Elated, I grabbed the slim volume and stuffed it into my calico bag as quickly as possible. That might sound excessive, but once I was waiting while a volunteer put more books out, and someone else snaffled one I had been seeking for, literally, decades.

After savouring the moment briefly, I continued on my quest.

Fellow bibliophiles will understand. Last weekend was the third and final Lifeline Bookfair of 2019. As usual, I took the Friday off work (as legitimate leave, not a sickie) to go - much to the surprise of some unenlightened colleagues - and also went on Saturday.

The bookfairs have been highlights of the year since I came to Canberra. Sure, there are lots of second-hand books available online, which is great, but the prices (and postage) are often prohibitively high.

Besides, there's nothing like dropping a gold coin in the donation slot and surveying the vast expanse of tables laden with books and CDs and DVDs, magazines, and games, and much more besides, ripe for the picking through.

The smell of used books is distinctive and there's the joy of touching them and looking through them and wondering about their histories. Some are library books that have been deemed surplus to requirements (occasionally just a few years after they were acquired), some have inscriptions for a birthday or other occasion, and a few have annotations added by a previous owner. You don't get all that online.

It's also interesting to see which categories have the highest number of books and the most copies of particular titles. There are a lot of crime books, often duplicates, presumably because many aren't worth rereading once you know whodunit (Raymond Chandler is an exception and I often buy cheap copies of his books to give to people: so far, they have all enjoyed his work). I've seen many volumes of the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy liberated from domestic bondage (discarded in shame, perhaps?). More surprisingly, Harry Potter books also tend to turn up en masse - does the magic eventually vanish?

There are categories at the fair, and the locations tend to stay the same, which makes negotiating the masses easier.

I always zip first to my favourites, among them books on movies and music, classical and soundtracks, old movies on DVD, and cast recording CDs. I fill bags quickly, which is hard on my back but essential: once passed over, an item might not be seen again and it's better to cull at the end rather than lose something.

The collectors' room this year proved especially exciting for classical music this time - I found big box sets of performances by Leopold Stokowski and Vladimir Horowitz as well as one of Vivaldi concerti. Not easy to carry (I had to buy a box to go along with my trolley and bags) but oh, so worth it.

A colleague told me he had found a first edition of My Brother Jack for only $15 in the same room and I felt a twinge of envy, but I am sure I will find a hardback of the George Johnston classic eventually.

Someone once said you might not find what you're looking for in a second-hand bookstore but you will make discoveries of things you didn't know you wanted and that applies just as well to Canberra's Lifeline's bookfairs.

I've made plenty of serendipitous findings, among them crime novels and humorous books.

I am still trying to build up as complete a hardcover set as I can of a childhood favourite, the Three Investigators mystery series. On Saturday I found a hardback copy of The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot. I already had one but snapped it up anyway. Why? I wanted to check the condition of it compared to the one I have. And you never know when someone might be willing to swap for one you don't have.

I'm hoping to obtain hardcover copies of my favourite books - since many are out of print, or only seem to be available in paperback, it's a longtime quest. Not being fussy about whether or not they're first editions helps. As long as they're in decent condition with no pages missing, I'm happy. Lifeline has provided hardbacks of William Goldman's The Season, L.P. Hartley's The Go-Between and several Peter De Vries novels, among other treasures.

I'm still looking for some books - often paperbacks - I remember from childhood, adolescence and university, too, or that I have read about more recently. Like some old TV shows and movies that have vanished into obscurity (even in the internet age) but that I can recall seeing or reading about. They're hard to find, but I hope not gone for good. Even if they're not brilliant they appeal to me. I have read Evan Hunter's Last Summer and would love to find copies of it and its sequel, Come Winter: I've never even seen the latter.

So I will keep going to the bookfairs (and second-hand bookshops, which sadly seem to be going the way of music shops). Sure, I have a lot of books, and won't be able to read every bit of every one in all likelihood. Again, this is a bibliophile thing that others don't seem to understand.

I can't wait for the next bookfair in February for another round of fossicking and finding.

And I can pride myself on the fact that I am supporting a good cause while having fun.

It doesn't get better than that.

Unless I find everything that I'm seeking. But that will never happen.

The hunt will continue.