A Bit Of Advice from KL International Book Fest

So for the past two days, I have been at the Kuala Lumpur International Book Festival, held at the Putra World Trade Center. It's my first time attending the book fest and it was huge. Like, super huge, with more than 2.5 million people attending. I was astounded by the magnitude of the number of people who would invest in books, and was somewhat comforted by it, too. There are still a healthy number of people who actively seek out the printed page, at least in the capital of the country, so that was encouraging.

I went there to scribble on the books of people who were kind enough to get my book at the festival. I got to meet them, talk to them, wish them well and conteng their books. I made it a point to always thank all of those who take out their hard earned cash to acquire my collected writings. I think I tend to forget to be grateful all the time, and thanking them is a way to not only show my appreciation towards them, but to also remind myself that I have so many things to be thankful for, and that I shouldn't be feeling down all the time because I have been blessed with a lot of things.

One of the most valuable feedback about the book that I got throughout the two days was given to me by a makcik that had never heard of me. She told me that I should have put a description about the book on the back page, because people who don't know who I am would wonder what the book is all about and would have no reason to buy it if they didn't know who I was. It hit hard, and made me realise that having two covers and no descriptions on both the covers was rather syok sendiri, like I assumed that people would know what the inside of the book would be because hey, it's Anwar Hadi. That was narcissistic of me, and it also closes the chance of people who have never heard of me from wanting to open the book, because it provides them absolutely no reason to do that. I am very grateful to that makcik for giving me that piece of advice.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading my writings, either through this blog or through the book (which is kinda sorta the same thing, really). Words cannot express how much I appreciate your readership. May peace and blessings be upon you.