Faster than a page-turning thriller, Abilene book fans bolt to annual sale
FYI, there were a lot of FOLs at Abilene Convention Center on Friday morning, collecting titles ASAP.
Lined up for the 10 a.m. opening, readers flooded the display area, where about 80,000 titles were waiting at the annual Friends of the Abilene Public Library book sale.
Members or not, they were friends of the local public library system.
The event continues Saturday, with the famous book o' bags event scheduled from 1-4 p.m. Sunday.
That's a bargain, but your favorite titles or finds may be gone by then.
That's why hundreds poured into the sale at its public opening Friday.
At 10:25 a.m., Lori Sears already was checking out ... after checking out the books. She had a bag of 20 mysteries, saying author James Patterson is her favorite.
Why mysteries? That was her mom's favorite, a genre passed on to her.
Second choice is romance, the Abilene High grad said.
Wade Estepp was passing through Abilene on his way to Austin from Lubbock. He was looking to fill a third bag after turning in one filled with Sue Grafton books for holding.
Those weren't for him, he said. His genre is science-fiction.
He said he was finding "much more than he expected."
Popular areas were children's picture and chapter books, along with young adult. Mysteries and biographies were drawing customers.
Discounted DVDs and CDs were being sorted through. But there were no takers, yet, at the women's health display.
The big question Friday might have been paperback or plastic?
Some shoppers brought their own sturdy cloth bags to fill with books. Others took plastic sacks being handed out. Depending on the size of books and the weight of the purchase, double-bagging was required.
Height matters, too.
Gloria McQueen, with her 2-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter, bought 5½ inches of children's books. At $2 an inch, she took home a bag for $11.
She had been to the sale once before, this time loading up for reading time at home. A favorite book for her kids is one with firetrucks and other vehicles, she said.
McQueen said she would be back. Without the kids.
To look for books for her.
Funds from the sale go to FOL projects, including Abilene Heritage Square, where a new downtown library will be located.
Greg Jaklewicz is editor of the Abilene Reporter-News and general columnist. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Faster than a page-turning thriller, book fans bolt to annual sale
