Rare Douglas Bader-signed book amongst treasures at Lions book sale

Anita Lincoln of Waipukurau had a book day out searching for bargains in the Town Hall at last year's Dannevirke Lions Club annual book sale.

Sorting and categorising the books is not quite finished but the Dannevirke Lions will be ready for the secondhand book sale which opens on Wednesday July 25, with some exciting books on offer.

Every Monday morning Lions book sorters have gathered in the bowels of the town hall to categorise all the books, including the huge number donated by members of the public.

"The public of Dannevirke have certainly not given up on reading, as previous sales have shown," sale co-ordinator Barbara Ferguson said.

Last year there were 87 trestles groaning under the weight of more than 40,000 books in the Dannevirke Town Hall and Ferguson promises this year's buyers will be thrilled by the variety and quality of the books on sale.

"Punters will find books by favourite authors in abundance," she said. "Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries has put in an appearance as have many of the old favourites from Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Jodi Picoult and Jojo Moyes."

There is also an added 1950s section and vintage era books covering the 1930s and 40s.
And there is something very special for book collectors.

"Collectors will find some out-of-print treasures and a special treat will be Reach For the Sky by Paul Brickhill," Ferguson said. "Not so interesting you might think, but the personal signature of Douglas Bader inside puts it right up in the top collector's sights."

In the children's section there are hundreds of large and small delightful reads, with plenty of colour and fantasy to delight youngsters. And there are two main authors represented who are always requested, Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl.

"In the non-fiction area the trestles will be laden with helpful [and not so helpful] treatises on mending your health, your garden, your vehicle, your cooking skills, as well as your relationships, all to be found in specially labelled categories along with classics, poetry, and many more sections," Ferguson said.

"There are also dozens of mainly new jigsaws, special interest magazines, records and LPs, sheet music and DVDs. In fact most interests are catered for."

Ferguson said the Dannevirke Lions have been thrilled with the thousands of books which have been left at the Information Centre for the sale, adding to the 450 boxes of books, 30 in a box, the Lions trucked over from the from the huge Red Cross book sale in Palmerston North.