The annual Times 91原创 book sale raised $153,706 on Saturday and Sunday, $282 more than last year.
The book sale has generated almost $1.7 million for literacy programs since its inception in 1998 and is part of the national RaiseaReader campaign. Money raised stays within the community and is matched by funding from the provincial government.
"It was a very good day. We had a very good weekend," site co-ordinator Bob Taylor said after 6,100 people shopped over the two days. "I think we made a lot of people happy."
Count customer Robyn Wharram among them.
For Wharram, the sale had initially looked like just another failed effort to pick up a used copy of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
Wharram has spent eight years searching used bookshops, she still could not replace a copy of the 1976 novel by Tom Robbins, which was "mistakenly" taken by an old roommate when the two branched out on their own. Wharram has been hunting for another one ever since.
She waited in line at the Times 91原创 Book Sale on Saturday morning, searched almost everywhere inside the Victoria Curling Club, but once again - nothing.
Wharram returned on Sunday and, with another stack of books in her arms, waited for her mother, Jean Screech, to finish shopping. By chance, she looked down at a box on the floor. There it was.
"It's proof you can come on Sunday afternoon and still find good stuff," Wharram said. "For the past six or seven book sales, I've looked for it. I go into secondhand book stores looking for it. And here it is."
Similar sentiments were shared by some of the 2,600 people who visited the rink Sunday. There were treasures to be had.
The children's section was once again a hot spot for parents to find deals on some of the popular items.
Nanaki Dhami, 6, and her cousin Yuvraj Attwal, 3, displayed a couple of handfuls of books on the carpeted floor, relishing their new collection. Nanaki had reminded her dad, Anoop Dhami, about the sale and made sure the family came.
"She's the one who told me," Anoop said. "I figured if I bring them a couple more years, then they will get in the habit and come every year on their own."
Sundays are great opportunities for people to shop without the massive crowds who show up the day before, many visitors said.
And with so many books, the sale could last much longer.
"The reality is we could have our book sale for two weeks, never mind two days," said the Times 91原创's Shannon Kowalko. "We have that many books."
On Monday, teachers and non-profit groups were going through all the unsold books. They could take their pick, without charge.
The remaining books are sold by the pallet-load to a company called Discovery Books.
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