HANSVILLE — Books lined the Hansville Community Center Friday and Saturday, holding swashbuckling pirates and curious detectives just waiting to be read about. Residents were invited to come discover characters and plots as well as cookbooks and gardening guides during the second Hansville book sale.

The book sale is an extension of the epic Hansville Rummage Sale, said HCC president and event organizer Lynn Hix. The book section at the rummage sale had become so large in recent years, there wasn’t room for shoppers to comfortably browse for their favorite authors and stories.

“We had about 100 people over the weekend,” Hix said, adding that many book browsers showed up on Friday evening to peruse the sale, taking collectively two tables of books with them. “We sold a lot of books on Friday evening. I think, though, next time we’ll only be open until 8 p.m. Not many people showed up after that.”

The sale featured several cookbooks and gardening books, she said, which drew a large crowd.

“I’m interested in the art books they have here,” said Hansville resident Judy Gover as she flipped through colorful pages.

“We got a few good ones,” said Hansville resident Sally Hardwick, who brought her 6-year-old daughter Emily to the sale. “I found a book by a professor I had in college, which was kind of fun. And I found a copy of ‘James and the Giant Peach’ with the original drawings for (Emily), which she’ll enjoy. It’s just not the same without the original drawings.”

The book sale not only provided the public with reading material, it also raised $1,100 for the community center fund, helping fund scholarships and provide money for community causes. It also turned the page in a new chapter of fund raisers in the Hansville area.

“It’s amazing that we raised that much money with just 50 cent and $1 books,” Hix said, adding that records, winter coats and mugs were for sale as well. About a dozen mugs, a large number of records and 20 coats were sold. The bulk of the funds, however, came from book sale.

“I have thousands of books at home,” said event volunteer Mike Bryant. “I usually donate them to the Driftwood Key library, and I’ve noticed that a multitude of them have shown up here.”

“This is a nice way for people to get rid of stuff and books, that they no longer want or need,” said Hansville resident Barbara Brown, adding that others then benefit from the donation.

There were still a few books remaining after the sale, Hix said, and they will more than likely be given away.

“We’re going to save the cookbooks and a couple of the other books we have left over for the next book sale,” she said. “Most of the paperbacks will go to Goodwill, or some place like that.”

The book sale is becoming a biannual event, Hix said. The next sale will be in April, just in time for readers to trade in their winter reading for some new spring books.