Anodyne
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
 
A dumbness bomb apparently detonated this morning at Main and Broadway, because I've spent my entire day fielding unsmiling questions like the following:

Q: Are these used or new books?

CJB: Those books over there [pointing] are new. Everything else in the store is used.

Q: What's that supposed to mean?

CJB: We order those books [pointing] from new book suppliers. All the other books in the store are used.

Q: So are your books new or used?

CJB [deep breath]: As I've just explained, we have both.

Q: Why?

And:

Q: Boy, these new book prices must be killing you!

CJB: Actually our new book sales have gone up. We're carrying more titles, and, with our everyday "20% off" pricing, a lot of our prices are already at US par.

Q: Do you have this used? [holding Steve Colbert's new book, which just came out on Friday]

CJB: That book's four days old!

Q: No, huh? Well, guess I'll go buy the softcover at Chapters.

CJB: That title doesn't exist in softcover. It just came out last week. There won't be a softcover until this time next year.

Q: Chapters'll have the softcover for 30% off, too!

CJB: Maybe. Next year.

Q: Chapters must be killing you! [repeat ad infinitum]

And:

Q: I'll just ask you because I don't know where to look! Do you have Stranger in a Strange Land?

CJB: We should...on the blue wall.

Q: That blue wall? Or that one?

CJB: Only one of those walls has books on it.

Only an hour and a half left to go!
- posted by cjb @ 6:04 PM


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