Oh My Jarir!

There are a few places outside the house where you can leave me for hours and I will never ever complain: the mall, the supermarket, and the bookstore. I can walk for hours in these places but my eagerness and curiosity in the things I see can't be satiated. Walking and seeing beautiful things is one of my life's simple joys. Reading is at the top of that list that's why I love being left for hours in a bookstore the most. (Pero hindi naman tipong malock-up magdamag ha!)

A bookstore is like a kid's candy store to me. I'm giddy and bursting with excitement whenever I go to a bookstore. I have so many things I want to buy there, sometimes beyond logic and reason and financial capabilities. Why do I need to hoard all the books of Baldacci, Grisham, and Berry? Why would I need a coffee table book? Why would I need a camera again? Why would I need a netbook when I have a laptop? Being in a bookstore weaves dreams in my head and stirs my imagination and creativity like crazy. When I step into a bookstore, ideas pop all over the place and they ceremoniously enter my head creating a storm inside it. It drives me nuts to think about reading books, scrapbooking, looking at gadgets, etc. all at the same time but it also unleashes a positive energy I don't feel when I'm working (may positive energy ba sa working?! lol) or eating. It's kindda magical. Doesn't reading this paragraph show you how addicted I am to bookstores. I LOVE BOOKSTORES! See? Obsessed. Passionate. Hyperventilating. About Book Stores. Yes. IKR.

Last week, I realized I've been to one bookstore three times within four days. So I decided to write about this bookstore because it serves as one of my oasis in this desert. Whenever I'm inside Jarir Bookstore, I'm happy. Sometimes disappointed and exasperated too when I can't find the specific gadget or the book I want. But almost all the time, I'm simply happy in Jarir. Being in Jarir again last week reminded me how the book "The Rescue" bought in Jarir on my first week in Riyadh saved me from initial bouts of boredom and nostalgia. And my first experience of salat and sandstorm happened when I was visiting the Jarir Bookstore in Exit 5. That experience even inspired an article I wrote for a magazine in the Philippines about living in the Kingdom. Jarir Bookstore is definitely not just a bookstore. Especially for me. It's my "happy place."

Jarir Bookstore is the leading bookstore chain in the Kingdom. Jarir is named after the street in Malaz where the first branch was built in 1979. Think of Jarir as Saudi Arabia's National Bookstore where you'll find office supplies, school supplies, I.T. products, computers, phones, and books. It doesn't carry as many products as NB but they have the basics and the essentials ensconced in an air-conditioned, carpeted, and well-lit branches. If I have my way, I would sit in a corner of the books section and read like there's no tomorrow. The branches I've been to have enough space to accommodate voracious readers in their books section. But there are chairs so might as well sit there. :P

[You see, I'm so distracted whenever I'm in Jarir, I didn't even get a single photo of the place! I will have to take photos of Jarir soon. I can't even find good (and large enough) photos in the Net!]

The computer and gadget sections tend to get crowded but most of the salesmen, when they see you looking around, ask if they may be of help. The office and school supplies are stocked adequately but some items are more expensive than what you might have budgeted for. Their crafts section features a lot of materials for artists, painters, DIY moms, and scrapbookers. Again, with the expensive, imported stuff. Their brochures and catalogs (in both English and Arabic) are great tools in accelerating the decision process. (I still have a hard time deciding though because I'm fickle-minded. :P)

Of course what I most love about Jarir is the books section. Though I can't find every book I want, most of them are there. I tend to be the girl who's always asking the salesman if they have this book or that. And then I go and browse and then come back again to ask another title. Yes, I'm persistent. Lol. I even call sometimes and I sign up for books that are out of stock. (Sinong makulit?!) Nowadays, most books are available online and I don't have to bother checking in Jarir but see, I am an old soul. I love reading books the old-fashioned way. I like the texture of the covers and pages. I like the smell of newly-opened books. I like scouring books in bargain bins. I like seeing photos in print. Books, not the digital ones, appeal to me greatly. I feel for the authors, maybe because I want to be one myself.

What I came home with.

What I want to buy next.

This too. I am into Middle Eastern novels.

If I have a wish list, I'm sure most of the items will be found in Jarir. I'm sure you have one thing in your house bought in Jarir. Some products in Jarir are more affordable somewhere else but with Jarir, you don't have to look that far. Shopping here is convenient and easy. Are you a Jarir Discount Card holder? Most Filipinos are. I should be too but I didn't get around to signing up because I heard the cards don't arrive anyway. Hmn, maybe I should try again. After all, I have a book collection to fill.

If you're not doing anything this weekend, Jarir is the place to be. Baka mapagastos ka nga lang. :)

Which branch is nearest to you? Check here. The other ladies frequent the Olaya and Panorama branches but I mostly go to the North Ring Road showroom with the family.

At the comment box, share what your best finds in Jarir! :)

§undrenched