Are they special and collectible? Grapefruit, works and drawings by Yoko Ono, introduction by John Lennon, Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum, The Complete Cartoons Of The New Yorker, with an inscription, are among the collectibles that will be sold at this year's Friends of the C.H. Booth Library Book Sale. Based in part on worth and value, and special because they are "things I like," and possibly signed by famous people and authors, book expert John Renjilian said the special and collectible distinction allows Friends of the C.H. Booth Library Book Sale organizers to include titles such as Grapefruit.

"You can't ignore the Beatles," Mr Renjilian said.

He will be with the many specials in Room 201 of Reed Intermediate School to assist shoppers at this year's sale, Saturday, July 8, through Wednesday, July 12. Aside from titles set aside with Mr Renjilian, the sale will include more than 120,000 items: books, CDs, games, puzzles, DVDs, music, and more. All items are acquired by donation throughout the year.

The sale begins July 8 at 9 am. Tickets, sold only that day, go on sale at 7 am.

Admission of $5 is on the first day only, 18 and under are free.

The sale runs from 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday, and on Monday (half-price day) doors are open from 9 am to 7 pm; Tuesday ($5 a bag day) from 9 am to 7 pm; and on Wednesday, items are free, and doors are open from 9 am to noon.

Piled on a sorting room table in the library's lower level were some of the special books for sale this year, while Mr Renjilian flipped through a stack of papers listing the many other special books also in this year's sale.

Listed items will be available for inspection by appointment until a few days before the sale begins. Contact for an appointment, or with questions.jrenjilian@hotmail.com

Books on his list, which can be priced as high as several hundred dollars, include a bound volume of sheet music from the Civil War era; a push and pull picture book; Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead; Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; Frank Lloyd Wright's The Story of the Tower; Louisa M. Alcott's Little Womenworks; Victor Hugo, works; Harper Lee, ; Ralph Waldo Emerson, To Kill A Mockingbird; J. Goethe, Doctor Faustus; John W. Moore, Roster of the North Carolina Troops in the War Between the States The list includes atlases and maps, children's and adult books, and several categories including books with decorative bindings, piano rolls, and vintage paperbacks.The Effects of Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.; and United States Strategic Bombing Survey,

Chairing the PR and advertising efforts for the Friends, Toni Earnshaw joined Mr Renjilian recently for a look at several of the specials.

"It's a nice feature to have a separate room for these," she said. "People line up for this sale and often there are collectors and dealers lined up early who literally run toward John" as the sale doors open, Ms Earnshaw said.

Most expensive on the list this year is Frank Lloyd Wright's for $600. The book is inscribed "with affection and esteem" by Mr Wright. According to Mr Renjilian's list, the book has "slight soiling, couple of marks to back cover."The Story of the Tower,

"You would have to want him on your shelf," Mr Renjilian said. Shifting through his selection, he opened a volume of sheet music from the Civil War time period. Some were soldiers' marches, and other sheets are "general popular music - it's a favorite," he said.

He next opened a slightly worn and faded picture book. By pulling a tab at the bottom, images slide to change the picture on the page. The push and pull picture book is a children's book form the 1890s.

"To think of generations of kids pulling on these - it's remarkable," he said.

Some books in his collection are unique due to small details such as one title signed by the binder.

"It's a little advertisement" for the binder, he said.

A book by Carl Van Vechten includes a letter by the author to Mrs William Metcalf of Newtown, postmarked 1954.

According to Mr Renjilian's notes, there are "Photographic postcards, letters and envelopes all in very good condition." The collection is on sale for $400.

All book donations arrive "in disarray," often in "dusty boxes," Ms Earnshaw said and volunteers sort through them and "look at every book- [the books] could look ordinary," but a volunteer may discover it is signed by the author. "We research, and then go to the expert, John," she said.

Opening another book, Mr Renjilian flipped through a 1915 yearbook from Harvard the year that e.e. cummings graduated. He opened The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker, next, musing about his love of books.

"I discovered old books at 18-19," he said. Never having thought about old books before then, he said he was "fascinated."

Aside from the special and collectible books, the sale will include more than 90 categories for the 120,000 items for sale, filling two gymnasiums at Reed Intermediate School.

"At the end of the sale there is nothing left. We either sell, or give it away. Each year we start with a clean slate," Ms Earnshaw said.

Learn more the annual book sale at boothbooksale.org or send e-mail to boothbooksale@yahoo.com.

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