This year’s Friends of C.H. Booth Library Book Sale is set to be bigger than ever, and it will start on Friday, July 9, earlier than the typical Saturday start.

“Because we were unable to hold a book sale last year, there are many more items to choose from. We have over 130,000 books, jigsaw puzzles, games, CDs, DVDs, and LPs. And an all-new schedule provides new ways for book sale patrons to take advantage of our biggest sale yet,” said book sale chair Denise Kaiser.

The sale runs from July 9 to 13 at Reed Intermediate School, 3 Trades Lane. The Friday preview is from 1 pm to 5 pm, with a $40 admission fee. Tickets will go on sale at the school at noon, and attendance will be limited to 200. The most avid book lovers are anticipated to take advantage of the early access with the limited crowd size.

Then the big opening day is Saturday, July 10. Admission will be $5 and those under 18 are free, and it will run from 10 am to 5 pm, with ticket sales starting at 9 am at Reed. No admission will be charged Sunday (Half-Price Day, 10 am to 5 pm), Monday ($5/Bag Day, 10 am to 7 pm) or Tuesday (Free Day, 10 am to 1 pm).

Due to the pandemic, there was no book sale in 2020. “We had more time to gather books,” as Friends of C.H. Booth Library President Toni Earnshaw pointed out.

Earnshaw and Kaiser met at the library recently, where volunteers were continuing the work of sorting books and preparing for the book sale.

Everything is set to be moved to Reed Intermediate School ahead of the big day.

“There are many more books, plus a new, more convenient schedule and overall, more ways to shop and save at this year’s sale than in any of our previous sales,” Kaiser said in a release about the event.

Shoppers should note that masks are required to be worn inside the school.

“We thank the public for their cooperation and their understanding for the need to wear a mask inside the school,” Kaiser said.

According to the release, many things that Friends of C.H. Booth Library Book Sale patrons have loved over the years are the same: There are still more than 90 categories of very well organized books. This year the sale is offering more children’s books (organized by reading level), more mystery, romance, sci-fi, comic books, manga, classic and modern literature, popular fiction, and books to satisfy every hobby and interest from history to art, sports, cooking, gardening, and crafts.

The cost of books is 25 cents and up, but most fall in the $1 to $2 range. Half Price Day, Bag Day, and Free Day make this year’s offerings even more affordable for individuals and families, as shared in the release. In the children’s category, there are books for children of all ages, according to the group.

“From board books for babies to popular series for children including Captain Underpants, the Harry Potter series, and classics like Nancy Drew,” the books encompass all levels of reading, according to Kaiser. And for young adults, YA category manager Kathryn Hanson said, in the release, “popular series like Hunger Games, Twilight, Divergent and the sought-after Cassandra Claire series” will be available.

Alison James, who oversees the comics, graphic novels, and manga noted in the release, “There are loads of comic books including lots of DC, Marvel, and EC, and lots of graphic novels and manga.”

“There are many more books in adult fiction this year than in previous years, from mystery to sci-fi, horror to thrillers, including popular mystery authors such as David Baldacci, Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, John Grisham, James Patterson, thrillers by Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Vince Flynn, and Daniel Silva, and a great selection of Stephen King in the horror section,” said Fiction category manager Jane Gatenby in the release.

There is a large collection of books on the history of the American west, all in mint condition. There is an “abundant selection,” according to the group, of jigsaw puzzles and games, including the popular White Mountain series, and lots of classic board games like Monopoly and Clue. As in prior years, puzzles have been pre-assembled to ensure they are complete; any puzzles missing pieces will be identified as such. Most puzzles cost only $2 to $4.

Music and movie selections number in the thousands of CDs, DVDs, and LPs, including many collectible items. All popular music and movie genres can be found, according to the group, and the Specials Room, which houses rare and collectable items, will be in a larger room this year.

This year’s highlight of the Specials Room is described by John Renjilian, Friends of the C. H. Booth Library volunteer and professional antiquarian book specialist, as “a monumental tour de force of color theory and of printing,” according to the group.

As previously reported by The Newtown Bee, the highlight of this year’s prize items in the rare books section is a collection of screen prints. It is Josef Albers’ Interaction of Color, originally published by Yale University Press in 1963, a portfolio of 80 folders containing multiple screen prints, and at $4500, it is believed to have the highest asking price in the 45-year history of the sale.

According to Friends of C.H. Booth Library, the Specials Room also includes a full set of 36 silver medallions issued in celebration of the centennial of the US national park system (1872-1972). Pricing will be based on a small premium over the spot silver price the week of the sale. Notable signed works from authors ranging from Katherine Hepburn and Suzanne Collins to Ronald Reagan and others are also available in the Specials Room. The Specials Room eclectic selection of more affordable items can also be found in the Auxiliary Gym, including many attractive leather-bound books as well as artwork and stamp collections, sought-after graphic novels and manga, and rare issues of sheet music.

Multiple Days, Multiple Finds

There are so many books for this year’s sale that everything will be set up a bit differently. According to Kaiser and Earnshaw, volunteers will set up many books on top of tables as in past years, but the collection is so large now that a rotation of books will happen as books are purchased.

So returning to the book sale on multiple days could yield new finds.

Other changes this year include using the lobby as the entrance with the exit in another location, to support social distancing. Tables will also be farther apart. Some of the changes are being made to support the school district’s requests for use of the building, according to Kaiser.

Overall, with the big move of the collection to Reed still ahead of them, Kaiser and Earnshaw said on June 23 that there were still many “question marks,” but that everything would be worked out ahead of the sale.

“We are trying our best to have the best sale ever that we can,” said Kaiser.

It will certainly be a big event, and Kaiser pointed out that it will be the first big book sale in the state due to the pandemic shutting all events down last year. It is also traditionally the largest sale in the state.

New ways to purchase books have been added this year, too: Credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal will be accepted.

“The aim is a safe sale, a welcoming sale, and a sale that benefits the library,” said Kaiser.

With books piled around her, Kaiser said it has been “refreshing” to be involved in something that represents normalcy after the last year. Earnshaw agreed, saying the book sale is a “classic summer event in Newtown.”

“We’re really excited to get back at it after being gone a year,” said Earnshaw.

For more details and up-to-the-minute information about the sale, go to boothbooksale.org.

Eliza Hallabeck can be reached at eliza@thebee.com.