Bao & Bun's Bilingual Journey

Some of the bloggers I follow mentioned books that were out of print. Initially, I felt frustrated and found it annoying when those valuable recommendations were unavailable. However, I recently discovered many great books from second-hand Facebook groups, although a lot of them are out of print. I hesitated about whether to share these books, but ultimately, I believe it’s still helpful to share and inform people where to look.

I follow three main second-hand book buying groups on Facebook. Popular series sell out quickly, and I used to feel frustrated, always seeming to miss out. However, I’ve noticed that social media algorithms work well when you engage with certain types of posts more. Since I began paying closer attention to, or liking some of these groups’ posts, I’ve found that their posts appear more quickly in my feed, allowing me to purchase the books we need and even find deals on the main page.

Some families may hesitate to bid on books that they’ve never seen before. When I encounter a new post of books that I’m not familiar with, my usual practice is to open the books.com.tw app and check if it provides any previews of the interior pages or reviews. If I don’t find anything there, I’ll turn to Google and typically find previews of the book’s contents.

During my last visit to Taiwan, I also purchased second-hand books from Shopee, one of the largest seller/buyer platforms in Taiwan. I acquired some rare color Pokémon manga, which is hard to find in online or physical bookstores. The downside is that you can’t assess the condition of the books beforehand, but that doesn’t concern me much. As long as the content is suitable for my kids, I’m willing to get them.