Linda Beliveau wouldn’t have opened the book, a somewhat battered old blue hardcover, had she not seen a little bit of plastic poking out of the pages.

Flipping the cover, she found the volume had been hollowed out, its cavity filled with a baggie of marijuana, another holding two joints, a decent-sized roach and some Zig-Zag rolling papers.

article continues below

The irony: The book in question was a trilogy of Second World War escape stories, including The Wooden Horse, the tale of British PoWs stashing themselves inside a piece of exercise equipment.

It wasn’t the oddest find in the 18 years of the Times Colonist Book Sale. It wasn’t even the first time dope had been discovered inside a book.

But it was a first for Beliveau, a retired federal servant who for six years has been part of the small army of volunteers who sort donations to the TC drive.

›› DOWNLOAD a printable PDF of the book sale layout

She has chanced upon other items forgotten inside the covers, though. “I’ve found passports,” she said. And it’s not uncommon for volunteers to come across long-forgotten photos or love letters slipped inside the jackets while sorting. Lots of cash, too, ($400 once) that goes to the cause. Sometimes opening a box of donated books is like breaking into a Kinder Surprise. All manner of oddities emerge.

Among this year’s treasures: a wooden recorder, a film camera, some binoculars, a postage scale and a souvenir metal plate from Bolivia. If someone named Sam is missing the commemorative pen holder that the boys gave him in March 1976, we have it.

In the past, discoveries have included brass knuckles, a large fruit pie, an FBI fingerprint field kit, some women’s underwear (new), a pair of paratrooper boots (used) and a Boy Scout uniform.

The little ribbon-wrapped ceramic urn of cremated cat ashes that showed up in 2008 remains abandoned atop a Times Colonist filing cabinet, as no one wants to be the one to toss it out lest that trigger some sort of Poltergeist/Pet Sematary reaction. Occasionally, somebody will water the ashes, hoping to bring little Tigger back to life like a mail-order Sea-Monkey. But I digress.

As fun as it is to mine the oddities among the donations, the real treasures are, of course, the books that will go on sale this weekend.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The sale goes Saturday and Sunday at the Victoria Curling Club, 1952 Quadra St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

• The books are cheap: hardcovers $3; softcovers $2; pocket books and children’s books $1. Payment is by cash, debit, MasterCard, Visa or American Express, but no cheques.

• A couple of new wrinkles this year: The children’s book section, previously in the basement, has moved to an awesome new space on the top floor. The Harry Potter, Hunger Games and Twilight series are all in the science fiction section on the main floor, though.

• There’s also good news for those with a hunger for more than books: The café in the curling club will be open.

• Bring a little bit of money and a little bit of patience. The sale usually starts off with a lineup around the block.

• Wear comfy shoes, as you’ll be on a concrete floor. Some people like to bring their own carrier bags, while others prefer to pick up a cardboard box (or two, or three …) at the curling club.

• Pay parking is available in the lot that serves the curling club and Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. There is also free parking along Quadra, but be aware that parking on some of the nearby side streets is for residents only. You can also take the No. 6 bus, which goes along Quadra.

• Once the sale is over, representatives of schools and non-profit groups may help themselves to the remaining books, for free, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Monday.

• As always, the money raised at the sale goes to the Times Colonist Raise A Reader fund, which this year handed out more than $250,000 to more than 175 literacy-related projects on Vancouver Island.

TC Book Sale layout at the Victoria Curling Club.