As lazy summer days, complete with dripping ice creams, smoky braai’s and balmy evenings mark the last days of summer, so the Exclusive Books 2010 Summer Sale, overflowing with every flavour and topping of book you could imagine, highlights the end of the season.

At 07:30 on 28 January 2010, Exclusive Books branches around the country will open their doors to welcome bargain-hunting bookworms and burnt out holidaymakers. The Summer Sale runs for a month and as always, there will be an array of great finds and must-haves with top quality books being discounted by between 25% and 50% off the retail price.

“Our customers line up outside the doors for the opening - Our sales are legendary, because we are offering top quality books at bargain prices,” comments Rene Brophy, Publicity and Marketing Manager, Exclusive Books.

“We have an astounding 321 552 books, at an average retail price of R63.00 including VAT on sale, so there are books for everyone’s taste on offer,” says Brophy.

“With thousands of books on sale, the extensive variety of quality books promises hours of sizzling reading at meltdown prices, offering you the chance to ease the heat on your wallet and escape the summer heat in the shade with an unputdownable book.”

Readers can expect to see the hottest names in fiction heating up the Summer Sale with Dan Brown’s, The Lost Symbol, heading up the list. Other top authors include Isabel Allende; Barbara Taylor Bradford; Umberto Eco; Jill Mansell; Ken Follett; and David Baldacci to name but a few.

Children can relish their favourite flavours with a feast of fresh titles on offer, from popular titles such as The Dressing-up Wardrobe, by Bettina Patterson, to classics including The Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis; The Oxford Nursery Treasury, by Ian Beck; and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stephenson. “As always we love to encourage children to read, so we have filled the children’s category with a bounty of books to suit all ages and interests,” comments Brophy.

The cookery section will tempt any foodies’ taste-buds with Hamlyn’s Juices and Smoothies; The Hot Book of Chillies by David Floyd; and The Perfect Scoop, Ice Creams Sorbets, Granitas and Sweet Accessories, by David Lebowitz. Anyone wanting to run their house like clockwork should try, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Cookery and Household Management by Isabella Beeton and Nicola Humble. If you want to trim down, read Get Fit not Fat: 150 ways to build Fitness into your Life, by Greg Whyte or Yoga Basics by Vimla Lalvani.

A must-have is surely The Hairy Bikers Ride Again, by Si King and Dave Myers – Join them as they carve up the roads of the world in search of adventurous food and foodie adventures.

Biographies feature prominently with weighty tomes such as, My Life by Fidel Castro, to the rock chick reveal-all book, Unzipped by Suzi Quatro, to the fascinating, Oscar Wilde: A Life in Letters, by Oscar Wilde and Merlin Hollande. Rabble Rouser for Peace: The Authorized Biography of Desmond Tutu, offers rewarding insight into a giant of a man.

Adventurers and nature lovers will enjoy diving into the dangerous world of sharks with Shark-o-pedia, by Dorling Kindersley; Baby Animals – a fascinating look at the many ways animals begin life by Andrew Brown; and Into the Okavango: The Africa Poems and Photographs, an exquisite coffee table book by Marianne Harding Burgoyne.

“‘This year’s Exclusive Books summer sale includes a unique selection of some of the finest fiction and non-fiction books to suit the tastes of all readers. Each title has been handpicked by the Exclusive Books team for its value and quality,” concludes Brophy.