Times Colonist Book Sale, Saturday and Sunday, May 12 and 13, 2012, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Victoria Curling Club, 1952 Quadra St. in Victoria
Used, donated books are being sold to raise money for literacy programs on Vancouver Island
Most hardcovers $3, softcovers $2, paperbacks and children's books $1
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Looking for a book that you can sink your teeth into? Or maybe you're just looking for your teeth?
Search no longer.
The 15th annual Times Colonist Book Sale gets under way this morning at the Victoria Curling Club, which is filled to bursting with volumes from generous, and possibly toothless, Victorians.
Volunteers have spent the past two weeks sorting through the haul, organizing books into sections: Transportation, Travel, Cooking, Gardening, Sports, Dentures.
Actually, that last one isn't so much a section as a real set of dentures that someone mistakenly dropped off with their books. Organizers aren't sure, but they might have been left in a copy of A Bridge Too Far.
Even without your ivories, however, it looks to be a good year to visit the sale.
Marsha Birney, longtime volunteer and cookbook maven, said the selection at her tables is "way better" this year with newer, more interesting editions by authors like Seattle's Tom Douglas and Vancouver's Karen Barnaby.
Just be prepared to spend a lot of time with Birney's regulars, who tend to linger over their deals.
"There's one gentleman, I don't know his name," she said.
"He comes every year and he spends two days and he goes through every cookbook."
The other hot tables include Sports, Arts, Travel, Gardening, and Military.
The children's room in the basement also remains popular and one of the best-organized sections in the sale, said Donna Davis, volunteer co-ordinator.
"That's really a wonderful area and it just gets blown away."
Not so popular? Hardcover books, despite the fact that sparkling volumes sell for $3 or at least one-tenth of their original price.
If, for instance, you missed the Dan Brown craze a few years ago, you could stock your library with beautiful bound copies of his books. Heck, you could stock your library with multiple copies of the same book.
"The first year The Da Vinci Code was out, of course, we never saw a book. Never," Davis said.
"This year, we had boxes of them come in."
For those without the ability, or molars, to digest a hard-boiled mystery like that, there is a lovely collection of soft covers, syrupy romances and blended genres to keep you well nourished.
The sale starts at 9 a.m. and runs to 5 p.m. today and Sunday at 1952 Quadra St.
Proceeds go to literacy programs on Vancouver Island. [email protected]
All funds raised by the Times Colonist Raise-A-Reader campaign go to schools and literacy groups on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
Prices: Hardcovers $3; softcovers $2; paperbacks and children's books $1.
