Dion has it covered

BOOKWORM Dion McLeod realised he’d probably never make the pages of the Guinness World Records, so he figured he’d try for the cover.

McLeod, 31, from Dapto in NSW, has been immortalised on the cover of the book’s latest edition, in caricature form on a giant whoopee cushion in the bottom left corner.

“I saw the competition come up on my Twitter timeline and entered as a long shot,” he says.

“I have always loved Guinness World Records and all the fun facts and human feats. I figured since I will likely never be in the book, I should try and get on it instead.”

McLeod says the record book holds a lot of nostalgia for him and many other Australians.

“Guinness World Records always brings back feelings of Christmas for me. That is when a copy would arrive in our house and I would disappear and just get lost in the world of human feats,” he says.

“It has this nostalgic vibe to it, and it is something I think everyone can relate to reading and annoying everyone around them with all the facts at some stage in our lives.”

While he admits he’s unlikely to ever be a world-record setter himself, his best shot would be his book collection.

“I don’t really have many special skills or anything like that, so I think the one that I would love to have in a perfect world would be the world’s largest private book collection,” McLeod says.

“I am up to about 1500 books in my home at the moment (with very little space left to house them), and I know I have a long way to go yet. My dream home would have the library from Beauty and the Beast and just be packed with books.”