Jigsaws were the surprise big seller at this year's Cromwell Book Sale.
The four-day event was organised by the Rotary Club of
Cromwell, and organiser Lindsay Wilkie said that although no final total was known yet, he expected the amount raised to be more than $15,000.
Asked about the hits at the sale, he said: ``Jigsaws were huge this year, I don't know why.''
Children's books were always popular, as were those focusing on New Zealand history.
"Mills and Boon'' type romances sold well but Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequels did not appear to be very popular: "Maybe it's because they're too embarrassed to bring it up to pay for it,'' he said.
There were a few "gems'' among the stock and bargains to be bought, Mr Wilkie said.
"We had one guy bought up all the books on deerstalking, including one for $2 which was worth $200. He'd been looking for it for years and finally got it here.''
The man was not a book dealer and wanted the book for himself.
"And, yes, we probably lose money on the gems like that, but they help make our sale exciting too, and attract others in because of the possibility of them finding something like that at a bargain price.''
The sale had been very successful and proceeds would go towards a wide range of community projects.
Planning for next year's sale, and calling for more stock, would begin next week, Mr Wilkie said.
Mike Fraser, of Alexandra, was on his second visit to the book sale.
"I enjoy a good book sale and there's a bigger variety of rare books here than you find in the bookshops. These are the ones that have been in someone's book shelves at home and I like collecting some of those rarer books.''
Austin Clarke (11), of Cromwell, was pleased with his find, too, titled The Art of Grand Theft Auto, which gave an insight into the video game.
