Name: Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores
ISBN: 9781468301281

Jennifer Campbell

A North London bookshop clerk and blogger describes the inspiration she found in a Twitter question by John Cleese, sharing some of the more absurd exchanges she has overheard in her line of work, from whether or not Beatrix Potter ever wrote about dinosaurs to an inquiry about the edible nature of a book.

Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores

Monicap

Loved it. So great and funny, and a really quick read, too. Needed this.

Savindi Jinasena

Cover Gushing Worthiness: I think the cover for this book is delightful. It’s quirky and cartoony in the way that I like. It really is a good reflection of the book.

Review: I first heard about the book through goodreads and then it appeared again on my wordpress reader thanks to Clair from  The Captive Reader when she shared some of her favourite quotes.So this isn’t really a review for the book because I don’t think it’s the type of book you can necessarily review, but I thought I’d share some of my favourite quotes from it. Also the illustrations in this book made me laugh out loud as well. They were done with such good humour.


  Customer: Where’s your true fiction section?



  Customer: Do you have a copy of Nineteen Eighty-Six?
Bookseller: Nineteen Eighty-Six?
Customer: Year. Orwell
Bookseller: Oh. Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Customer: No, I’m sure it’s Nineteen Eighty-Six; I’ve always remembered because it’s the year I was born.
Bookseller…


Now this one…I’m having a hard time getting my head around it.

  Five-year-old-girl: Mommy, I could stay in here all day!
Mother: I don’t know why you read; it’ll never get you anywhere.


This was one was really sad in my opinion.


  Customer:Hi, I just wanted to ask: did Anne Frank ever write a sequel?
Bookseller:…
Customer: I really enjoyed her first book.
Bookseller: Her Diary?
Customer: Yes, the diary.
Bookseller: Her diary wasn’t fictional.
Customer: Really?
Bookseller:Yes…She really dies at the end- that’s why the diary finishes. She was taken to a concentration camp.
Customer: Oh…that’s terrible
Bookseller: Yes, it’s awful.
Customer: I mean, it’s such a shame, you know? She was such a good writer.


This was in “The Adult Section” part of the book.

  Customer: Do you have a restricted section?


I can probably go on and on about most of the quotes in this book, but I’m going to let you guys read this for yourself. If you’re interested you can check out Jen Campbell’s blog  here .

My Rating: 5/5

Would I recommend it? Absolutely

Eilidh 

Everything from "Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?" to "Did Charles Dickens ever write anything fun?" Anyone who has ever worked in retail will nod knowingly at requests like "I’ve forgotten my glasses, can you read me the first chapter?" Or the absurdity of questions like "Excuse me . . . is this book edible?" Filled with fun and quirky illustrations by the award-winning Brothers McLeod and featuring contributions from booksellers across the United States and Canada, as well as the author's native UK, Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores is a celebration of bookstores, large and small, and of the brilliant booksellers who toil in those literary fields, as well as the myriad of colorful characters that walk through the doors everyday. This irresistible collection is proof positive that booksellers everywhere are heroes.

Shrouk Shafie

Kathy Rodger 

Susan Forsythe

This irresistible collection is proof positive that booksellers everywhere are heroes