PETALING JAYA, Oct 1 — Every bookworm’s dream is to be surrounded by what they love most — books.

It will be a bonus, of course, if a bookworm got to spend the night at a bookstore! For mother and daughter pair, Roshilawati Razlan and Shireen Alyssa Azmir, their dream came true on Saturday. 

The duo described the stay as a dream come true.
The duo described the stay as a dream come true.

The duo beat out 80 contestants in Airbnb’s “Once Upon A Sleepover” contest to win a one-night stay at BookXcess in Cyberjaya, the country’s biggest 24-hour bookstore.  

“There’s nothing like being surrounded by books around the clock. This opportunity allowed us to spend leisure time throughout the bookstore and discover new titles as well.

“I’m glad that I managed to share this once in a lifetime opportunity with my daughter. It’s truly a dream come true for book lovers like us,” she said.

Contestants were asked to answer one question: What is your favourite book to travel with and why? Roshilawati’s answer of The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery gifted her the win.

“The book taught me since I was young that when travelling to where others call home everything may be different and unfamiliar, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing as long as we have an open heart and mind.”

Besides the cosy accommodation, BookXcess and Airbnb presented her with a birthday cake, a chance to learn the inner workings of running a bookstore, a book club session and a chance to grab as many books as they can in a basket.

The duo did not put their chance to waste, raking in 34 books worth RM831.60 in two minutes.

“At Airbnb we delight book lovers around the world as they can borrow a book from their hosts’ bookshelves, receive recommendations from them on local bookstores to explore, stay in authors’ former homes or signing up for literature-related Experiences,” said Airbnb Asia Pacific regional director Siew Kum Hong.

BookXcess chief product officer Yu Jeen Chua said he was glad to host them and allow them a unique experience in the bookstore.

“Over here we constantly encourage people to explore different genres of books and to wider their horizon to achieve their dreams.”