Bookworm beats hubby’s ban
A Waipawa mother who filled her family home with “mountains” of books has managed to persuade her husband Gagau Stanley to join her obsession, overturning the two-year ban on op shopping that she said he had placed on her.
Elvira Guylott boasts an impressive collection of an especially nostalgic set of titles — 638 Little
Golden Books, dating back to the first printing in 1942.
“My husband banned me from the op shops for two years because I would come home with mountains of books,” Guylott said.
“Children’s books, they just hold a special place, it’s an obsession — a bad obsession.”
Guylott, a mother of three, says her love of collecting them was inspired by her own mother, who would read to her as a child.
The 28-year-old said she was attracted to the older editions — to Guylott there is nothing more special than a pre-loved book.
“I enjoy a book that is loved and has that smell where it is old and it had many people around it, it carries a lot of memories all in one little book.”
Despite the pages and pages of illustrations and bookshelves that sag under the weight of the words, she has one standout favourite —
Oscar’s Book, celebrating the world‘s most famous grouch from Sesame Street.
“I used to hide it under the bed so it didn’t go back on the bookshelf.”
Guylott felt happy to have passed on the book-collecting “bug” to her children, 9-year-old Genesis, Layah, aged 6, and Piper, who is 2.
However, she said the sheer amount of titles meant they were hard to move.
“We have already discussed if there was a house fire how we are going to get the books out — and which ones to choose first.”
Her impressive library — all up she has an estimated 5000 books — also includes a number of the Lady Bird
Books, Dr Seuss books, and of course Roald Dahl.
She said that the books not only had sentimental value but also monetary, as one book in her collection is currently selling for $400.
Guylott put her collection up for sale recently, but then decided to hang on to them and get them valued.