India Smith took a day off from Fairfield School so she could go to the annual sale, an event she has attended every year of her life, even when she was in her mother's womb.
"It is a lot better than a school day. I just love coming here," she said.
Her mother, Martine Caskell-Smith, said while she had no particular cravings to buy a certain type of book when pregnant with her daughter, she "has certainly picked up a love for this book sale".
A family affair, India was at the front of the queue with her grandmother, Lesley Smith, and was later joined by her aunt, Amber Fraser-Smith.
The grandmother, mother and daughter secured the top spot in the line by queuing up at 8.30am, before the noon opening.
With years of experience between them, the three generations of book lovers said the key to a successful sale was to take several large bags, get in early to secure a spot near the front, and head straight for one's favourite section when the clock struck 12.
"And watch for the pushing," Lesley Smith said.
A large crowd had gathered in the foyer before the opening, with book lovers welcomed by Daphne Burnett-Roberts playing Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head on her keyboard.
"I have played every year, and for the first song I try to capture the mood of the day", she said.
In its 28th year, the book sale had grown so big that additional items such as records and DVDs were sold at a separate Anything But Book Sale at the Regent Theatre on March 1.
Organiser Doug Lovell said there would be no let-up of people looking for bargains among the 300,000 books available.
"We have people who attend the book sale for the entire 24 hours, so it is quite the event."
The quiet time for the sale was usually between 4am and 6am but there were never fewer than 100 people fossicking at New Zealand's biggest sale of second-hand books at any one time.
The mezzanine floor of the Regent Theatre was devoted to special interest books and included one which sold at a recent overseas auction for $3865, he said.
The 1733 translated version of the 1710 French book, The Travels and Adventures of James Massey was available by negotiation with several offers already received.
While that book was at the top end of the price range, the increased prices of unmarked books from 50c to $1 had not deterred bargain-hunters, he said.
Hoping to raise $100,000, proceeds from the sale would go towards the redevelopment of the Regent Theatre.
The sale ends at noon today.
