A cheer went up among the volunteers on Saturday 10 minutes after 9 a.m. to mark the first sale of the 27th Times Colonist Book Sale.
Glen Rodger walked out of the Victoria Curling Club with a smile on his face and eight new music-chart books featuring artists such as Elton John and John Prine. “Some of these are for my sister,” he said.
Rodger’s purchase was the first of a record day. By the time the doors closed just after 7 p.m., sales totalled $174,075.
That is the highest Saturday total in the history of the sale, which was launched in 1998.
Rodger started lining up at 6 a.m. so that he could be in the first wave of book buyers.
The first customer to make his way into the building was Brandon Depol, who was at the door 30 minutes after midnight.
Depol, who works for a local bookstore, said he was primarily there to expand his personal collection of books on Buddhist philosophy.
By 8:45 a.m., the line had wrapped around the block. It snaked through the curling club parking lot and spilled over into the adjacent police station parking lot. Some brought camping chairs, others blankets. Almost everyone came carrying a receptacle of some kind — a tote, cardboard boxes, or a collapsible camping wagon — in anticipation of their haul.
One Massy Books employee who had come over from Vancouver was overheard telling her co-workers near the start of the line to not be afraid of getting underneath the tables — where more books are stacked.
First time book sale attendee Cassandra Silverio, who walked over from Fernwood pushing her 10-month-old baby in a stroller, said she’s hoping take a look at the vintage literature section and to buy a few kids books.
“I tried to go last year, but I didn’t get up early enough,” she said.
The Times Colonist Book Sale is a local institution, Silverio said. “It’s good to experience it at least once.”
Return attendee Charlynne Gustafson said she was hoping to snag a few cookbooks and books about pets.
But after she got inside, Gustafson wound up with a stack of anime instead. “I got distracted,” she said with a laugh, adding that her husband, Robert, had no problem beelining to the chess, fantasy and sci-fi sections.
After spotting her dog, a volunteer offered to direct her to the pet section.
Science fiction, fantasy and the Indigenous-related section were among the more popular areas, though there were also several buyers crawling on their hands and knees under the vintage-books table looking for finds.
Longtime book sale volunteer Jane Mertz said the first people in often make a rush to their preferred sections when the doors open. “It’s a bit Looney Tunes out here.”
Before the doors opened just before 9 a.m., lead volunteer Mark Taylor went over the final details with about 100 green-shirted volunteers.
Dave Obee, editor and publisher of the Times Colonist, thanked them for their work.
During the first book sale in 1998, he had volunteered to sort the donated books just by himself, Obee said. “It became very obvious within about five minutes that we needed more help.”
The annual Times Colonist Book Sale has grown to become one of the largest in North America.
“It’s the volunteers who make this happen,” Obee said. “I’m happy to see the same people year after year, and I’m happy to see new people [join] all the time.”
The sale continues today at the Victoria Curling Club, 1952 Quadra St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Books cost $4 for hardcovers and $2 for softcovers and children’s books. Payment is by cash, debit, MasterCard, Visa or American Express.
Lineups are typically much shorter on the Sunday but the selection of books remains vast, with thousands of books waiting to be discovered.
Times Colonist readers donate thousands of books for the sale, and proceeds go to literacy programs on Vancouver Island.
• For more information or to make a donation to the Times Colonist Literacy Society, go online to tcreads.ca.
