REVITALISED book sales will get a further boost today as literature lovers rush in to buy up 503 new hardback titles.

Book stores across Oxfordshire have been preparing for ‘Super Thursday’ when new titles by bestselling authors go on sale in the run-up to Christmas.

The release of so many books on one day is designed to give booksellers a boost, as they continue to combat the internet giant Amazon.

Figures released by Nielsen Bookscan show sales of print books for the first 36 weeks of 2015 rose by 4.6 per cent, worth £739.5m, compared to the same period last year(2014), and Waterstones has announced it will no longer sell Kindles.

Titles going on sale include those by comedian John Cleese, children’s author Jacqueline Wilson, and Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood.

Zool Verjee, deputy manager at Blackwell’s in Broad Street, said: “We have been preparing for this for weeks and have been working with publishers to make sure we get the right titles for our customers in the right quantities. People are becoming more aware of this celebrations of books on Super Thursday and it definitely gives us a boost.

“There is a real sense of excitement for customers as they come into the shop and know they can see all these new titles in one place. You don’t get the same excitement by buying a book online.”

Last year Super Thursday generated about £34m and publishers are hoping for a similar amount this year.

Manager of Waterstones in Oxford, Nicky James, said: “Our staff have all been working flat out over the past few days to get ready for Super Thursday.

“One of the new titles I know is going to sell well is The Road to Little Dribbling by travel writer Bill Bryson, which a lot of customers have been asking about.

“The physical book has had a real resurgence in the past couple of years and Super Thursday is bound to help. I expect the store to be pretty full soon after we open at 9am and it will be busy all day. Ebooks were at their zenith in 2012 but sales have dropped off so we no longer stock Kindles.”

Mark Thornton, who runs Mostly Books in Abingdon, said: “Super Thursday is a great way for our industry to show support for the physical book and creates a buzz beyond our regular customers.”

Chipping Norton author Clare Mackintosh has sold about 350,000 copies of her debut novel I Let You Go, which came out in May.

The former Thames Valley Police inspector said: “More than half of those copies were physical books – it’s a great time to be an author right now.”