What is weird? I can think of weird-funny, weird-strange, weird-stupid, weird-crazy, weird-peculiar, ...
There are 182 synonyms and antonyms to the word weird in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (I did not count them, it says so on their website: They divide it into weird as in bizarre, eerie, magical, unusual.
Well, this book has remarks by customers that fit them all. There is the joke at the back of the cover: "Do you have this children's book I've heard about? It's supposed to be very good. It's callled 'Lionel Richie and the Wardrobe'."
But there are lots more, many of the really stupid. It starts with the customer who read a book in the sixties that made them laugh. They don't remember the title, only that it was green.
And other customers who know nothing about the book they are looking for but expect the bookseller to find it. Or the customer who doesn't want to start with the first book in the series and then complains that they can't understand the fourth or fifth …
And then there are the people who come with their children and think they have every right to misbehave, destroy books or parts of the equipment. Honestly, I don't know how the sellers keep their calm.
Honestly, I could go on and on. But I leave it at this: Read the book!
From the back cover:
"A John Cleese Twitter question ('What is your pet peeve?'), first sparked the 'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' blog, which grew over three years into one bookseller's collection of ridiculous conversations on the shop floor.
From 'Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?' to the hunt for a paperback which could forecast the next year's weather; and from 'I've forgotten my glasses, please read me the first chapter' to 'Excuse me... is this book edible?', here is a book for heroic booksellers and booklovers everywhere.
This full-length collection illustrated by the Brothers McLeod also includes top 'Weird Things' from bookshops around the world."
I have to get this one! My sister, who works at a library, gets similar questions and comments from the people who come in looking for books. She'd really laugh at this. :D
ReplyDeleteOh, she would love this, I'm sure, Lark. And so would you. Enjoy.
DeleteI read this and it was fun. It's a shame I've never worked in a bookstore.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day.
I always think the same, Lissa. Whether I read about bookshops or libraries. But it must be a tough job.
DeleteI've worked at two different university bookstores in my day. Plus, a specialized indie bookstore that dealt mainly with legal books. I started out as a student employee in the textbook department at the university I attended. Later on in my life, I worked as an assistant manager for the general book department at another university's campus bookstore.... Let's just say between working at all three bookstores, you hear it all. The biggest difference between working at a university bookstore and an indie bookstore is that at university bookstores you have to deal with the giant egos of the faculty and staff from other departments.
ReplyDeleteOh, Lisa, I've heard that from a friend who worked in a university library all her life, I am sure that is an even greater challenge.
DeleteI am sure you would enjoy this book, though.