With 87 trestles groaning under the weight of more than 40,000 books, filling Dannevirke's Town Hall, there is plenty to choose from for bookworms at the Lions Club book sale.
"We had the most wonderful opening Wednesday morning," sale convenor Barbara Ferguson said. "When the doors opened at 9am there were dealers here from Auckland,
Napier, Hastings and Wellington. It was a whirlwind as they piled through the Town Hall doors. We'd broken our sales record by 12.30. It's absolutely fabulous."
Fellow Lions Club member Maurice Miller said there had been a continuous stream of donated books arriving for the sale since last December.
"We've spent every Monday since then sorting them," he said. "The quality of the books is pretty good, with lots in mint condition and it's wonderful to see the books circulating."
With people trudging out laden with books, it seems there's no fear of reading going out of fashion.
Anita Lincoln, of Waipukurau, read about the sale online at Hawke's Bay Today and said she made a dash for Dannevirke on Wednesday as her "big day out".
Trevor Moore, Dannevirke Lions Club's newest member, was enjoying his first time at the sale.
"I'm absolutely loving it," he said. "I'm surprised by how many people come out for books."
* The Dannevirke Lions book sale continues today 9am to 5pm, tomorrow 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 3pm.