Kathy Chang was able to summon up enough courage to brave the crowds at the 59th annual Friends of the Library of Hawaii Book Sale at McKinley High School yesterday.

And lucky she did. Within minutes of arriving, Chang had swiped up about 10 "Cathy" comic books by Cathy Guisewite for her niece, who is in the seventh grade.

"I'll probably read them first and then give them to her," she said, with a giggle. "She loves the comics."

For Chang, and many of yesterday's other eager discount book shoppers, the sale is an annual summer tradition not to be missed.

"I always come out every year. You can find some really great books — some that are out-of-print, some that you can't find in a library," Chang said.

Chang, an English instructor at Kapi'olani Community College, generally skips the first day, Saturday, and then shops on Sunday and sometimes one or two other days during the weeklong sale, she said.

"It's better to come more than one day. They're always putting out new books," she said.

The book sale opened Saturday to record sales, said co-organizer Carol Schaafsma, a volunteer with Friends of the Library. More than 40,000 books were sold with in 12 hours, she said.

"There were steady crowds from the time we opened up until the time we closed. We had trouble throwing people out at 9 o'clock last night," Schaafsma said.

In just a day and a half of sales, more than $50,000 had been raised for the library, Schaafsma estimated.

Nearly 130,000 books, music CDs, videos and DVDs are set to be sold at prices ranging from a few quarters to five bucks. A selection of rare books are also on sale at prices more than $100.

People who weren't able to make it to the book sale this weekend need not worry, Schaafsma said.

"We've got more new books coming out. Those who haven't been here don't have to think they've missed out. There's still good stuff coming," she said.

More than $120,000 is expected to be raised by the weeklong sale and will benefit scholarships for students of library science, special library projects and the library summer reading program.

The Friends of the Library of Hawaii is a nonprofit group that employs about 36 full-time volunteers throughout the year to price and sort books for the sale. As many as 100 volunteers can be used on any given day during the sale. The group helps subsidize library projects.

Among the more popular book subjects are art and religion, with Hawaiiana being the most popular.

"Cookbooks are pretty popular, too. They're just melting off the shelves," Schaafsma said.

Pat Louie, a restaurant manager, decided to use her day off to search through the heaping mounds of books.

"I collect books on the movies and movie stars — mostly older ones," she said.

On the top of her stack of books was a biography on Sophia Loren and somewhere within was a book analyzing the winners and losers of past Academy Awards.

"I came about five years ago with my husband. Now I'm hooked," she said. "There are a lot of books you can't find anywhere else. And of course, you can't beat the price.

"I wish they had this twice a year."

Off in the children's book section, Jenny Meyer was shopping with her mother and two daughters.

Meyer said she was mostly looking for books for the kids, but she ended up finding a first-edition copy of James A. Michener's novel "Hawaii."

"I'm still debating whether to get it. It's $25," she said, flipping through the pages.

For those looking for an extra bargain, from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, all hardcover books will be discounted to 50 cents and paperback books will be two for 50 cents.

Bring a box or sturdy bag — it'll be hard to leave with just one book.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.