I have this problem where I cannot walk into a bookstore and then walk out empty handed. I'm a big…read morebookworm and saying goodbye to an entire store filled with books without a book for myself is just unthinkable. That's like hiring a prostitute, giving her a hug, and then sending her away. Actually, it's worse than that. EXPLOIT THE OPPORTUNITY, methinks. This is especially hard when it comes to secondhand or cheap bookstores like Bookay-Ukay. This place is amazing. It is filled from ceiling to floor with books - and not the usual crap you see in chain bookstores, either. You can tell that these titles were handpicked by whoever manages this place, and you're sure to find something you like in this hole-in-the-wall. My girlfriend had to drag me away from these books. I wanted to buy the entire building.

Finally visited the store, saw one of my fave comic books and bought it. never knew that I could…read moreget one for a such a low-cost. I'll definitely visit the store again for sure.

Fully Booked Katip is a place I regularly pass by whenever I get picked up. My dad comes from the…read morenorth, so I chill at Regis Center while waiting for him. This particular branch is really fun to stay in, because it's hardly ever full. The staff are used to dealing with the "college kid" demographic, and know all the latest Young Adult or Romance hits, and are very responsive when you want to have one ordered from another branch to be picked up or to pre-order a book. It's especially nice to hole up in the back part of the branch or in the couch seat in one corner and just will the hours away. There's fancy stationary and pens available too, if you find yourself short of any. Another thing I love about it is how it's right next to a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf branch, where you can enjoy your latest book buy with some warm tea and pastries to keep you company.

Fully Booked is the heaven of book lovers! They have great selections of all sorts, and even a…read morego-to for comic books and graphic novels. The store gives a classy and comfortable vibe. Conveniently placed in Katipunan, students, teachers and even parents are the usual customers who drop by at this branch. I personally go to Fully Booked to buy quality art supplies that may not be found in other bookstores. I also find some of their items exclusive that's great for gift shopping. This particular branch may not be big enough to house the particular item(s) you're looking for, but the staff can help you find them at the other bigger branches in the metro. The downside for me is that their items can be pricey and buying from there can make your wallet cry :( However, the place for me can be a good treat-yourself once in a while. It will also help to avail their membership card if you're planning to buy books and supplies there regularly. I will surely drop by Fully Booked once in a while to update myself with cool art stuff and perhaps buy a book as well. :)

I am a very regular customer at SM Hypermarket and one of my most frequently visited establishments…read morewould hands down have to be Books for Less. Few things make me happier than sticking my nose in a book so when I found out that the store was no longer as big as it used to be, it made me sad. However, BFS continues to provide a decent selection of fiction and nonfiction books that one can peruse and purchase from. I've found many a gem here, and I'm glad that places like this exist as where would society be without the written word.

A fine meal on a low budget, a nice dress at a bargain price, a good book at 1/5 or 1/10 of its…read moreoriginal cost. These are some of our small consolations in this world riddled with inflation. The third consolation, I experienced once when I bought a thick Prentice Hall hardbound book at Chapters and Pages, an unpretentious book sale located in the corridor of the 2nd level of Blue Wave mall. That book would have easily cost me a thousand pesos or probably much more, but at Chapters and Pages, I got it for around 300 pesos. And the catch: The book was still pretty new being its latest edition. It even beat the copy in our university library which was an earlier edition! I also happen to know someone who gets his inspirational books from the same source. Sometimes he has good finds at 30 pesos or so. That price is even less than a dollar! They may be previously owned books but still in good, readable shape. And, I'm sure, for that price, you wouldn't mind tiny pen marks or the smell of shelf dust. Many of us love to window shop. Chapters and Pages has no windows, only shelves, but it is well-worth checking out and circling the small area and scanning the volumes on sale.

Looking for affordable, educational and still efficient books? Then head on to Booksale, a bookshop…read morethat has almost everything: from recipe books to children's books, medical references, comic books, fiction and non-fiction novels, magazines, etc. Most of their books are sold for a much lower price, since they're already second-hand books (don't worry, the pages are still intact for most of them and they still look good in terms of condition). Some of their books may be outdated, but still full of information which you could use in whatever you need.

I love passing by this Booksale branch every time I'm in the area of Cubao. The fact that it's so…read moreconveniently located nearby Cubao Expo (on the way towards it if you're coming from Farmer's or Gateway) makes it a very tempting stop over before my day drink ventures. Although the book selection is a bit pricier than the branches I frequent, I also noticed that the items here were of newer stock. The children's books are also not as old and worn out as I would have expected but that and the surplus stock they have comes with a price which reaches about Php 70 and above but never more than Php 180. I've bought a few kiddie books here with regret to the price but these purchases have quickly become one of the favorite books of my daughter. I also decided to check out what I like to call "the mahal section" where books range from Php110 to Php200 and found a book that stood out because the sticker on it said it was one of the New York Times Bestseller's List so I bought the book even if it was crazy expensive for my taste (Php 115) especially from an author I've never had before. It was such a good book I couldn't put it down on the MRT ride home and I still do make a special reading time for it para sulit ang basa.

This shop is at the second floor of the Ayala mall and easily caught our attention - very…read morebeautifully decorated, spacious and cozy. They sell second hand books - they have a lot of books on hand and they were stacked neatly for easier browsing. They also have cool items like scratch maps, globe stress ball, adventure banks, etc. Highly recommended for book and novelty item enthusiasts.

MSM Surplus should be one of the first places you go to if you've just moved into a new place just…read morebecause of the random stuff you find there. And that they have in abundance. From cutlery to china, appliances (beware the 110v though) to furniture, to clothes, toys and electronics. Lawnmowers. Telescopes. Old medical equipment like crutches and walkers and canes. Golf clubs. Luggage. Books. I can go on. Although some of their stuff looks broken beyond repair, there a still a lot of useful things that can be found there. Like power tools. Fishing rods. Gaming consoles. Gaming console adapters. Gaming console controllers. Gaming console games. The only dangerous time to go there is when you're looking for something you don't know what. Because you might end up buying old board games. Or betamax players. Or VHS players. Or laser disc players. Or playing cards. Or trading cards. Every corner has something interesting to see. So go there when you're looking for coffee makers. Or when you just want to look at old stuff and find somethinf neat.

MSM Surplus is one of those kinds of places you pass by on your commute by southbound bus or train…read moreand you wonder what it is and if their business is thriving and if they're even actually open. Then when you realize that they're the same place of a secondhand store you used to frequent in Cubao which closed, you finally do a search on them, discover that they have an updated Facebook page, and go for a visit and are treated to the wonders therein. It's a huge warehouse of secondhand everything from furniture to books to electronics to toys to clothes (the only category they don't have much of--they're not that kind of an ukay). You name it and you'll probably find it there in some shape and/or form. I'm a sucker for rummaging through a melange of stuff to get at good books (a still beautifully covered "Valley of the Dolls" or a "Marcel the Shell" hardcover) for fifty pesos each, or a childhood board game, which though incomplete, was still pretty worth it for a hundred bucks. (I'll be waiting for them to dredge up another copy and hopefully be able to actually play it.) If you're the kind of person who's still happy covered in dust having scrounged some great finds, then have at it.

Secondhand bookshops are treasure groves for me. I just love this tiny panicky feeling I get every…read moretime I enter, not knowing where to start. In places like these, you'll never know what you could find. So it really feels like you have to be alert and look really carefully, especially if you're hunting down a very rare book or magazine issue. Enough about books though. Foreign and art magazines are pretty hard to find locally. I used to have copies of Juxtapoz mailed to me by a friend who lives abroad. They take forever to arrive and by the time I get my hands on them, a new issue will be out. I was thrilled when the cashier answered "meron" to me when I asked if they had copies of Juxtapoz. I mean why didn't I think of that before? I don't know. It honestly never occurred to me to ask the keepers. My bad. The issues I get are still outdated, it's pretty hard to come by, after all. But at the very least I don't have to spend too much on shipping costs and whatnot.

When i was a kid, I dreamed of having my own library at home. I would line up my books in small…read moreshelves and imagine a whole room filled with books about various topics and fields. But as I was growing up, I noticed that books, especially hardbound ones can be quite pricey. So the dream just waned away. However, Booksale has rekindled this vision when it introduced to me the concept of buying pre-loved books and magazines. Actually, I don't consider myself as a bookworm. I just experience a simple joy when I see my books lined up side by side waiting to be opened and explored (it makes me feel organized). But more than books, I am a magazine person. I read fashion and travel magazines more than books. When I am in Booksale, I usually spend a lot of time perusing through their back issues of foreign magazines and find the ones that interest me. Since they aren't current issues, they are sold cheaper so I usually end up buying two or three issues...per field of interest.