It is maybe a while since I bought books of my favorite titles for reading on my vacant time but I realized recently that I trigger impulse buying when it comes to books. Whenever I pass by Booksale Bookshop in Robinsons or Gaisano City back in our city, there is no instance that I leave the store without a book in hand. That may be because I still have that fascination with checking topics and reading them, which I have inherited since childhood.

I also got the impulse to buy books on the Shopee app since it is easily accessible on my smartphone. I try to associate some titles on my Magic: the Gathering card game hobby and I checked on old book novels related to the game’s storyline. Starting with just one product search in the app, and I found myself minutes or even an hour later looking for other book titles that got my interest. I am more fascinated by buying old or secondhand copies as they are cheaper. I remember one of my previous purchases on the shopping app was very old, and was a pocket player guide to Magic: The Gathering Fourth Edition. That instantly caught my attention since I had before borrowed MTG Novels from my friend’s collection which he got when buying the Fatpack products of the past sets. It was sad though that they discontinued it when I already had the buying capacity for those products.

The book themes or topics that I always check whenever I visit a bookshop are about self-help and recently, on urban planning. That is after taking my Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning, I needed to further develop my knowledge. There were urban planning books recommended during our study but I am also open to reading something that is more sector-specific like in the areas of Smart City or Transportation development.

The last time I purchased a few books was before I got the schedule to go here to Korea for my Master’s. Sadly, I had to leave them back at home for the reason that they would bear more weight in my baggage. I also thought that time that I might not be able to focus on reading them due to I have also lessons to study.

For now, I am thinking of checking local bookstores to find some interesting book titles. I may have a list in mind beforehand, based on Best Books of the Month by Amazon for example. Maybe I will do it on a vacant weekend to explore these shops. I do hope so to have some ample time and budget. Wish me good luck.

Yesterday, I decided to drop by Booksale at Robinsons Place Iloilo City proper, as I waited for the meetup with my friend with regards to his purchase of a gaming controller. It was just purely to spend the time and also to check some book titles that might get my interest. The place was small with a few fellow book reader checking on their desired topics.

Unsurprisingly, I eventually found one after digging through some of the books in the softbound section. The book title is Land Development, and after checking the table of contents, the topics were timely and coincided with our DURP subject on P231-Site Planning. More so, it was ideally related to our group project, which was the site plan for socialized housing for the municipality of President Roxas, Capiz.

The cost is around P205 and below is the book cover.

It was a bit pricey, but nonetheless information provided would prove to be useful to my work and to our office. The subject site planning might be done for the semester, but the plans for future projects that the Iloilo City LGU will implement will have this book as a viable reference.

For now, I might have this placed in my workstation at the city hall and casually read on the topics one by one during my free time.

Here I am sharing my recent book hauls when I dropped by earlier at Booksale in Robinsons Place city proper. I decided to drop by the shop right after meeting with a fellow hobbyist for a transaction on the Macross figure that I am selling. I tried my luck again looking for Magic: the Gathering novels but to no avail. I noticed that there were more romance novels in the right shelves than that of the fantasy and sci-fi action. Maybe they have been pulling out those old titles and replaced them with new ones. i got one short story sort-of-a fantasy novel which only costs 15 pesos.

I then skimmed through the technical softbound sections, hoping to get an Urban Planning related book. There were more financing and self-development titles and titles like software guide, marketing, and real estate. I was able to dig one which can be a related topic to my course and here it is below.

‘After Hong Kong: Some key trade issues for developing countries’ is about the Doha Round and its development, and on Hong Kong’s trade relations with least developed countries after its ministerial declaration on duty-free and quota-free access. The book costed 10 pesos.

As for the fantasy novel title I have mentioned earlier, it was The Warlock’s Companion by Christopher Stasheff.

It is a part of The Warlock Series of books and is probably the last part as I have checked. I did not spot any of the similar books on the shelves though I might check the story and Google it online if it happens that I will like it.

That is a wrap. Until the next post.

This is a bit of a late blog post (just a week ago) but I just wanted to share again that I had my recent book purchases when I dropped by Booksale in Robinsons Iloilo on a Friday last week. I seldom go to that establishment lately as I currently have a lot of pending books that I haven’t done reading yet.

Anyhow, here it goes

Blueprint – Measuring Sustainable Development

Price: P155

As I have browsed through this book’s table of contents, I’ve found some topics that I might need to read or have as a reference for my subjects in the current course I am taking which is the Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning. Sustainable Development has been thoroughly discussed in the previous semester so I am convinced that I still need to know more about this topic.

The Money Diet by Martin Lewis

Price: P50

This is a late grab purchase as I was about to drop my books at the cashier for payment. I have thought of having this one as my guide in budgeting my weekly or even daily expenses. That’s included in my pile of financial freedom books I have at the HQ.

Steve Jackson’s Creature of Havoc

Price: P25

I usually browse at the Fantasy books section whenever I drop by Booksale and hoping to find an old Magic: the Gathering novel that was once included in Fat Packs. I haven’t been lucky ever since, as I usually found Dragon Lance and the Star Trek book series. Anyhow, what convinced me to buy this book is the fantasy gameplay factor. It is not only reading but also taking the role of the main character and deciding its fate in your hands. That is every move and decision are to be done by you. I haven’t started playing it though so I’ll just share a quick look of the inside page.

To wrap up things, I’d suggest having and reading books as a pastime activity. It will in one way relax your eyes from the PC or laptop monitor. Also, it won’t cost you much as Booksale is your store of source. Most books would only cost about half or less of that expensive coffee you are buying, and the value of knowledge that you are digesting would surely suffice.