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/lit/ - Literature

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19110367 No.19110367 [Reply] [Original]

First day working at the library. People asked me about some shitty fantasy, romance and scifi books, I had to look them up in the system. Someone asked for a recommendation about fantasy but didn't want anything from Tolkien, so I said
>do you like adventures and ships?
>yeah that's cool
>maybe the Odyssey from Homer? it's an old fantasy book about a guy adventuring
and he bought it

>> No.19110400

>>19110367
Lol people are going to complain about you, fucking white supremacist scum.

>> No.19110410

>>19110367
Since it's your job, maybe you should learn something about genre fiction. Doubt you will though.

>> No.19110441

>>19110410
I guess that most people at a bookstore will suggest you to buy the latest book of whatever, but at the same time they don't really have the time to read all the newly published books (who can, seriously?)

Also >>19110367
Do people really go to the library to ask for suggestions? Wouldn't that make more sense in a bookstore?

>> No.19110444

>>19110410
I will memorize three random titles for fantasy, scifi, romance, detective crime and horror. Should work. If anyone asks if I read it, I'll reply
>it's good but I won't spoil it

>>19110441
Yes, there was also a girl who asked for a "good thriller", we walked to the shelf and chose something with a pretty cover, I don't remember the title.

>> No.19110651

>>19110367
What did you expect? Did you honeslty believe that you would spend your days talking with your costumers about the classics or Hegelian metaphysics or something? Most people are just modern peasants with slightly more money. Most people will not buy anything that's wirtten if a font smaller that a human eyeball or require reading comprehension above primary school level. That is also reflected in the people working in libraries. Last year I was looking to buy Faust and Critique of Pure Reason and none of the store employees had any idea what I was talking about. They asked me to tell them the titles and the names of the authors letter by letter. There was also a book in the non fiction area titled "Make a Tik Tok Everyday" or something like that.

>> No.19110685

>>19110441
I didn't mean reading every single book (or any), but knowing the titles and what the mass of people like is literally his job.
>>19110444
This is a good start I guess

>> No.19110703

>>19110367
how did you get a job at the library? what sort of qualifications do you require?

>> No.19110708

>>19110367
>but didn't want anything from Tolkien
Then you direct them to LeGuin or Moorcock or Wolfe or The Broken Sword
Dont be a pseud

>> No.19110716

>>19110651
This happens to me in every single fucking bookstore in Seattle.

>“Hi, I’m looking for Schopenhauer’s World.etc”
>“Hmmm, I don’t know who that is. Is that fiction?”

>”do you guys have Spinoza’s Ethics?”
>”can you spell that for me?”

>> No.19110797

>>19110716
>>“Hi, I’m looking for Schopenhauer’s World.etc”
>>“Hmmm, I don’t know who that is. Is that fiction?”
>>”do you guys have Spinoza’s Ethics?”
>>”can you spell that for me?”
This never happened to me (but I also never asked for Schopy or Spinoza in a bookstore though). I have to say that once I asked about 3 or 4 places for Gottfried Benn, which, ok, is quite an obscure author, but it had multiple volumes published by literally THE peak /lit/ publishing house of my country (this PH basically prints classics and academics only, that's it) and the answers were more or less "I have been doing this job for 35 years and I have never heard that name before".

>> No.19110832

>>19110716
>seattle
I think I found what your problem is.

>> No.19110838

>>19110832
I fucking hate this town. It’s pseudtopia

>> No.19110878

>>19110367

Branching out into more modern works of literature isn't a bad thing anon. Hyperion was a lot of fun and I enjoyed American Gods. If he's looking for classic board and sword stuff the shadow of the gods was great. That dealt with Norse weaponry and inspirations.

>> No.19110879

>>19110838
Just go to Elliot Bay retard

>> No.19110897

>>19110878
>American Gods
what are you a 16y old girl? kys faggot

>> No.19111373

>>19110367
>library
>bought
wait what?

>> No.19111391

>>19111373
He means the guy bought what he said.

>> No.19111418

>>19111391
>paying for shitty recommendations
do am*ricans really?

>> No.19111426

>>19111418
Learn english.

>> No.19111429

>>19111418
In America they recommend kinds of shit? You can buy shit? Why would you do this

>> No.19111499

>>19111418
it's a tipping culture anon, they tip for recommendations

>> No.19111524

>>19110367
As a former library slave I admire your optimism and persistence in trying to educate the masses. I used to throw away pozzed shit I saw and would similarly try to recommend based classics. Just don't expect to see change happen in your time there. People (especially those who frequent public libraries) are generally retarded and have little interest in education for educations sake. You'll probably find some cool autismos or old geezers to discuss the classics with. Those types are the best you can reasonably hope for as patrons.

>> No.19111608

>>19111524
>I used to throw away pozzed shit
???

>> No.19111619

>>19111608
AIDS-riddled homeless people are known for shitting on library floors

>> No.19111648

>>19111619
That's definitely not what he meant
Also, not everywhere is am*rica, stop projecting

>> No.19112354

>>19110879
That’s where that happened

>> No.19112399

>>19110444
Just lurk /sffg/

>> No.19112501

>>19110716
Buying shit like that physically is never going to work. On the rare chance they stock it, it's probably a shitty edition. Only buy books online

>> No.19112513

>>19112501
I do only go online, this was back when I was starting and didnt know books were like $3-4 bucks online, with free shipping.

>> No.19112722
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19112722

>>19112501
t. American
Here in Europe, there are still occasional stores which stock the best editions of older classics and non-fiction, sometimes even things that are harder to find online or more expensive online. And it is much comfier to buy there than online. It is a lot of effort to find them but it is worth it.

>> No.19113070

>>19112722
If anyone wants a bookshop recommendation I have a few for second hand books in London. In Hampstead there's a second hand book store round the corner that is GREAT for old editions and folio editions (nabbed a Waugh for a fiver). The only problem is that the place is a disorganised shithole.

There's a great second hand bookshop called Walden Books in kentish town too.

>> No.19113096

>>19113070
For secondhand books:
You probably already know about the ones in Bloomsbury like Judd Books and one that these two homos have on a canal boat
The Oxfam near the British Museum
The stalls outside on the BFI on the Southbank have a good selection but maybe a pound more expensive

>> No.19113102

>>19110367
any good homeless stories

>> No.19113148

>>19113096
>The Oxfam near the British Museum
Oh yeah this one is great.
>Judd Books
I haven't actually been here yet. I'll go this weekend.

>> No.19113204
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19113204

>IM SOOO SPECIAL WHY DONT THEY CATER TO ME AND MY COOOL HOBBYYY IM SO BETTER THAN THESE PLEBS LMAO!

>> No.19113208

>>19113204
>not hating plebs
>"whoa skeezix ever thought that everybody is equally heckin valid?"
Fuck you reddit NIGGER.

>> No.19113224

>>19111373
He means he got tipped

>> No.19113226

>>19110716
your fault for living in a midwit city

>> No.19113338

why do bookstores even exist? you can just buy it online, probably for cheap

>> No.19113405

>>19112722
Why are Green Greek texts stored under the 'Latin' section?

>> No.19113526

>>19110651
Sadly it's a worldwide issue in libraries

>> No.19113856

>>19113405
They probably miscalculated how much room both languages would take

>> No.19113863

>>19113856
But why not put the red latin texts under the 'latin' section instead?

>> No.19114048

>>19112354
Who's the bigger pseud? A retail clerk being asked by a stuttering dweeb for random texts outside of their area of interest or a consoomer who can't locate the philosophy section in one of the best labelled and stocked bookstores in the country?

>> No.19115199

as part of school extra credit i had to help out at the library and that was alright. What annoyed me the most was how undiscriminating older people were. They'd take out a Dostoevsky novel and a Dan Brown bestseller, and talk equably enthusiastic about both.
I remember featuring The Man Without Qualities and getting so much shit for it. No one liked it. =(

On the other hand there were two or three proper readers who made full use of what we had. One was this drop-dead gorgeous Russian blond who read nothing but philosophy and would ask me to order these old obscure journals and reviews. I think she worked in fashion in some capacity which was even more odd. We also had an older Italian, always very spiffy and well dressed, who read a lot of international literature. He never asked for help, but i remember recommending Patrick Leigh Fermor, and that went over well.
Oh and we had this absolute avatar of lit: fat, balding, unhealthy looking slob, who just could not look female employees in the eye, but who was non the less quite well read. They would always pawn him off on me since no woman wanted to be near him. He loved long books. Read Montaigne. Grossman's Stalingrad and Life and Fate shit like that.

>> No.19115599

>>19115199
>They'd take out a Dostoevsky novel and a Dan Brown bestseller, and talk equably enthusiastic about both.
Thats because both are basically at the same reading level you dunce.

>> No.19115633

>>19115599
I've read some Dan Brown and that aint true. Dostoevsky may not be a great stylist but has more then 5 types of sentences.

>> No.19115701

I don't say that's OP case but you can't judge someone's taste or favorites by what they consume; people want to try alleged lesser or bad things as well.

>> No.19115705

>>19115199
>One was this drop-dead gorgeous Russian blond who read nothing but philosophy and would ask me to order these old obscure journals and reviews. I think she worked in fashion in some capacity which was even more odd.
post pic

>> No.19116208

>>19112722
Penguin Classics are also good and normie friendly