Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Bookstore neurosis

Stock home syndrome: The urge to buy a book in order to 'rescue' it. Like finding a copy of Catcher in the Rye tucked away on a shelf of Harry Potter and Twilight books, and taking it home out of pure sympathy.

Deweydecimania: The need to rearrange books in a bookstore to restore them to proper alphabetical order. May be accompanied by indistinct muttering about people who put Marquez after Maugham.

6 comments:

km said...

Pyrobibliomania: An obsession with setting the bookshelf - the one with Harry Potter/Twilight books - on fire after Falstaff rescues Catcher.

Cheshire Cat said...

Non-alphabetical order is to be encouraged. In fact, random order is best, because then the most patient browser wins.

Falstaff said...

km: No, no. Fire is dangerous - it may spread to the other shelves.

Cat: I don't disagree. I'm fine with book stores that don't organize books alphabetically. It's the ones that try to organize them alphabetically but don't get it right that annoy me.

Cheshire Cat said...

"It's the ones that try to organize them alphabetically but don't get it right that annoy me."

Indeed, what could be more abedecarian?

Searcher said...

How delightfully neurotic!

Anonymous said...

i arrange mine autobiographically.