get to the Books Box Sale by public transport. I took the train to Bishan MRT station, and crossed the overhead bridge to get to the bus stop opposite the MRT station. From there, I took bus 55 and alighted at the third stop. And the Pansing building is just across the road. 🙂 You can either take the stairs or the lift to get to the Sale at level 3. If possible, bring sufficient cash ($100 should be enough) and a trolley so you can pull it around while browsing and also for transporting your books home! 🙂

Happy Shopping & Reading! 🙂

‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’ by Caitlin Doughty

Some books are ‘unputdownable’ which means you read them cover to cover in probably just one sitting. That usually means they’re pretty good reads. And I’ve only just discovered another type of book which you have to ‘put down’ and come up for air every so often before you dive back into reading again. Caitlin Doughty’s ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’ is a book I didn’t know I’ve been avoiding my entire life. It involves a topic that I, and the rest of society (probably), try to avoid discussing or even thinking about – death. But there’s so much to learn from this woman who went to work in a crematorium at the age of 23.

Do you know how dead bodies are embalmed? Which part of your corpse gets sliced, what gets removed, what gets drained and what is injected into your system?

Did you know that metal pieces or even superglue (as a safety measure) is used to ensure the mouth of the dead person stays shut? And the spiked contraption to keep the eyelids in place, to complete that peaceful look of being ‘at rest’ in the casket?

And if, unfortunately, you have a baby or a child that has died, do you see to it personally that your child gets cremated or would you choose the ‘online’ option of keying in your credit card details and have someone else pick up your baby/child from the hospital and get it cremated out of your sight?

All too often, people don’t want to think about such things. After all, when you kick the bucket, someone else will have to make a decision on your behalf and it’s very likely you’ll either be buried or cremated. After reading this book, I’m pretty sure I don’t want any of that embalming done. And I’m probably going to pop the question to family members and friends, and find out if they have any ‘last wishes’ as to what they want done with their corpse.

While death is certain for everyone, most of us seem uneasy about planning how we want to ‘return to the earth’. I suppose some people would classify this as a taboo topic and be so superstitious as to think that thinking about death would mean the Grim Reaper’s going to come knocking on your door soon. These same people would probably think buying insurance would hasten the occurrence of an accident or bringing an umbrella when you go out would mean it’d rain that day.

I think it’s good to have certain plans in place because if a death happens suddenly, the deceased person’s loved ones would be overcome by grief and loss. They might look for an undertaker via a Google search or ask someone for a recommendation. And all too often, they might be ripped off. Like everything else in Singapore, funerals don’t come cheap, especially if you meet funeral directors who are master salespeople.

If a funeral director posed me this question:

“Wouldn’t you want a premium Batesville casket for so-and-so? Former U.S. Presidents and celebrities like Ronald Reagan and Michael Jackson had Batesville caskets! Look… it has blah blah blah… and would totally demonstrate your love for so-and-so and it even comes with a special drawer for your keepsakes blah blah blah”

… I might find it tough to say “nope, just the regular casket will do. Yup, the cheapest one. Thanks. The rest are overpriced. Any other hidden costs?”

It would be so much better if everyone had already made their wishes known, so no grieving family member needs to fall prey to hard selling, right? No need to purchase costly add-ons unless finances allow and a “show” needs to be put on for the other people coming to the funeral.

I like how Caitlin Doughty also busts some myths with this book. For instance, you don’t have to be afraid of dead bodies and that you might catch some disease from a corpse. You won’t. According to Caitlin, the bacteria involved in decomposition is different from the bacteria that causes disease. And you are more likely to become ill from being in an airplane than sitting next to a corpse. So, if you’re up for it, why not help clean and clothe the body of a loved one?

And the book is also full of interesting bits of wisdom, such as…

“When you know that death is coming for you, the thought inspires you to be ambitious, to apologise to old enemies, call your grandparents, work less, travel more, learn Russian, take up knitting. Fall in love.”

 

If you haven’t read this book, go purchase or borrow a copy. It’s probably one of the most life-changing (or rather, death-changing) books on the planet.

~

Caitlin has also done a couple of TED talks, and here are the videos for your viewing pleasure:

Great idea: composting instead of cremating the dead 🙂

And the BuzzFeed video which drew a comment about ‘what if people draw dicks on the dead guy’s face’: