Well guys, if you ever wanted to check if a book is available in the library, you can use their catalogue. Yes, this is the one that’s in all the library computers.
I had a really fun time hunting down books today in the Jurong Regional Library (at the Jurong East MRT Station). The reason is because the codes are all confusing.
1. R is for reference, whether they write it or not.
When you search for books, sometimes they will put the words REFERENCE on the screen so you know. However, sometimes they only put the letter R under the location. R means reference by the way. The most stupid thing is, they did not put any explanation on what the location codes mean at most of the level 2 search terminals. I went to the level 3 terminals to look at the codes.
2. Y is for young adult
Where will it be? I thought it would be at the fiction section or near it. However its not. Its at level 4 where its called Vergingallteens. I do not know why they like to stick the words together because at first glance I thought its vergingal teens. What is vergingal I do not know.
Its getting difficult to search for books there. I guess I have to memorize all the location codes..Haha..
However, the library is still a good place to be in because I saved plenty of money lending books instead of buying them.
Many books that you buy tell you that Amazon is the worlds number 1 online bookstore, and that it is able to give you substantial savings as compared to your local bookstore? But is that true? I will now take the journey to calculate the costs for all readers:
The costs are based on two different books. The first one is “Smart Start-Ups: How to make a fortune from starting online communities” by David Silver. The second book is “Multiple Streams of Internet Income” by Robert G. Allen.
Now the cost of the 1st book in Amazon.com is US$16.47.You save about 34% buying from Amazon.com.
The cost of the 2nd book in Amazon.com is US$16.47. You also save 34% buying from Amazon.com.
The total cost of these 2 books is: US$32.94
International Shipping Charges (>source):
1 shipment: US$6.99
2 books: US$9.98
The total cost of getting these 2 books is: US$49.91
In Singapore dollars (using current exchange rate of US$1 = S$1.51411): S$75.57
Now I will be checking the price from Kinokuniya Book Web:
1st book (Kinokuniya offers paper back whist Amazon’s is hard cover):S$33.44
2nd book: S$45.94
Total cost buying from Kinokuniya: S$79.38
You save: S$3.81
Is that substantial? I doubt it. It takes about 4 weeks for Amazon to ship that item to you, of which I believe we would rather buy from Kinokuniya then wait.
However, Singapore has its own VPost USA service where you make Amazon ship to the VPost outlet in the US, and then VPOST will ship your items back for you. Here is the shipping charges for VPost.
The 2 books are eligible for Free Supersaver shipping in the United States. (They fulfill the minimum order of US$25 for the supersaver shipping). Thus lets assume that shipping costs are zero. (I think it should be zero since its called free) Then the cost of shipping the 2 books to the location in the US (inclusive of book cost) is US$32.94 = S$49.87
Using the shipping rates at mentioned in the VPost link:
1 shipping : S$12.22
2 books: $8.14 (If you use their shipping calculator it will be twice as much, but I believe its a mistake because the website states clearly that calculation is $8.14 * round up of (number of books divided by 2)
The total cost for everything is now S$70.23. However, GST charges apply.
Total cost of product:S$49.87 = A
Total shipping charges: S$20.36 = B
Cost, Insurance and Freight: A + (A+B)* 0.02 = S$51.27
Since the total CIF is not above 400 dollars, we need not pay GST.
Thus the total cost is still S$70.23. You save S$9.15.
Is that huge savings? Well you get the book about a week later, so I guess 10 dollars savings is very important. However Amazon.com doesn’t seem to be very clear if there is going to be tax on the shipping within US. I doubt so actually.
The conclusion is: You can get a bit of savings here and there and the more you buy, the more you will save. However, do take note that there is free supersaver shipping that is why there is no charges on shipment within US. Perhaps if you buy the books from other merchants in Amazon that sells used and new books, you can get a much cheaper price.
This book is titled “Delivering Knock your socks off service” by the Performance Research Associates. This book talks about how to improve your customer service as a whole, and go on to deeper examples to show what you can do to improve your customer service.
There are plenty of things in this book. They tell you what to do when you are face to face wit the customer, or when you receive a call from a customer. They also even talk about email etiquette. It is a must read if you are in the customer service sector, especially if you receive phone inquiries all the time.
If you are a manager, you can read this book to find a way to improve your team’s customer service. If you are a customer service representative, you can read this to make yourself stand out from the rest of the representatives. Or, if you have your own business, revolutionize the customer experience so that they will come back again and again and even spread the word about your good service.
Thus if you are working in a customer service related sector, this book is a must read. It is interesting and writes in a light hearted way that makes it easy to understand and digest. It is unlike those boring business books where you fall asleep by page 3. Read this and make yourself or your business stand out!
I have just finished reading Mr Branson’s autobiography. Mr Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group, which started many companies like Virgin Music, Virgin Atlantic (the airline), Virgin Blue (Australia low price airline), as well as Virgin Rail and Virgin Galactic.
Indeed he is a wonderful entrepreneur who goes by his gut feeling in every move, and he is now a very successful man. He has even achieved many things like flying in a hot air balloon across the Pacific Ocean and even around the word.
Not to mention, he has some flings too.
This book is about the guy who was determined in whatever he is doing since he was young. He is mildly dyslexic but that doesn’t stop him from achieving his success today. Read more about his life as he goes from a boy to a teenager selling his own student magazine, till he started a recording company and even eventually signing Janet Jackson and The Rolling Stones into his company. He is also the person who started the airline that successfully evaded British Airway’s “dirty tricks” and even won compensation of half a million pounds from BA.
This book is very thick, about close to 600 pages and it is worth every single page of it. Indeed I feel inspired by his life and feel that I should put more effort into running my life. Learn how he gets his success and follow him onto this journey that is worth every single cent.
If you have more books to buy, why not buy from Amazon? With their savings discount, you could end up saving more than buying at your local book store! Just enter the book that you want to buy on the right side of this blog.
True by Michael Cordy
I’ve just finished reading this book yesterday night on the bus back home. I must say I quite like this book. Michael Cordy is now one of my favourite authors. I have never disliked any of the books he wrote. I’ve read The Miracle Strain, as well as many other books including the Lucifer Code. I’ve had problems finding The Venus Conspiracy in the Library.
True is about this drug that a scientist has created that can make you love someone. You just need that person’s DNA and you can make a drug that when injected onto yourself, will make you love the person wholeheartedly. The scientist believed it was good for mankind and it is the cure for divorce. However, when he tried to get funding from a small swiss bank, the owners of the bank are actually the swiss mafia. These gangsters exploited his technology to their advantage and even killed the scientist.
Read the story to find out who wins in the end. It is definitely an interesting read.
