Wyrd Bookselling Practyces

[Daniel Hatadi]

Just heard this one from a friend who recently visited Japan.

He saw a guy in a huge bookstore surrounded by a pile of books and a guillotine. On closer inspection, the guy was chopping thin slivers of paper and cover from the edges of the books. My friend's theory was that the stock had been sitting around for months or years and had yellowed around the edges.

Who would have thought that the best way to spruce up old books was to use a guillotine?

Anyone else have any wacky stories like this?

[John Dishon]

It may not be the best way, but it's probably the most fun way.

[Karen from AustCrime]

Certainly sounds like a good way to "convince" you to buy the book if they can get close enough to you!

[Julie Morrigan]

Maybe those books hadn't been selling well, and they were being publicly punished as a warning to the other books on the shelves. Get your act together, guys - or you're next!

[Daniel Hatadi]

Geez, you're a violent bunch.

I like that.

[Karen from AustCrime]

Hey - you looking for a good punch in the nose?

Violent, sheesh, it's enough to make a person sharpen up their guillotine and look up flights to Sydney

[ducks for cover, wanders away trying to look innocent]

[Daniel Hatadi]

No, not the nose! I'll cry! Anything but the nose!

[Toni McGee Causey]

I'm trying to imagine the employment ad for that job.

[Daniel Hatadi]

I think they could use the image above. You know, play up the whole 'making history' angle.