With more than 5,000 books to choose from, the Friends of the Traverse Area District Library's annual used book sale was like paradise found for book lovers of all ages.
The two-day sale, held last weekend, raised more than $12,000 for library programs. The sale is made possible by the contribution of a diverse selection of used books given to the library throughout the course of the year.
"People donate books of all kinds to the library, unsolicited, every year. It makes this possible, along with the work of our volunteers," said Ron Jolly, president of the Friends of the Traverse Area District Library.
Tom and Barb Levi along with Art and Ruth Burns spend countless hours sorting, pricing and moving the donated books, preparing for the sale.
"We had between 5,000 and 6,000 (books) this year. They are mostly hardbacks in great condition," Barb Levi said.
This year's books included popular titles by James Patterson, Danielle Steel and Nicholas Sparks as well as children's books, "how-to" books, CD's, video tapes, signed copies by Maeve Binchy, Gordie Howe and Michael Moore and rare editions of Paradise Lost and Audubon's Birds of America.
"I'm very impressed with the quality of the books," said first-time shopper, Beth Buelow of Traverse City, who plans to make the sale an annual tradition.
"I thought the books would be more frayed around the edges, but they are great, and very current. The selection is just overwhelming. Next year I'm going to bring a backpack so I can carry more," Buelow noted.
Though Chas Gerding of Cedar knew what he was looking for, he was also surprised by the number of books available.
"I was able to find some Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries for my daughter, as well as some favorite movies on video tape," said Gerding, taking a break from sifting though the tables of books.
Tobey and Suzanne Lewallen of Williamsburg filled a box with books they plan to use in Suzanne's home-school program — including a 10 volume set of children's classics, minus volume nine.
"We read an obnoxious amount. This sale is always very productive for us," Suzanne noted.