Our 2nd Annual Book Sale made a lot of people happy. The party started upon entering, as customers were offered a sip of peach iced tea, a coconut lime shortbread cookie and a keepsake bookmark by our greeters/servers Donna, Annette, Gail and Kathy. Recipe cards were available for both the tea and the shortbread, made respectively by Donna and Debbie.

This intriguing black gift box contained a cotton book bag imprinted with our signature green logo, a Steinbeck/Cannery Row book and a complimentary wine tasting for two at Pierce Tasting Room next door. Many customers waited for over an hour just to see if their name would be called, creating a fun buzz in the mall.

Saturday was our “Meet the Authors” day. At 11am, our children’s book author, Kathleen Ambro captivated her audience with colorful artist renderings, explaining how the text and artwork worked together. She spoke to a full group of listeners, who all received from our Mall, a most charming cupcake adorned with a fondant book topper.

At 2pm, romance novelist, Shelly King, also spoke to a full group of avid listeners about her book, “The Moment of Everything,” an amusing romantic novel about a young woman finding her calling while saving a used bookstore. Shelly’s group also received a surprise cupcake topped with a fondant book.

Each book author was presented with a fresh purple hydrangea plant from the antique mall, as new fans stood in line to have their books personally signed.

Meanwhile, our outside deck was beaming with vintage, new and collectible books, as customers carried handfuls to the front counter. Not only did bargain books sell, but very expensive volumes and first editions were also found stacked at the counter, ready for purchase. Spotted among the vast selections offered by our dealers, a first edition John Steinbeck “Cannery Row,” complete with dust jacket, a full volume of Mark Twain, Horatio Alger 19th-century fiction novels and a first edition 1975 “The Greatest Muhammad Ali” autobiography.

Monterey has a history of producing some of the world’s literary greats. Our annual book sale is a tribute to that era, as we celebrate the recycling of printed works by some of our history’s most colorful writers.