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Big Bad Wolf book sale to visit Balikpapan in November
Slated to take place at the Balikpapan Sport and Convention Center (Dome Balikpapan) on Jl. Ruhui Rahayu, the event will be open from 8 a.m. until midnight.
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Visitors hunt for books on the final day of the annual Big Bad Wolf book sale in ICE BSD, South Tangerang. (The Jakarta Post/Ricky Yudistira)
The popular Big Bad Wolf book sale is set to be held in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, from Nov. 1 to 10.
Slated to take place at the Balikpapan Sport and Convention Center (Dome Balikpapan) on Jl. Ruhui Rahayu, the event will be open from 8 a.m. until midnight.
Up to 1 million books will reportedly be on offer during the book sale, with discounted prices ranging from 60 to 80 percent.
"The big bad wolf ate [80 percent] of the price," said Big Bad Wolf president director Uli Silalahi during a press conference in Balikpapan on Oct. 24.
The event was inspired by European fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, which follows a young girl, her grandmother and a character known as the Big Bad Wolf.
"In the story, the wolf ate the grandmother. In [our story] the wolf ate the price of the books," Uli added, smiling.
Read also: Ministry to probe taxes of imported books sold at Big Bad Wolf
One million books packed in 10 40-foot containers, were brought in from Kuala Lumpur, where the first-ever Big Bad Wolf was held in 2009.
Around 40 percent of the discounted items would be Indonesian books, said Uli, while the rest would be books in English.
Other than catering to all kinds of ages and demographics, the book sale will also showcase literature on various subjects, including religion, politics, business, culture, art, architecture, music, the culinary arts and fashion. Fiction and and graphic novels are also part of the library.
"We always strive to provide quality reading in accordance to the current era," said Uli, adding that the event would also feature books that aims to exercise children's motor skills such as activity books, sticker books, audio books and pop-up reads; as well as books that utilize augmented reality (AR) technology, which allows children to interact with a mobile app.
Balikpapan will be the sixth city visited by Big Bad Wolf in Indonesia after Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Medan. The book sale has so far been held in 30 cities across 15 countries.
"During the book sale in Jakarta, the visitor number reached 1.2 million in 10 days," said Uli.
Balikpapan is home to only around 750,000 people. However, its purchasing power, considered to be above average, is expected to make the event successful, "especially since [there are many] book lovers in Samarinda, Tenggarong, Bontang and Penajam, which will be the location of the new capital," said Uli. (kes)
