Some of the younger shoppers take advantage of the great deals to be had at the Chamber book sale on Nov. 5.  This young shopper intends to brush up on his language skills with the book ‘By the Sea.’

Some of the younger shoppers take advantage of the great deals to be had at the Chamber book sale on Nov. 5. This young shopper intends to brush up on his language skills with the book ‘By the Sea.’

“We’re doing great now that the parade is over,” said one of the many volunteers checking out books and collecting money at the Chamber of Commerce’s annual book sale to benefit Mesquite Reads.

Things started off slowly the morning of Nov. 5 because most people were lining the streets watching the Veterans Day parade. The Chamber book sale began at 8 a.m. but didn’t see most their customers until after 11 a.m. when the parade festivities had ended.

Books were sold by the bag for just $5 and by the box for $10. People were loading up with smiles on their faces as they rifled through thousands of books donated by the Mesquite Library, local businesses and private individuals. You could find anything from romance novels to how-to books on the dozen or more tables set up in the library’s parking lot. Near the end of the book sale which was scheduled to last until 2 p.m. they were talking about discounting everything by 50 percent, saving shoppers even more on their second-hand finds.

Brenda Snell and the Mesquite Chamber expressed that the community support for this event was overwhelming and they want to thank everyone who volunteered, donated or purchased books for their support of both the chamber and the Mesquite Reads program.

The money raised at this event will help fund the Mesquite Reads program at Virgin Valley, JL Bowler and Beaver Dam Elementary Schools. The program targets children in third grade who are not reading at their appropriate grade level. The program was initiated in 2014 by the Eureka Community Initiative. Approximately 285 children have graduated the program to date.

For more information on the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce or and how you can get involved please contact them at 702-346-2902