~ 08/06/2001

Reply:

Buying extremely expensive books are not always advisable.  The reason why is because book sellers inflate the costs of the books beyond reason in some cases. However, there are various reasons as to why certain books cost as much as they do, for example, rareity.

We encourage people to buy Lao products in general and help support an industry for Lao products however this one area is where I encourage people to really research and think twice first.

Even if the books are rare, there is still no reason for the book sellers to price gauge.  We see this time and again.  There are some sellers out there who prefer to keep costs low for the customers.  But by far, when it comes to more rare Lao books, they are ready to charge $100 USD or more.

As suggested in the past, people should be advised to do an inter-library loan (ILL) and let your library find the book for you.  Then photocopy what you need and then return the book.  This option is a lot cheaper than actually buying the book in some cases.  It may be a bit more time consuming but it's well worth it. 

Don't get suckered into high prices for books that you could easily pay $20-40 USD or less and don't be overly impulsive. Do research.

Here are two interesting examples (all prices in US dollar):

• *EXAMPLE 1

I found out that a new Lao art book was released this year 2001 called "L'Art et Archeologie au Laos".  The first seller I discovered was a US book company selling it for $110!

I acknowledge that books on Lao art are rare but nevertheless, this kind of price struck me as quite expensive.  So I continued on searching for a cheaper source.

My patience prevailed as within a few days I tracked down a bookseller in France that sold me the book for $45!  That's a huge difference.

• *EXAMPLE 2

A couple of years ago I discovered that a book called "Kingdom of Laos" was an amazing source for Lao cultural information.  I began searching for a copy.  I came across a few.  The first one was sold at $70.  Two subsequent booksellers (one from Australia and the other a US seller) later contacted me who were selling their's for $100 and $150 respectively.  Again look at the range in prices. 

In the end I did not buy from any of those sources.  Instead I did an ILL with my library, photocopied the material I needed - total $25.  Now that's savings!  (And yes in the end the book was an amazing source of Lao cultural information.  I was very glad I had a chance to read it.)

We don't encourage copyright infringement but if you're sincerely looking for books that are already out of print and you need the information for your own personal use (and not for profit) and you're giving credit to the book when you use information from it then there should be no problems. If you can find reasonable prices for good Lao books then by all means buy the book - support that writer and the publishing company.  Support Lao books. But if the book is more difficult, rare, and too expensive then remember that you have the cheaper (legal) route - doing an ILL and photocopying only what you need.

If there is a book for sale but it's unsually high, then think twice before buying it (refer to example 1).  Do research yourself as well, it'll save you money.

Reply:

In a word:  Yes.  And of course, thank you for your supportive comments.  We have considered producing products in the future under the Laoconnection.com name.  However the main task for the time being is still the website.  Writing a book takes a lot of time and research but it is something we are definitely looking into.

When we do come out with something of our own, I'm glad we have you to count on as a customer.

Reply:

I have had a chance to listen and review some of the music that's being released by young Lao people living in the States.  For those of you who aren't aware of this, it's music that's sung in both Lao and English with modern Western rhthyms and sounds (even Lao rap music!).

To be quite honest, some of the music produced by them is genuinely enjoyable to listen to.  It is admirable the ambition that these young Lao people have to produce music.  Music, like art, is enjoyable and beautiful to the eye (or ear) of the beholder.  So who know's, perhaps LCW visitors will enjoy that music.  But let it be known that this music is not traditional Lao music by any means.  If you want to listen to traditional music it is available at Asian music stores usually located in Chinatowns across the world or you can visit other websites to hear and even download Lao MP3 music files on the net (refer to our links page).

This new generation has a lot in store for the future for Lao people, so it's not surprising that the younger generation also bring in a new fusion of music as well.  I think it shows a great amount of creativity on their part. From young bands in Laos to the US, there's a lot out there these days.