Let’s do the maths. One thousand banana boxes from Ecuador, the Philippines, Mexico and points in between

No bananas, but 30-40 books in each box – pre-loved books that have excited, stimulated, taught and motivated. Books that have delivered great pleasure.

So let’s say an average of 35 books in each box. That makes 35,000 books that will be up for re-purchase, re-reading, re-relishing at Tauranga Harbour City Lions Club’s annual charity book fair at Tauranga Racecourse from November 8-10.

The Friday-to-Sunday fundraiser is like a mini-Boxing Day sale.

“There’s always a queue 100 metres long one hour before we throw the doors open next Friday, November 8 at 9am,” said Lion Christine Currie.

Then it’s a managed free-for-all.

“It just keeps getting bigger,” said Currie, a pioneer from the first sale in 2007.

“We took $2000 for local charities that first year. Then last year deserving Tauranga people and groups were $60,000 better off from the Lions’ Book Fair.”

When 18th Century Irish writer, poet and lyricist Thomas Moore was penning his celebrated Last Rose of Summer in 1846, he would have been unaware he’d be assisting the purchase of a mobile kitchen for the Tauranga Fire Brigade 178 years later.

“Thus kindly I scatter, The leaves o’er the bed, Where thy mates of the garden, Lie scentless and dead.”

A rare book, an 1846 publication, leather-bound and gilded in gold – The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore, will be on sale at this year’s book fair. As will 600 pages of fine print – History of London by David Hughson, LLD, or Doctor of Laws.

“May such happiness consolidate the fabric which discord cannot separate, nor arrogance with impunity invade,” he wrote in the preface to King George III.

That’s the cerebral collector’s stuff.

But the favourite flavour this year – as he’s been in previous years – is likely to be the protagonist of umpteen crime thrillers, Jack Reacher. British author Lee Child has quit the character but Jack himself continues to turn valuable charity dollars for Tauranga Harbour City Lions Club.

There’s also a cache of hundreds, maybe thousands, of books and magazines dating back 50 years – some magazines are still protected by the polybags or plastic sleeves they arrived in. It’s one man’s collection of car, hot rods, classic car and music magazines.

“Magazine collectors and car buffs will love them,” said Currie. “There will be one large room for fiction and another large room for non-fiction.”

Tauranga Harbour City Lions Club’s book fair at Tauranga Racecourse from November 8-9 from 9am-5pm, and November 10 from 9am-3pm.