The Launch of the Library—Bookxcess’ Newest Outlet
Last Wednesday, I went to the midnight launch of Bookxcess’ newest outlet located at Sunway Square Mall. The Library by Bookxcess—a name I find both dangerously overused as time goes on and the name of the newest outlet—is hailed as the largest 24/7 bookstore in South East Asia. I will be honest I had my trepidations as I never really had high opinions of any of the Bookxcess outlets or their Big Bad Wolf events, but who wouldn’t want to be a part of an event like this? So I swallowed my pride and asked to be invited as part of Inspiration Hub’s publishing team—a gesture I found unnecessary as the launch was open to all as long as you filled in your details at the entry points.
At that point, I had yet to set foot inside at Sunway Square Mall but one couldn’t deny it’s presence as it’s silhouette—lined by orange LED lights—towers over the Selangor skyline. Travelling to and fro from work, I would see the mall far off into the distance signaling to all would be patrons like a siren’s song. But as I alighted from my car on the night of the event. Walking through the parking lot and into the mall. There was a buzz of activity as the tenants of the mall were still putting the final touches before the grand opening of the mall the very next day. It was a mix of excitement and concern for the contractors as I foresaw a long night ahead of them with so much left to do.
The location of the outlet itself is sequestered off to one of the corners of Sunway Square Mall. Visible from the main road that feeds into the other places of interest such as Sunway University, Sunway Hospital, and Sunway Geo. It took me a while to find the entrance as the ground entrances into the outlet were blocked off at the time. And when I finally stood in front of the outlet itself, my first impression was… confusion.
This confusion was caused by the inexplicable placement of gacha machines right in front of the entrance. While not an unforgivable sin in terms of interior design. It just felt tacky, as though it was someone’s practical joke to squeeze every last coin you have before you were allowed entry and it blocked a good portion of the sightline of the entrance itself. From a far, it looked like the arches of the Library’s entrance formed a mouth that had lost all it’s top tooth.
To continue the digestive tract analogy, the main entrance into the Library was comprised of several steel arches, like gaping maws waiting to swallow up unsuspecting passerby's. The deco evoked a mix of neo-Gothic labyrinthian architecture and Disney's Fantasia with an upside-down Mickey in his iconic Sorcerer's Apprentice garb and floating books stuck on the ceiling to drive home the point. The walls were lined with shelves all the way up to the ceiling, filled with plastic-wrapped books broken up by giant windows that looked out towards Sunway and photographs of famous events and people framed on the walls.
As the outlet snaked around the perimeter of the building, it was easy to get lost within the bowel of the beast. With paths circling back on themselves and stairs leading up to an upper level that housed walkways and more books terminating at the corners of the outlet. From time to time, there would be offshoots that would lead you to the Kenny Hills cafe or a study area with a long table or a macabre goth section.
Maybe it was due to the time of day and dimly lit atmosphere. The space just felt cramped and disorientating—perhaps an intentional design choice to slow customers down, requiring them to navigate the winding corridors of books. Hoping that you'd bump into something that you'd purchase before leaving but more importantly provide this Instagrammable location that would entice future visitors to the attraction.
Tables and chairs are littered sporadically throughout the venue. Providing those who need a place to rest their weary feet or a spot for those intense overnight study sessions. It still remains to be seen if the environment will be quiet or distraction free enough for students or freelancers to find it a conducive enough environment to be productive or will the crowds and hype surrounding the area negatively impact that goal.
At this point, it's still too early to tell if it'll be the newest hotspot for the college students across the street or steal shoppers away from the other half-dozen malls in the area. The ambience is nice but a quick cursory glance at the books on offer, I still think that places such as Kinokuniya or the odd independent bookstore still house deeper and richer selection of books compared to Bookxcess outlets which typically focus more on self-help books. But as the founders have stated numerous times before, their goal is to get non-readers to be readers and I hope that they are successful in their endeavors.
