Big Bad Wolf Surabaya 2017: Experience, Tips, and Book Haul

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image source: here. edited by me.

[ 28 September - 9 October, 2017: at JX International ]

After missing out on last year's Big Bad Wolf because I was away on a trip with my friends to the U.S., this year I finally made it to Big Bad Wolf (BBW) Surabaya 2017! It's the biggest book fair for imported books which offered 60-80% discount. Well, to be honest, I wasn't planning on going. Firstly, because the location is really far away from home. Secondly, I know it's going to be fully packed with people. And the last reason, I don't have any plans on adding too many books onto my already huge pile of unread ones. But then my boyfriend offered me to go there, so I just went without having any expectations. This post is going to be about my experience during the event and at the end I will share the books that I (eventually) bought from BBW. Hopefully this will be helpful and give you some insights if you're planning to visit BBW in the future ;)

Here's the entrance to the event! There are security guards at the front door; paying special attention to people who brought food & drinks (because they're not allowed—but actually I brought a bottled water with me inside my bag :p) and also people who wants to re-enter the venue after shopping. Before you can re-enter, the security guards will tie your shopping bag(s) to ensure you're not intentionally adding more books inside it XD After the shopping bags are secured, you can enjoy your second round of book-shopping. The place is really well secured, there are also guards at the exit who checked every customer and made sure the purchase is valid. I think the system and the flow of the event is planned out really well. Despite the huge amount of people inside, I did not experience any sort of disturbance or inconveniences ;) Now let's move on to the main event!

When I stepped inside the venue I was in awe; mostly because of the amazing amount of books inside. I went there on a Friday night, so I expected a huge crowd since the following day is the weekend. Unexpectedly, even though there were SO many people around, I found myself able to enjoy browsing through the books and not feeling too cramped. Thanks to the high ceiling, I guess. At the entrance, you can also pick up a shopping cart (smaller or bigger size) for your convenience.  For the first 10 minutes or so, I was strolling around to see what categories are available. Below I listed all the book categories that I saw there. Forgive me if I missed anything, please do mention it in the comments so I could add them in ;)

•  C A T E G O R I E S  •

NON-FICTION • Architecture & Design • Self Help • Biography • Religion • Pets / Animals / Science / Nature • Beauty & Fashion • Health & Wellness • Humour • Cookery • Adult Coloring • Arts & Photography • Music / Movie • Transportation • Sports / Games / Puzzles • Crafts & Hobbies

FICTION • Graphic Novels & Comics • Young Adult • Children's Books • Science Fiction & Fantasy • Romance • Literature • Crime Thriller & Mystery

Surprisingly, there are tons of non-fiction books that are available there. I saw a lot of people picked up design books (which I know usually are super expensive) and other hobby-related stuffs. I didn't focus on those areas though. And of course, the first area that I explored was the Young Adult  and Literature section. I think I went round and round the same section multiple times—whilst trying to take a look at other people's shopping bags because I want to know what they bought XD (Who else does this in book events or in the bookstore? Or is it just me? :p)

Actually there were quite a lot of books in the Young Adult section that tempted me to pick them up, but I kept reminding myself that I have the e-books for these books already; so I didn't really feel the need to buy them. The one that I was contemplating the most were the Enid Blyton's books! The covers are so gorgeous and they're like begging me to pick them up XD Thankfully I survived through the temptation. Enid Blyton's books were my childhood favorites and I would absolutely want my children to read them in the future. But of course I can still get them when I do finally have a child of my own XD (this was my train of thoughts trying to keep my hands away from those books)

Another section that really caught my attention was the Graphic Novels & Comics section. There were graphic novels that I really wanted to get years ago but decided not to because they were extremely expensive. However, it's still not that cheap in BBW—obviously because all the pages are printed in full-colors. I contemplated for quite some time in this area and then I was determined not to buy them. I knew even if I did, I wouldn't read them right away; and I didn't think the price is worth it for me. *patting myself on the back as I reminisce these moments LOL*

The next section that intrigued me was the Self Help and Religion section. There are numerous good books and I spotted one of my favorite books of all time among the pile: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. The Self-Help books varies from psychology to motivational books. And the Religion section also provides various choices from all kinds of beliefs. I did manage to grab some books from these areas, which I will share down below. My boyfriend browsed mostly through the Business books, where he found some intriguing books as well. So it's safe to say that Big Bad Wolf provides a huge variety of books that will cater to all different kinds of book preferences ;)

After spending hours browsing through books and thinking twice about the books we wanted to buy, we finally went to the cashier. There are so many cashier counters, so you don't have to worry about queuing too long. And as I said earlier, after you made your purchase, there will be security guards at the exit to check the books that you bought. Before jumping in to the book haul, I'd like to share some tips for those of you who are planning to go to the future Big Bad Wolf event!

•  T I P S •

• Wear comfortable clothes and shoes! Because you'll definitely spend at least an hour or two strolling around the huge venue.

• Get your Goodreads app ready to scan the books! This really helped me in choosing books that I'm not sure if it's good or not. After scanning the book's barcode on goodreads, you'll be able to see the ratings and read through some of the reviews to see if it's worth buying ;)

• Grab the books that intrigued you. But before going to the cashier, think twice about the books that you want to buy. Are you sure is this something you'd read? Something you'd want to keep in your shelves? I started with about six books, and I let go of two books after doing this thinking process.

• If you're looking for a particular book, you can ask the BBW staffs and they'll gladly take you there. Rather than spending hours in vain, it's better to ask for help if you already know what you want.

• Take a peek at what other people are getting for inspirations XD. But don't impulsively get what other people are buying.

• If you don't want to go crazy on book shopping, limit yourself by bringing a certain amount of money you're willing to spend. The BBW event is limited to using credit cards / debit cards from Mandiri only. So I was able to control myself with the amount of cash I'm bringing.

• If you have the time, you can go back to the event several times because they add more books every other day! I discovered through Instagram that the books available are so different from the day when I went there. So do come back again when you have the time to do so.

• The place is open for 24 hours! If you want to avoid crowds/traffic, you can come at a 'weird' time: either early in the morning or very late at night. I came at a 'normal' hour, which is afterwork, thus the huge amount of people in the venue. 

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•  B O O K   H A U L  •

N or M? (Tommy and Tuppence, #3) by Agatha Christie

Fortune Favors the Brave: 100 Courageous Quotations by Lisa Congdon (Illustrations)

Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously but Not Literally by Marcus J. Borg

Irena's Children: A True Story of Courage by Mary Cronk Farrell

Lastly, here are the books that I got from BBW! I'm pretty proud of myself for only buying 4 books; considering there were, like, thousands of books to choose from. I got 3 non-fiction books and only 1 fiction book. I fell in love with the cover of the Agatha Christie book. And since I was reading Murder on the Orient Express at the time, I wanted more Agatha Christie books in my life <3 The second book is actually just an illustrated quotes book (Fortune Favors the Brave); but it's just SO pretty, I could not resist. And my boyfriend encouraged me to buy it anyway, so, why not? lol XD The third book is a book on Christianity that really intrigued me, and the rating is pretty high on Goodreads. As for the last book, the cover is what caught my attention. I just love that style of illustration. It's a historical non-fiction book about World War II, which I always found interesting. Hopefully I will get to read these books soon :))

And that wraps up this pretty long post! I definitely had a blast in this year's Big Bad Wolf, thanks to my boyfriend of course ;* It really warms my heart to see all these people being so eager about books. I just love hearing conversations about books and authors as I walked through the aisles. When I saw children asking their parents to buy them more books, I thought to myself: 'I would definitely be the kind of parent who would gladly give in to their requests' XD I hope this post has been an interesting one to read! :D It's been fun sharing my experience and my personal tips here.

Anyone else went to BBW this year?

Feel free to share the books that you bought in the comments below ;)

by.stefaniesugia♥ .