[Due to the forthcoming book release of 'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops', I've removed some of the 'Weird Things...' quotes from this blog.
You can still find some here and here, and you can find all the information on the book over here].
Thank you. xx
Oh!
ReplyDeleteI love the Famous Five conversation.
ReplyDeleteThat's a book I'd be buying for the kids *grin*
A few weeks ago I heard someone in Waterstone's bookshop in Petersfield (Hampshire) say to her friend "You know, I haven't read a book for over ten years". Her friend said "So, what are we doing in here?". "Oh, I am buying a present for my niece"
ReplyDeleteoh no, that comment kind of makes me want to cry a little.
ReplyDeleteI loved your response to the Nigella Lawson question :)
ReplyDeleteVery funny. I didn't know who Nigella Lawson was so I googled her and... it is a tough call.
ReplyDeleteLOL
http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
I get the "relaxing" comment from people, too -- I work in a library. I love these comments, Jen -- keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteThat dragons one is utterly awesome!
ReplyDeleteCould you set up a webcam?! Watching some of these moments would be very entertaining (although a little privacy invading probably...).
Ok, now I want a copy of Hogwarts: A History...
ReplyDeleteHow odd that money a bookstore makes goes into keeping itself in business.
ReplyDeleteMarisa - whodda thunk it, eh?
ReplyDeleteThese leave me speechless. I mean, they're absolutely hilarious, but at the same time I'm flabbergasted. So this is what I look like when I'm reading these posts:
ReplyDelete:o
It's that moment right before you can think of what to say to such a thing.
Oh, my. We do keep a Monty Python day by day Calendar in the stock room. Perhaps it is a curse....
ReplyDeleteOverheard in Muswell Hill Bookshop, where Tom Wilkinson was trying to be quiet and understated in a dark corner: His wife, who'd lost him, yelling across the otherwise very quiet shop, "Tom? TOM?!! TOOOOOOOM??!!!!"
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes. I'm loving these - found you thru #bookstorebingo.
ReplyDeleteConsidering I just had a bunch of kids drag their friends in to look over THE TAKING TREE, I think
someone would buy 'Five Go Down To a Crack House'
if I only would put it in the Humour section.
Lauretta@ConstellationBooks
I'm not sure whether this was a very subtle wind-up or just plain weird:
ReplyDeleteCustomer browsing science section: I can't find any books on fairies...
Me: They'll be in the mind-body-and-spirit section, or maybe mythology. There will be a few in the children's section too.
Customer: What? That's stupid, why aren't they in science?
Love Agnes' Knickers! I can see a whole new spin-off series...
ReplyDeleteA brilliant blog post - thanks for making me giggle!
The 'History of Hogwarts' was probably in reference to one or both of the supplementary books to the main Harry Potter serial - 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' and 'Quidditch Through the Ages'.
ReplyDeletePez - no, I'm afraid it wasn't.
ReplyDeleteOh.
ReplyDeleteOh indeed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the Nigella Lawson question. It is a tough call.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a Monty Python curse...
ReplyDeleteIntriguing topic you choose to write on. I like the way you express yourself, how you underline, so to speak, specific areas, on which you want the reader's attention. Great stuff, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteman and van in London
Well. Now you have me rethinking dinosaurs altogether.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite one in bookstores, or indeed in my business (a cinema) is 'Will I like it?'
ReplyDeleteUm... How would I know? I just set eyes on you this second. I know nothing about you or your tastes. All I can say is if I liked it...
I used to work at a Borders bookstore, and I can't tell you how many times people came in and asked if we had a copier so that they could photocopy the books that we were selling. People are insane.
ReplyDeleteBecky
http://pretendingtoknowyou.blogspot.com
Ah I laughed out loud on this list..and I thought I was asked weird questions at my job.
ReplyDeleteThx for the laugh!
Cubicleblindness
I work in a bookstore too!
ReplyDeleteAnd one busy Saturday.....
Customer : *shouts* WHAT DO YOU SELL???
Me : ........... Books.
"Customer: Hi there, do you have a copy of 'Hogwarts: A History'?"
ReplyDeleteI find this kind of sweet, if overly-optimistic.
I'd buy it.
ReplyDeleteActually, that dino book may well have an entry on dragons. So to speak.
ReplyDeletehttp://primeval.wikia.com/wiki/Dracorex
/silly Primeval fan
very funny collection ... i owned a record shop for a few years ... I know it's not the same but it is :)
ReplyDeletea customer asked if they could return an album ... as I was taking it out of the bag I asked out of interest why they wanted to return it ... oh it wasn't what I was expecting ... Hot Chocolate ~ Greatest Hits ... what did he think it was going to be? ... steve
When I worked at Half Price Books, I'd love getting calls from people who asked: "I was in there last week and there was a fiction book with red letters on the second shelf. I can't remember what it was called, can you check for me?"
ReplyDelete"Would you like me to put it on hold for you?"
"No. I just can't think of the title and I'm at Bookstore X now."