Book-worm Droppings: An Anthology of Absurd Remarks Made by Customers in Second-hand Bookshops

Very amusing little collection of stupid customer remarks and ridiculous exchanges between readers and booksellers.

There are some real pearlers in here:

"You've opened up a whole new world to me! I now collect modern first editions, but tell me, do you know what 'new impression' means?"

"I had a book myself once. Never read it. It was blue. I don't suppose you've got a copy?"

"My father lent me a copy of this book on Marine Engineering because I was doing a course on car maintenance and he thought it might be helpful."

And my all-time favourite:

"Have you got Anne of Clark Gables?"

That one nearly made me choke on my coffee!

This is another book I purchased based on the strength of the title :-) This wasn't as narrative (being simply a series of quotes with a few anecdotal observations thrown in) as I had thought it would be, nor quite as humorous as I had hoped it would be. The bookseller who put this series of customer quotes together may have had a bit of a chip on his shoulder, although this may have been my interpretation considering some of what he stated to be absurd quotes he has overheard are things I have either said out loud, thought to myself or have actually done while being in a bookstore. One of his pet peeves is people who browse whilst having no actual cash to spend, something I'm guilty of having done on more than one occasion. I can see show more where it would be annoying to a used book shop proprietor, but in my defense I have oftentimes gone back and purchased a book that I didn't have the cash for at the moment I actually had the time to look. I always seem to be short on either cash or time and my book buying habits tend to reflect this.

My less than fully positive feelings about the book may have also been caused by my not quite firm grip on British humor, which is regrettably sometimes an issue. This is not to say I didn't enjoy this quote collection at all, because I did to a certain extent, it just wasn't quite as funny as I thought it would be. show less

(illustrated by Martin Smith) Book-worm droppings are daft remarks overheard in bookshops or libraries. Shaun Tyas compiled this first anthology during 8 years practical experience in antiquarian bookselling. Many were contributed by other booksellers when they heard of the project, and this book became the first issue of the press. The author's favourite quotation is the inane 'nice to have a book in the house', but many are surreal and bizarre (like the man who wanted books of a specific size so he could cut out the insides and store his videos in them). Many take their humour from misremembered titles ( Anne of Clark Gables ). A must for all book lovers, librarians and dealers who are prepared to step outside their bibliographical show more realities for a mind-broadening alternative perspective. show less