Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores

"What is your biggest pet peeve?"

This simple Twitter question posed by John Cleese inspired bookseller Jen Campbell to start a blog collecting all the ridiculous conversations overheard in her bookstore, 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.

Customer: Have you read every single book in here?

Bookseller: No, I can't say I have.

Customer: Well, you're not very good at your job, are you?

A simple Twitter question posed by John Cleese-"What is your pet peeve?" -inspired Jen Campbell to start a blog collecting all the ridiculous conversations overheard in her bookstore, everything from "Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?" to the hunt for a paperback which could forecast the next year’s weather; from "I've forgotten my glasses, please read me the first chapter" to "Excuse me ... is this book edible?"; and from "Can books conduct electricity?" to "My children are just climbing your bookshelves: that's ok... isn't it?"

If we didn't know it already, this irresistible book is proof positive that booksellers are heroes, the world over.

Jen Campbell grew up in England and graduated from Edinburgh University with an MA in English Literature. She is a published poet and short story writer. She works at a bookstore in North London.