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Jen Campbell

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Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores Paperback – Illustrated, July 26, 2016

by Jennifer Campbell (Author)

4.3 1,030 ratings

Goodreads Choice Award nominee

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A simple Twitter question posed by John Cleese―“What is your biggest pet peeve?”―inspired Jen Campbell to start a blog collecting all the ridiculous conversations overheard in her bookstore. “Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?” “Did Charles Dickens ever write anything fun?” “I’ve forgotten my glasses, can you read me the first chapter?” “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.

Print length

208 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harry N. Abrams
Publication date

July 26, 2016
Dimensions

5.05 x 0.95 x 7.9 inches
ISBN-10

1468308939
ISBN-13

978-1468308938
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jen Campbell is a poet, short story writer, and bookseller. She graduated from Edinburgh University with a Masters in English Literature. Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores was a London Times bestseller in its UK edition, with rights sold in Germany, Finland, and Sweden. She currently works at an independent bookstore in North London. Visit jen-campbell.blogspot.com for more.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry N. Abrams; Reprint edition (July 26, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1468308939
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1468308938
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.05 x 0.95 x 7.9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #982,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #729 in Celebrity & Popular Culture Humor (Books)
- #1,066 in Business & Professional Humor
- #7,478 in Fiction Satire

Customer Reviews:
4.3 1,030 ratings

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Jen Campbell

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Jen Campbell grew up in the north east of England and now lives in London. She an award-winning poet and bestselling author of twelve books across nonfiction, fiction and poetry.

Her books for adults include The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night, The Girl Aquarium, The Bookshop Book, and the Sunday Times bestselling Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops series. Her picture book trilogy Franklin and Luna, and her middle-grade book The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers, are published by Thames & Hudson. She has won both an Eric Gregory Award and the Jane Martin Poetry Prize, and her books have been translated into twenty languages. She has two new titles forthcoming in 2023: Please Do Not Touch This Exhibit and Marceline: Defender of the Sea.

Jen has worked in the publishing industry for over fifteen years, initially as a bookseller, and now as a freelance editor, content creator and disability advocate. She reviews books online, in print and on the radio. Jen runs a Youtube channel where she talks about books, the history of fairy tales, and the representation of disability and disfigurement. She also offers online writing workshops and editorial services, and she gives talks at schools, publishing companies, universities and book festivals on a variety of topics. www.jen-campbell.co.uk

She is represented by Charlie Campbell at Greyhound Literary.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

1,030 global ratings

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Soul Reader

Laugh out loud funny!

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2023

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HILARIOUS book that had me laughing out loud several times. The author is a bookseller. She asked other booksellers for their stories, and none disappoints. You can almost hear the conversations as they occur. Such a great reminder of our crazy human foibles and how we assume things about people with particular titles or professions, in this case bookseller.

I'm so grateful for the humor of this book and the wonderful healing laughter it brought forth. What sheer delight!

One person found this helpful

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unco

Delightful and Quirky

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2023

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This was delightful. It was quirky and fun. I had a blast imagining the characters. It is the type of book that you can pick up for a few minutes here and there. I did not feel compelled to read it from cover to cover immediately but to read it sporadically and savor the content.

2 people found this helpful

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MDavis

Hilariously accurate!

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2024

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If you have ever worked in a bookstore, so many of these will be familiar. I literally laughed out loud many times. I was transported back to my days among the stacks with these delightful true quotes from customers. They reminded me of when I was asked, for “the book with the red cover you had on display last year”. Or my favorite was the repeated, “ Do you have ‘How to Kill a Mockingbird’?”

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Crystal Starr Light

Should have checked out the blog or borrowed from the library - oh well

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2017

Verified Purchase

People say the darnedest things - and sometimes in bookstores. Jen Campbell compiled a bunch of the craziest ones she's heard and started a blog - which apparently got famous due to Neil Gaiman (!!) discovering it. She was then tapped to produce a book, which she augmented with stories from other booksellers (thought fortunately, I'd say a good 75% or better are hers).

I added this book to my Goodreads shelf on September 3, 2014, along with the book "I Work at a Public Library". I'm not entirely certain why I added this book - maybe there was a review that instigated it or I found it from a blog I read at the time. I'm not sure - but the point of me mentioning when I added it is that, 3 years later, it was not nearly worth the 3 year wait nor the price I spent to buy it (sorry). This is definitely a "check out of the library, spend 30 min on and have a chuckle".

Although the book is divided up into multiple subjects, the types of entries are usually one of two:

1) A customer who doesn't read much makes a "heinous book error" (Tequila Mockingbird!)
or
2) A customer is a rude a-hole

At least one entry seems to mock bookphiles. The customer comment was something along the lines of "I would love to sleep among the books" - how is that weird at all? I think I've heard that sentiment multiple times unironically on Goodreads!

In general, I don't like to laugh at people who are inexperienced or just trying to make small talk but being awkward about it. Hell, I'm that awkward person, so perhaps I'll be the next laugh in her next book.

As for the rude a-holes, I don't know whether to laugh or want to strangle them. Asking if you can pee in a bookstore (and doing it), ripping books to get a discount, and so on aren't really funny - they are weird, but more a "this is a vile person" than "what a weird thing - let's have a giggle!"

Further, the formatting sometimes made it a challenge to determine how long an entry was. The entries had signifiers at the end to tell when the entry was over, but sometimes, when the entry went across the page, it was a challenge to determine if it was a new entry or the same one.

At the end, this book wasn't horrible. I mean, I may not have loved it and may think it was not worth waiting 3 years and spending money on it, but it was amusing - a few modest chuckles. I think what did this book the worst was the hype that led me to put this on my list. I probably should have checked out the blog first, to see if it was the style I liked before buying and reading.

Oh well, we all make mistakes. I'll quickly remedy this mistake by taking this off to the used bookstore to sell and get something else.

19 people found this helpful

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Tara Kurr

truly enjoyable!

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2023

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I really enjoyed this book! A quick read and very funny! As I worked in a bookstore previously, this really hit home.

2 people found this helpful

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Michelle M

This book shows the amusing, frustrating and strange experiences retailers have with customers

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2023

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An amusing book which presents a series of anecdotal comments between booksellers and customers. It reveals a great deal about the expectations and outlooks of people and shows just how silly and unreasonable they can be. It is a quick read but very funny and I recommend it if you want to relax and have a laugh.

One person found this helpful

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gnr

True to the business.

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2023

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Having owned a bookstore for 20 years, I could absolutely relate. For a fuller experience read any/all of Shaun But bell's books. if you have always wanted to own a bookstore, be careful what you wish for!

One person found this helpful

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Book_pusher

Hilarious!

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2023

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Perfect for any book lover. Once I started I couldn't put it down. Now I just have to find the next one...

One person found this helpful

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Rachelsab

Extremamente engraçado é divertido!

Reviewed in Brazil on April 7, 2019

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Comprei por indicação de uma booktuber e não me arrependi nadinha! Livro super engraçado! Fiquei admirada por ver como o povo é doido e folgado em qq parte do mundo! Hahahaha! Super recomendo!

2 people found this helpful

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Igel

Light and entertaining

Reviewed in Germany on September 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

The book is a collection of short funny dialogues. I enjoyed it very much and still reopen it from time to time to have a chuckle or make someone laugh. Don't regret buying it :)

Pragati

Read! Sigh! And Laugh!

Reviewed in India on February 4, 2019

Verified Purchase

“CUSTOMER: It makes me sad that grown up books don’t have pictures in them. You’re brought up with them when you’re younger, and then suddenly they’re all taken away.

BOOKSELLER: …Yes. It’s a cruel world.”

But, you know what, why should kids have all the fun? There are many books with beautiful illustrated pictures which we adults could read and enjoy as well! “Weird things customers say in bookshops” by Jen Campbell is one such book. This was just a glimpse of what this book is all about. Do read it and have a good laugh! (For detailed review visit: minireads.in/

Amazon Customer

Love it

Reviewed in Canada on March 26, 2017

Verified Purchase

This book is awesome I love it, I discovered it when at my local library and decided to buy it for myself. Worth every penny. Funny, relatable, and interesting stories make this book a worth while read a few times over.

One person found this helpful