Bargains galore at Rotary Club of Whanganui's book fair

VAST ARRAY: Books are selling fast at the annual sale but organiser Ian McGowan says there are still plenty of titles available.PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

About 50 people were queuing outside when the Rotary Club of Whanganui opened the doors to its annual Monster Book Fair on Friday.

New Zealand history and military books had been the most popular, sales organiser Ian McGowan said.

This is the 11th year of the annual sale, and is the busiest yet say club members. Sunday is the final day of the four-day book fair with doors opening at 10am.

The former Farmers homewares building in Victoria Ave is working well as a venue. With one entrance on Victoria Ave and another on St Hill St, there is good access and plenty of browsing room inside.

"For safety reasons we keep some stock stored out of the way," Mr McGowan said.

"We don't want people tripping over them," he said.

Stocki replenished as it runs low and although sales have been brisk, there are still plenty of titles available.

There are thousands of titles in scores of categories on sale and there are CDs, DVDs, cassettes, videos and sheet music as well.

Money raised from the annual sale goes to support the Rotary club's local and overseas work.

"We have supported the Westmere Walkway development, tree plantings at Springvale Park and Matipo Park," Mr McGowan said.

"Support goes to reading assistance and Duffy Books in Schools, and we support youth leadership courses and student-exchange programmes."

Profits from the annual sale also support Whanganui Women's Refuge, clean water programmes in Pacific Islands and equipment to support overseas aid work.