Gran (60) celebrates her birthday by spending the night in a bookstore
Carina Greyling (60) did everything but sleep during her night in Exclusive Books. She spoke to Kempton Express about this life-long dream that finally came true.
Kempton Park’s Carina Greyling, born in a small town in the Free State in 1958, did not easily make friends.
Therefore, she quickly formed a lifelong friendship with books.
By the age of six, she was already a member of Virginia Library, to which she rode her small bicycle every day for new page-turners. Imagine her disgust when the librarian only allowed her to take two books a week; Carina was already devouring two a day.
“Books were my escape,” she remembers, “a safe place for me to dream in.”
Fifty-four years later Carina is the proud mother of four daughters, to whom she also instilled her love for reading. She is still a bookworm to the core, which is why she is never without a good read. “I have a book in my car, a book in my bag and a book at work. I always make time to read.”
It was no surprise when all Carina wanted for her 60th birthday was to spend an entire night at her favourite bookshop, Exclusive Books. This wish was granted by the Exclusive Books’ Hyde Park store on January 7.
“We had a lovely dinner at Melrose Arch, which I thought was the end of my birthday celebrations. My daughter insisted that I drive home with her and I soon realised that I didn’t know the area. She told me not to worry, [the girls] had gotten me a book voucher for Exclusive Books and that she was taking me to pick one out.”
Although it was already 9pm, Carina said she didn’t think about it twice: “I didn’t argue. I was going to get a new book. Nothing else mattered.”
Little did Carina know what truly awaited her. “As we walked into the store, the first thing I saw was this big beautiful bed, which I assumed was part of the display, until I saw photos of my family on the bedside table.”
When marketing director of Exclusive Books Ben Williams told Carina that the bed, which Vencasa supplied, was in fact for her to spend the night in her favourite shop, she could hardly believe it. Part of her surprise was a R1 000 Exclusive Books voucher to spend on her favourite reads and a R2 000 voucher to use at Vencasa.
Together with her daughter Leeanne and security guard Alida, Carina spent the entire night in her beloved store, only leaving the next morning at 7am. But she did not sleep.
“I couldn’t sit still. I went straight to the best sellers. At one point, with the help of Alida, I was carrying about 30 books. I never wanted to leave.”
Eventually, Carina did leave, but with six new books to fill her shelf. Included were 50/50 by James Patterson, Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich and Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena.
“It was a dream come true,” she said about the event, “and I can never thank the people who made it possible enough.”
And what’s next for this avid reader? “I don’t think I have a further wish. My life is complete.”
