THRIFTING PAPER AFTER YOU THRIFTED THREADS

by Malak Tarek     

Your wallet is not particularly as fond of your hobbies as you might be. The  worse the economic situation, the less opportunities you find to indulge yourself. You're left with more illegal and unethical options, unable to show sincere support to your favorite writers. 

    In Egypt, reading has become a privilege and I'll admit, I myself have went for many unethical ways to keep my hobby, what else can a sixteen year old do, who has no way of finding extra sources of money? It is very fortunate that the mold is starting to change, more people are more open to new and better ways to make things accessible for everyone and with the help of the Internet, you are ready to know the secrets too.

    Now, I myself have been apprehensive of the idea of buying used books. After all, I liked fresh books, with no broken spines, with pristine covers and being the first owner. Yet, I think at some point on social media, used books started to appeal to my eyes. The yellowish pages, the older cover designs, the stack of books that look well-loved, dare I say, maybe even the few words written in the margins. 

     A year ago, when my friend told me he got used books because he's trying to avoid illegal books, I was iffy about the idea. Now, I am on a hunt for used books. Perhaps this has become an even more veracious hunt because of my anger that knock-off books look bad on my shelves, the covers tilted, the spines ignored, the fonts ugly. I was done with this, and I decided if I can't afford original books then I will go for used original ones. 

  

Now, I will tell you about where you can also find your next read:

1. Cairo Book Fair:

A booth in Cairo Book Fair

A gathering of used books sellers will be found at the Azbakeya Section. I got to go to the used books section for the first time this year. Despite going in the last week of the fair, I managed to get eight books and had to leave many behind because of my budget. Although, you'd need to go earlier to find more popular titles, I just happened to have been very interested in classics recently. Nevertheless, the books are displayed very clearly, the sellers know which books are available and can help you find it if you have a specific title in mind. Yet I felt that nothing beats the rush when I find a book on to-be-read (tbr) list, that I found in a stack abandoned by everyone. 

The prices there are also very reasonable, the most expensive book I got was around 150 and it was a Penguin Classics Book in excellent condition. But even if you find a book that’s out-of-budget, you can try bargaining to get a deal with the seller if you got enough books. 

2. Al-Maadi Used Bookstore:

Bookshelves in Al Maadi Used Books

Al Maadi used bookstore is a little store set up in a garage that just has dozens of bookshelves, stacked floor to ceiling. I cannot lie, I found it very overwhelming. Even though I set a whole list of what I want to look for, the moment I laid my eyes on the colossal amount of books, my mind went blank. For this bookstore, it is much more challeng  ing to hunt for familiar titles. It is arranged according to the Author's names, yet you can find shelves packed not in two stacks but even three and reaching five consecutive stacks on the ones closer to the floor. I had to give up on searching for authors with the H letter because of how impossible it was. 

Yet surprisingly, I found some titles I didn't expect to get out with. Only one was from my list but the gems I got were unexpected, didn't even cross my mind but I am very happy with them. 

3. The Books Planet (the_books_planet on instagram)

The Book Planet Instagram Feed

The Books Planet is an Instagram page that posts used books every couple of weeks. Many titles you'd be familiar with are there. The condition of the book is always astounding. It does not however come without challenge. The moment they are uploaded, you'd find most already sold before you have the chance to even ask about its price. It is a place though, I wouldn't ignore and would have an eye on for whenever they upload next.

4. Used Books in Egypt (A Facebook Group)

Used Books Facebook Group 

If the books you are looking for are famous on TikTok, this will be the most likely place to find them. People who have bought books but need shelf space, didn't find it to their liking or aren't interested in the book anymore, list them on this group. So, whether you have books you want to get rid of, or searching for a very specific read, post it on this group and others will help you. 

5. Book Worm Egypt 

Bookworm Egypt's Instagram Feed

You can either find them on social media (Instagram or Facebook) or you can check the new used books available on their website. This store sells both used and new books. Adding to that, it  has many book titles and they keep adding every week. Many books are popular and you would probably be familiar with, some are more niche genres; if that is what you are more looking for. There is a bit of everything on there!

If you have thrifted books before, tell us which is your favorite find, and what book you are looking for maybe you’ll find someone planning to sell it from the comments!