Things you can buy from a bookstore other than books

Think Lego, but much smaller in scale – the smallest brick (or rather, ‘plates’) only measures 4mm x 4mm x 5mm. The micro-sized collection – best for the little ones – features miniature designs of musical instruments and animals with all sets being around 80 to 150 pieces. And because they’re made from ABS plastic, the bricks are slightly more bendable than Lego. We suggest you wait until Christmas – the magical season when all movie- and book-themed Nanoblock box sets emerge.

Book authors are known to collaborate with local artisans to produce special merchandises. We’ve seen toys, tote bags and souvenirs sold alongside books at Kinokuniya, but the collaboration between Arcadia KL and the author of ‘The Bento Club’, Chong Lee Choo, come in the form of colourful tiffin carriers. The multi-tiered carriers are sold at Arcadia too, but if you get one at Kinokuniya, do pick up a copy of ‘The Bento Club’ too as it offers tips on preparing the ultimate lunch box.

Because foreign car models are too big, Tomica was created to let Japanese children play with small die-cast cars. These little toys are based on the vehicles produced by Japan’s own automobile makers. Tomica toys are a collector’s dream: they’re painted using the same baked enamel finish used on real automobiles, and equipped with features such as precision suspension and ultra-smooth performance – all to give the kids (or even adults) a taste of Japan’s finest automobiles. Did we mention that they also come in all sorts of cartoon-inspired characters?

Sign off with a flourish with these Chinese name seals, available at The KL Commercial Press. The stone seals (imported from China) are priced at RM5-RM19 each, but note that name etching service will take five days and starts at RM25-RM30 per word.

Made of premium waxed canvas with Massa leather detailing, this bicycle bag (RM399) from Hong Kong brand WEMUG comes with a detachable inner bag. Get it at Cite so you have someplace safe to store your books while cycling in KL.

Aside from art books, you can also cop cameras – film cameras, at that – at Basheer. The Fujifilm instant camera, for instance, is RM395. There’s also the La Sardina Czar camera: a special metal edition that captures wide angle shots and multiple exposures.

Projek Rabak's KL outpost has a small but growing selection of local records by artists such as Pitahati, Lust, Muck and also Projek Rabak’s own Mohd Jayzuan.

BookXcess's Curious Corner has plenty of items to spruce up an empty space. If you need a quick one, pick a poster. Curious Corner has a huge selection ranging from film, TV and music to classic brands and inspirational posters. Aside from that, you can also get vintage tin signs and small trinkets and toys.