It all started Friday afternoon on July 11. Friends of the C.H. Booth Library began its annual book sale at 1 pm, but book dealers and eager shoppers started lining up outside of Reed Intermediate School well before then. The line wrapped around the outside of the school and down the parking lot.

On the first day of the much-anticipated sale, Nancy Dvorin, president of the Friends, met with The Newtown Bee. She walked around the sales floor and made note of the many, many hands that made the sale possible this year.

“It’s a monumental, year-round effort,” Dvorin said. “All week this room has been flooded by volunteers.” Dvorin explained that 100 volunteers were signed up to help organize and work the event over the five days of the sale.

Not only were there 100 volunteers, Dvorin said that volunteers take puzzles home and put them together before they hit the floor to ensure they are complete. If the puzzles are not complete, they are marked and sold as is for a reduced price. By Tuesday morning, not many puzzles remained.

“Donation wise, this is our biggest year,” Dvorin added. She said that this year the Friends had 50% more hard-cover fiction books than ever before, with many items being in mint condition.

All weekend, book dealers and local shoppers combed through the tens of thousands of items for sale on the sales floor that took up about 20,000 square feet of the school. The sale had five checkout points capable of taking cash, credit, checks, and Apple/Google pay. Dvorin said that it is important to “meet the customers where they are. We don’t want any impediments.”

The last day of the sale, Tuesday, July 15, or “Free Day,” Dvorin checked back in with The Bee as the shelves started to show their bareness. She pointed out that the line for Tuesday “rivaled” Friday’s line.

Dvorin said that the sale went very well, adding that some shoppers had trekked down from Boston after reading The Boston Globe’s 2025 Spring Arts Preview. The Boston Globe claimed the sale is the “largest and most well-run in the country.”

Dvorin added that people from northern New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York also came out for the sale. Book dealers have told the Friends that the Annual Book Sale is well organized and has a level of precision that shoppers do not see at other used book sales. The books are all organized by genre, then put in alphabetical order by author. Dvorin said that if someone comes in looking for a specific book, chances are the Friends have it. Volunteers are able to take shoppers right to the book on the shelf, too, adding another level of customer service that is not seen often at other sales.

“We put the ‘friends’ in Friends of the C.H. Booth Library,” Dvorin joked.

Due to the outpouring of support, Dvorin said that the Friends will be able to “at least match last year’s net.” She said that the Friends will be able to give the library a grant in the six figures.

“People still love books, people still love reading … we get a lot of support from a lot of people,” Dvorin said. “Our volunteers knocked it out of the park … People have worked hard for 52 weeks.”

Denise Kaiser, Book Sale chairperson, said, “What was notable this year is the turnout on Saturday and Sunday because those are mostly local people. That was absolutely heartwarming to see. Newtown people and others in local areas are reading. They’re listening to music, watching good movies.”

Dvorin added to that sentiment, “There’s a spirit in this town of people wanting to get together and do good things … We certainly want to continue supporting [the library] to the extent we have.”

The final numbers from the sale are not calculated yet. The Friends has to pay the bills before the grant can officially be presented to the C.H. Booth Library. The next sale will mark 50 years of this Newtown tradition that has almost reached a nationwide audience. The Friends will continue its donation collection of gently used books, puzzles, and media on July 21. Those who are interested in learning more can visit boothbooksale.org or visit the library’s Little Book Store, which is open year-round.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.