Review: Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell, with Illustrations from the Brothers McLeod

Rating (Out of 5):~4-4.5

Genre: Non-fiction, humor

Publisher: Overlook Press

Release Date: March, 2012

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

The Cover:

The cover's not bad. It's the same art as inside the book, and it's also the start of one of the stories/quotes inside the book, so that's a definite plus. It's a little quirky, with the colors, and I like the font. Overall, I do rather like it.

Review:

I’d heard of this book, and seen it in the bookstore a couple of times, and then finally picked it up on impulse. And I’m really glad that I did, because it’s a really fast, funny read.

This book took me about two hours, I think, to read. I read it in one sitting, and was laughing/grinning the entire time. You don’t have to be a book person to read it, but I think there’s extra humor/horror if you are. I know there’s a second book, and I hope it gets released in the U.S. sometime soon, or I’ll buy it from the marketplace or something, because I would like to read more. I think there’s a blog, or something, too, which I’ll have to check out as well.

I would suggest reading this, especially if you want something small and funny.