Editorial: Book sales spread the joy

The Rotary Clubs book sale was a big hit. Photo/Thinkstock

It may be the digital age but don't write off the dusty tomes just yet.

The queue of people which snaked down the road on Saturday morning outside Mount Action Centre were not queuing for the latest iPhone or XBox release, but the opening of the Tauranga Rotary Club's 27th Annual Easter Book Sale.

Book sales are ever popular in the Bay, with the Rotary sale one of several that have bookworms squirming with delight.

Not only do the sales raise valuable funds for charity - the Rotary one is hoping to collect $100,000, for polio and for oil heaters to help heat needy Bay homes.

But they also serve a valuable community purpose by recycling preloved books to a new readership.

What was notable at the Easter book fair was the number of young buyers.

Reporter Amy McGillivray met keen 9-year old reader Ruben, who was on the hunt for a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records.

And 20-year-old Ryan Merriman was thrilled to score a set of Jean Auel's Earth's Children series.

A recent survey of reading habits of 10-13 year olds in New Zealand revealed kids' reading habits were wide ranging.

The survey, undertaken by Auckland University lecturer Wayne Mills and early childhood specialist Celeste Harrington, asked 1597 New Zealand children about their favourite books.

While Harry Potter and Hunger Games dominated the top spots, the young children questioned also chose some classics such as the Narnia chronicles, The Secret Garden, Lord of the Rings and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

Speaking at the recent New Zealand Festival Writers Week, Mills noted the wide range - from picture books to adult books - and also noted the positive effects of globalisation, in the fact he can walk into a bookshop anywhere in the world and see the same popular books.

For those who might not have access or the means to buy the books first time around, book fairs are a community treasure, and those from Rotary, Lions and other organisations which work so hard to organise them can be commended for their part in spreading the joy of reading that little bit further.