PETALING JAYA, June 15 — If you have been recently looking for an interesting book without having to spend too much, head over to Reader’s Paradise bookshop in Ampang Point.

Not only would you have a wide range of books to choose from, you would also be able to purchase books of your choice at a discounted price of 50 per cent each until the first week of July.

According to bookshop owner Harjeet Sidhu, 62, he said that the discounted books were introduced because he would be closing down the bookshop by mid-July amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Reader’s Paradise bookshop has been struggling to survive especially since the Covid-19 pandemic kicked in and the only viable solution is to close down the business and sell the books at a discounted price.

"The remainder of the books that have not been sold would be donated to charities,” said Harjeet.

Harjeet who bought the business six years ago from the previous bookshop owner told Malay Mail that originally, the bookshop functioned as a rental-based platform where customers were able to rent books from a range of RM7 to RM10 for a month.

Most books were bought brand new or were donated by expats before they left Malaysia to return to their home country.

As to why Harjeet wanted to invest in a bookshop business, he said that it has always been his wife's dream to open one.

"Shima (Harjeet's wife) has always wanted to own a bookshop cafe after drawing inspiration from bookstores that we have visited overseas.

"As such, during the early years, we invested a lot of time in making the then-bookshop into a cosy one by getting new shelves, and re-designing certain aspects of the bookshop to make it a more welcoming one.

"However, even when we bought over the bookshop six years ago, business wasn’t all that great as the reading habit wasn’t incalculated among the masses and people have also shifted towards reading e-online books.

"But we still wanted to continue the business because of our passion for books, and as a result, we made a living from renting out brand new books and also second-hand books for a small fee.”

Asked as to how he felt leaving his bookshop business after being in it for six years, Harjeet said that he was devastated.

"The business has become part of my life especially with the people that I have met these past few years, and I would also miss having my two dedicated staff — Su and Faridah onboard the team who have been working so hard to make sure the shop was well-managed.

"But, what can we do? It’s the circle of life and just like how everything has a beginning, it also has an ending and we need to be able to accept it — however good or bad it is.”