Bookworms don’t sleep: The Library, BookXcess’s new 24-hour megastore opens

The Star

At the stroke of midnight, thousands of visitors thronged The Library by BookXcess at Sunway Square Mall — a sprawling 3,530sq m space that now stands as Southeast Asia’s largest 24-hour bookstore.   The midnight launch on Dec 10 saw readers of all ages wandering through two maze-like floors lined with towering bookshelves, nearly a kilometre of walkways and quiet corners designed for studying, working or simply getting lost in a book.    Read more at https://tinyurl.com/4axy2fm5  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00At the stroke of midnight, thousands of visitors thronged the library by book

00:06excess at Sunway Square Mall, a sprawling 3,530 square meter space that now stands

00:12as Southeast Asia's largest 24-hour bookstore. The midnight launch on December 10th saw readers

00:19of all ages wandering through two maze-like floors lined with towering bookshelves, nearly

00:24a kilometer of walkways and quiet corners designed for studying, working or simply getting lost in a book.

00:32BookXS co-founders Andrew Yap and Jacqueline Ng say the flagship store is a bold calculated leap,

00:40one they believe Malaysian readers are ready for.

00:43I think the timing is right because Malaysians, I mean not just Malaysians but everyone at the world,

00:49we are just overwhelmed with digitalization right and everyone is looking to go back to analog and

00:56there's not enough bookstores so here we are you know making books accessible and open 24 hours.

01:04Especially in this area in this location where there's so many universities nearby there's a lot

01:10of students including local and foreign who are staying nearby as well so we also wish to provide

01:16them a very safe space that's why it's 24 hours you know when you when you are staying in a rented

01:21place sometimes it's not so conducive right especially if you are burning midnight oil you know

01:25studying for exam so there are more than 300 seats here for them you know free wi-fi free air con and then

01:32there's even a power supply for them to charge their laptop their phone we just want them to to be welcome

01:38here to be able to study or burn their midnight oil. Beyond books the library doubles as

01:45an immersive art space among its highlights the whimsical flying books Yayoi Kusama inspired

01:52pumpkins and whale fall a dramatic ceiling installation made from rescued damaged books by local artist

01:58CO2. Architectural cones throughout the store honor Sunway's tin mining heritage blending art history and

02:06storytelling. Lifestyle partners such as Kenny Hills Bakers, Beacon Stationery and Good Mojo Smoothies

02:13complete the 24-hour experience. I think it's pretty cool like I mean right now usually after like 12 it's pretty

02:22hard to find like a cool cafe to hang out and stuff so a place like this with books especially for my wife

02:28since she likes to distress like by reading this space would really fit for her. It's a dream for me that

02:34that is like a 24 hours library book shop that I can actually come here and then it's like an escape it

02:42for me yeah because ever since I became a mom this is like my first time like uh found a place that I

02:50can actually resonate with. Kenapa datang sebab kitaram itu memang readers and then like we always went to book

02:58accesses like kitaram in primary school so like and knowing this is like the largest one yet so like

03:04we think like we should come tonight. I love it so I can come here anytime and buy books. The layout is amazing

03:10and it's so big and it's cozy it's it's it's fantastic. I love all the the nooks and the little

03:17hideaways and little corners and of course they've got all the the desks with the plug points so if

03:22you want to sit down even work from home work remotely I like it. The launch was officiated by

03:30Selangor Mentor Bissar Datuk Siri Amiruddin Shari who said the opening aligns with the state's vision of

03:36building a reading culture. He also announced that the state will provide 200 ringgit book vouchers

03:42to 10,000 students next year to support literacy and learning.

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