Tauranga's love affair with book sales shows no sign of slowing down, with the Mount Maunganui Lions and Lioness sale creating "absolute bedlam" when the doors opened on Saturday.
The irresistible lure of close to 30,000 books in the Mount Sports Centre saw the sale cement its reputation as one of Tauranga's top three book fairs.
An estimated 2000 people browsed the tables over the weekend, which included ever-popular jigsaws and a growing number of music buffs flicking through hundreds of vinyl records.
David Peart, the co-chair of the book sale committee, said it was absolute bedlam when the doors opened to admit a queue that stretched around the building.
"We almost had to close the doors to stop people coming in."
Once the initial rush was over, the sale settled down to a steady flow. "We were very pleased."
What many early birds did not realise was that the Lions had so many books that fresh stocks were still being put out five hours after the sale started.
The initial rush included people who filled huge bags with books that they intended to sell on Trade Me and other online sites. Mr Peart was sure people got some real bargains because they did not have time to sort through and find all the gems.
Lioness committee co-chair Colleen Lloyd said they started advertising for books in September, with the hard work lasting about six months.
Mr Peart summed up the contributions from the Lionesses and Lions. "It has been a good marriage of their experience and our brawn."