CUSTOMER:Â If I were to, say... meet the love of my life in this bookshop, what section do you think they would be standing in?
These days, we've got booksellers in cities, in deserts, and in the middle of a rain forest; we've got travelling bookshops, and bookshops underground. We've got bookshops in barns, in caravans and in converted Victorian railway stations. We've even got booksellers selling books in the middle of a war. Are bookshops still relevant? They certainly are. All bookshops are full of stories, and stories want to be heard.
Perhaps that is the best way to say it: printed books are magical, and real bookshops keep that magic alive.
Bookshop Customer: 'Who wrote the bible?' Customer's friend: 'Jesus.
CUSTOMER: Is your poetry section split up into rhyming and non-rhyming sections? BOOKSELLER: No, it’s just in alphabetical order. What kind of poetry are you looking for? CUSTOMER: Rhyming. Preferably iambic pentameter, in poems of no more than ten lines, by a female poet. But, other than that, I don’t mind.
Customer: This book has a couple of tears to some of the pages. Me: Yes, unfortunately some of the older books haven’t had as much love as they should have done from previous owners. Customer: So, will you lower the price? It says here it’s £20. Me: I’m sorry but we take into account the condition of the books when we price them; if that book was in a better condition, it would be worth a lot more than £20. Customer: Well, you can’t have taken this tear here into account *points to page* or this one here *points to another page* because my son did those two minutes ago. Me: So, the book is now more damaged than it was before, because of your son? Customer: Yes. Exactly. So will you lower the price?
Do you have any old copies of Dickens? Bookseller: We've got a copy of David Copperfield from 1850 for $150. Customer: Why is it so expensive if it's that old?
Customer: Forgotten my glasses, could you read the beginning of this book to me to see if I like it?
