Overview
Location – Shri Sunderbai Hall, Churchgate, Mumbai [5-10 minutes’ walk from both Churchgate station (Western Railways), and CSMT station (Central Railways)]
Date and Time – 16 March, 2023 to 19 March, 2023; from 9 am to 8 pm
What was on offer? – Books! Lots of ’em! Genres included were mainly Fiction/Children’s/Non-Fiction/Coffee Table; sold at ₹100/- per kg for regular fiction books, ₹300/- per kg for children’s books, etc.
Find out more – https://www.facebook.com/Booksbyweight/
Review
“NOT sponsored/promotional.”
BooksByWeight is a local Indian business that organizes various book fairs throughout numerous Indian cities. Talking about Mumbai, the organization of the fairs takes place mainly at two locations, multiple times a year – Shri Sunderbai Hall, Churchgate, and Fabiani’s Art Gallery, Irla. I personally have been to the former location three times to find myself some great books to buy at very cheap prices, and I have not been disappointed yet!
Also check out – Bestseller Books in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, who also organize their own book fairs in Mumbai and other cities throughout India.
Books I bought at my latest visit (at the dates mentioned above) –
Pre-owned/used fiction books at ₹100/- per kg [6 books weighing a total of 3 kg; that is ₹50/- per book!]
- ‘Wise Man’s Fear’ by Patrick Rothfuss [#2 of ‘The Kingkiller Chronicles’].
- Condition – Like New; no complaints really!
- Already had Book 1, so to find it here was an absolute delight! That too at approx. ₹50/- is crazy! Fantasy readers (bibliophiles in general) will get the excitement of it all!
- ‘Wizard’s First Rule’ by Terry Goodkind [#1 of the ‘Sword of Truth’ series].
- Condition – Good; yellowed pages.
- ‘The Darkness that Comes Before’ by R. Scott Bakker [#1 of the ‘Prince of Nothing’ series].
- Condition – Like New (Paperback, but the size of a hardcover); a little tear at the back cover.
- ‘Sole Survivor’ by Dean Koontz [Standalone].
- Condition – Like New; yellowed pages.
- ‘Last Train to Woodstock’ by Colin Dexter [#1 in the ‘Inspector Morse’ series].
- Condition – Very Good; creased/cracked spine.
- ‘Aggressor’ by Andy McNab [#9 of the ‘Nick Stone Missions’].
- Condition – New! Plus, a Hardcover! That too wrapped in a plastic cover!
Pre-owned/used children’s books at ₹300/- per kg [3 books weighing a total of 0.4 kg; that is approx. ₹42/- per book!]
- ‘The City of Ember’ by Jeanne DuPrau [#1 of the ‘Book of Ember’ series].
- Condition – Very Good; creased/cracked spine.
- ‘The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet’ by Tony Abbott [#1 of ‘The Secrets of Droon’ series].
- Condition – New! (I personally have a lot of nostalgia and fond memories attached to this series in particular, especially since #30 – ‘Escape from Jabar-Loo’, was the very first book/novel that I read in my life! So, to find the first book that starts the epic journey of this series, I was more than happy!).
- ‘Voyagers of the Silver Sands’ by Tony Abbott [Special Edition #3 of ‘The Secrets of Droon’ series].
- Condition – New! (Excitement through the roof with this one!).
What was really impressive?
- Books were super cheap (thanks to the concept of buying in bulk/by weight).
- Wide variety of books across numerous genres were available.
- Collection of children’s books was pretty impressive, the likes present being – ‘Goosebumps’, ‘Magic Tree House’, etc. among others.
- Collection of non-fiction/coffee table books was pretty good too.
- Condition of many books was pretty good, with multiple books being ‘like new’.
What could be better?
- SFF (Sci-Fi Fantasy) books were very less in number (certainly need a little bit of luck here of finding them, as was in my case).
- Same can be said with respect to the teen/YA (Young Adult) genre as well.
Other info.
- ONLY English language books are available.
- Books can only be bought/purchased, and NOT be sold.
- Purchased books can be strapped FREE of cost.
- Also, there are cardboard boxes attached to a string so that you don’t have to carry the books in your hand. Instead, just put them all in the box, which can be pulled/dragged along the ground to basically make life easier for you.
Final thoughts
Overall, I’m super happy with my experience as a whole. Was able to get my hands on some of the best and biggest names around… that too at such low rates is truly like a cherry on top of the cake! Will be definitely visiting again for sure. HIGHLY RECOMMEND all the booklovers out there to give this a visit!
Rating: – 8/10 (Pretty good!)
