Facebook can be one toxic place – with all the status updates, the photo uploads, the changing formats- but one can still stumble upon great finds, online shopping-wise. I’ve managed to shop for shoes (from here ) but about three months ago, I chanced upon an online second-hand book store: Pandora’s Books Online.

I  love scouring second-hand bookstores and I love the thrill of finding that out-of-print/first edition/rare book more. Pandora’s Books Online is a great find on its own as they offer shipment right to your door (or meet-ups in the UP Diliman area). Moreover, one can request for certain books and once the book has been found, expect yourself to be tagged on Facebook. Pandora’s Books Online uploads book selections every month and occasionally these book selections have themes: from books to screen, from the libraries of friends, etc.

I have been dying to read Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and when I saw Michael Cunningham’s The Hours on the book selection, I immediately asked that it be reserved.

I also threw in a book request: Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. I thought it would be interesting to read both books together. Within a month, I found myself tagged to a picture:

Altogether both books came at half the price of what they have been if purchased in bookstores. They were in very good condition (especially Mrs. Dalloway) and I also found two pleasant surprises – a cute pen and a personal note, expressing the rarity of the book and thanks for the purchase.

It is a rare joy to find personal touches in online shopping and this makes Pandora’s Books Online a great find on its own. So add up Pandoras Books Online as friend on Facebook and start book shopping. I myself have missed out on five to six books which were reserved by the time I saw them 🙂