I Haven't Been a 15 Year Old Boy Since...Never

[B&NGoddess]

a woman asked where our spanish books were. i took the lady to the section and then she asks one of the crappiest questions.

"Do you know which one is the best?"

lady, there are 250 books here. no i dont know which is the best.

"Well, which one do the kids buy? my son is going to high school next year. do they use flash cards?"

i dont know. im not "they". i havent taken spanish in almost a decade. i would assume the curriculum has changed since then, and if it hasnt i wouldnt remember because my teacher was a proud proponent of "movie fridays." except every day was friday.

"well i guess i'll have to call his teacher..."

holy shit that would require work on your part! will wonders never cease?

[Greenday]

I thought most high school classes provided their own books? If not, then things sure have changed in that year I've been in college.

[Sliceanddice]

Either that or she really really wants him to learn spanish...
Shes weird btw also dont they normal have spanish for dumbies books?

[Becks]

I thought most high school classes provided their own books? If not, then things sure have changed in that year I've been in college.

Or the ten I've been out of HS. ()

[Pedersen]

Either that or she really really wants him to learn spanish...
Shes weird btw also dont they normal have spanish for dumbies books?

Best set I've ever found, personally, was a set of CDs. Expensive, though. Cost me, for 100 lessons (1/2 hr each) about $750. However, I'm now able to carry on simple conversations in Spanish with native speakers. And if they can go slightly slow, I keep up very well, and only a few words get dropped by me. All in all, I understand (at *least*) the gist of what they are saying.

It felt good to reach that point. It really did. Oh, and the courses? http://www.hookedonpimsleur.com/ Not affiliated with them, just a very happy customer. And pondering which language to do next. I kinda wish they did a Klingon, personally

Just thought I'd throw in a quick recommendation from a good experience for me.

[Luna]

I hated when customers asked me for my opinions on books. I never read mainstream books - and if I did , it was only to find out how crappy most (not all) were. When I did give my opinion, it was usually met with jewels like: "Did they write anything SMALLER", or "do the books have pictures." So you can see why I was always wasting my breath.

A lady once was pissed to high holy heaven that I didn't read James Patterson. She began to verbally rip me a new one about how could I not read books by this 'American icon' as she called him right in front of the NYT bestsellers. I mean she was spitting mad, like I just stole her kitten and threw it out of a moving car mad.
I stated simply that I 'have no interest reading books that are written on a 4th grade reading level.'

She stopped yelling at me after that.

(No offense to JP readers - I just don't appreciate being screamed at in a store full of customers b/c I don't like your favorite author.)

[powerboy]

I am currently waiting till I get paid again. To get a couple of Spanish learning CD's. I wish I knew Japanese & Vietnamese

[TonyDonuts]

James Patterson 'American icon'

Ummm....

Ummm.......

>>>>pop<<<<

Nope, got nothin'

"American Icon?"

"James Patterson"

Wow. I think an angel just lost his wings.

And I think I need a little lie down, now.

"American Icon?"

Oh boy. You really get the wild children, don't you?

[justZu]

I had never heard of James Patterson, so I Googled him. According to Wikipedia, he is also the guy who came up with the Toys R Us Kid slogan.

Can you tell I read mostly non-fiction?

[Mark Healey]

I hated when customers asked me for my opinions on books. I never read mainstream books - and if I did , it was only to find out how crappy most (not all) were. When I did give my opinion,

I share your pain. I hate it when people bring up a bunch of woo woo (Astrology, New Age, Witchcraft, U.F.O.s, Alternative Medicine, ) books and ask me my opinion of them. I want to say "They're a bunch of crap and a total waste of time but we have a well stocked science section". The problem is that people who buy these can't deal with disagreement even when expressed much more mildly than above, so I respond with something like "I haven't read any of these.".

If you aren't prepared for an opinion that differs from yours don't ask. If you aren't prepared to defend yours, keep it to your self.

And consider. Is it really wise to ask if the merchandise is any good from the person selling it?

[TNT]

Shes weird btw also dont they normal have spanish for dumbies books?

Great... bilingual dummies.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Luna, I don't read Patterson, either. I have never ever been interested, and when he had a new book come out and we'd get 230 copies weeks in advance of the SOS date I would just roll my eyes every time I walked past the wall o'James in receiving. He doesn't even write them anymore, they always have a second author on them. Never read the DaVinci Code, or any other Dan Brown. If it's been on Oprah I probably haven't read it. (And if I have I read it, or at least wanted to, before she did...) If it's New Age I haven't read it. If it's in the Romance section (or Mystery, or to a slightly lesser extent, Sci-Fi) I haven't read it. So don't ask.

Becky, I have been out of *college* for 10 years so I don't wanna hear it!

Pimsleur is a good program. B&N gives them their own bay in the stores; they have smaller programs for more modest prices, too. I think you can order the whole multi-hundred dollar programs through BN, too, but they don't carry them in the stores.

[B&NGoddess]

i think the lady in question wanted to supplement the text provided by the school.

and hoo boy dont get me started on james patterson or any of the other authors that come out with a book a month. i'm looking at you, nora roberts/jd robb.

[BookstoreEscapee]

and hoo boy dont get me started on james patterson or any of the other authors that come out with a book a month. i'm looking at you, nora roberts/jd robb.

Hahaha...Nora frequently does readings/signings at Store1 (she did it in April like 3 years in a row, but not this year I don't think).

A few years ago for some reason Italian became the big language all the kids were taking in school. So they were all coming in looking for Italian/English dictionaries, but the schools didn't warn us that we should order more. And they all wanted to know which was the best one...I don't know!! Luckily the following year the schools wised up and told us which one to order and we added it to the summer reading tables.

[Bloodsoul]

Wow, makes me glad I don't work in a bookstore. I'd be recommending "Everything Can Be Beaten" to all the parents of wee-little ones who want a good children's book, and if anyone asks for heavier reading I think my top three pics would be "Mein Kamph", "The Communist Manifesto", and the "Kama Sutra."

But as long as I can display this poster, I'm happy. ^_^