Daily Times

Excitement, enthrallment and enthusiasm were evident upon the faces of those who were visiting Hall #5 at the Karachi Expo Centre to attend the Big Bad Wolf Sale.

It offered over a million books and was held from July 26 to August 5, 2019. Andrew Yap and Jacqueline Ng – the husband and wife team are the brainchild and founders of the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale also referred to as the World’s Biggest Book Sale. What began as their humble origins in 2006 has now turned into a literary extravaganza in Malaysia and the world with the first such sale being held in Pakistan this year. This sale is also unique for its runs for 24-hours in whichever city it is being organized.

The Big Bad Wolf sale featured books from a number of genres including fiction, non-fiction, adult fiction, biographies, reference books, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, children books and books related to do-it-yourself, photography, cooking, tourism, health, machines, environment, comics, Urdu fiction and the list goes on.

While Karachiites do enjoy several book sales around the year, organised by various publishers and distributors, the Big Bad Wolf sale was unique for it offered titles and books from authors that are normally not easily available. Moreover, there were comic books — more of a collector’s item — in sleek packaging

While Karachiites do enjoy several book sales around the year organized by various publishers and distributors, the Big Bad Wolf sale was unique for it offered titles and books from authors that are normally not easily available. Moreover, there were comic books – more of a collector’s item – in sleek packaging. Interestingly, all books available at this sale were in original print and book lovers could bask in the aroma of the paper while browsing through the plethora of books available.

The Big Bad Wolf’s idea of having a sale for 24-hours was also the first-of-its-kind for Karachiites and those in Lahore. According to the founders of the Big Bad Wolf, the idea for a 24-hour sale was to give access to those unable to attend a book sale during the day because of personal engagements, work commitments and other errands. The 24-hour sale gives everyone a chance to visit the sale and buy the books at their convenience. Furthermore, all books available were at offered with a 50-90% discount off their retail price.

Also offered at the Sale were books based on Augmented Reality (AR) also referred to as Magical Books. Using an application on the Smartphone, readers can see the book come to life, which is a learning experience for children.

The Sale also gave away customers shopping carts to put their books in, a sight not before seen in book shops/exhibitions/sales across Karachi. Eager readers were carefully and meticulously going through each section of the Sale, were analysing books placed on each table before completing the selection process. While the Big Bad Wolf sale came to Pakistan for the first time, apart from being held in its country of origin, Malaysia, this Sale is also frequently held in Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.

While commenting on this Sale, Awais Akhtar Butt, Director, Big Book Private Limited, the organizer of the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale 2019 in Karachi and Lahore said that “Reading contributes to the growth of the mind. Books fuel our imagination and compel us to become better thinkers.” He further said that it was a challenge to organize a book sale with over a million books and a sale that was open for 24- hours. He said that volunteers and an amazing team in Pakistan helped them achieve their objectives in Lahore and Karachi. He also said that The Big Bad Wolf sale has become a permanent feature in countries it has organized its sales and he was hopeful that it will return to Pakistan soon. He thanked the people of Karachi and Lahore for visiting the Sale and advised them to never let go of their book reading habit.

Avid readers expressed their opinion about the Big Bad Wolf sale who had bought several books from this sale. According to Sadiq Suleman, a digital marketing professional, there were a variety of titles at this sale and he purchased What’s Mine Is Yours – The Rise of Collaborative Consumption by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers, among other books.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist. He can be reached at omariftikhar@hotmail.com