People who have worked in bookstores should relate.
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Except somehow the librarians can always find the fucking book. I do not understand how they do it
Witchcraft.
You develop an “ear” for it. It’s similar for me in IT support.
When one of our customers calls and tells me they have a virus on their PC, I know before even starting the remote session that it’s actually the Firefox website notifications. And when they say “It’s asking for a password, what’s my password?” I ask them how their vacation was and to reboot their PC, so Office can update and contact the licensing server again.It’s their job and they’ve been asked these questions before. In my personal experience, if you’re good at your job, and librarians usually seem to be, you tend to know the answers to questions that people ask, even clueless people.
Worked at a Borders in the 90s. We joked constantly about just sorting everything by size and colour.
The first 5 seem reasonable
As someone with ADHD, the last person is the most relatable.
You are now under pressure. Roll 1d20. If you forgot your medication this morning, you have disadvantage1 on this roll.
1 / critical fail: You don’t remember why you’re here and suddenly remember that you’re supposed to be somewhere else entirely. You won’t get there in time.
2-9: Stumbling over you manage to describe what you remember: author, themes, pages, maybe a few key phrases that stand out. The clerk kindly informs you that yes, a book tends to have those but they’ll need some details on some or all of those elements to narrow it down. Not wanting to leave empty-handed, you pick something off the nearest display without really noticing and head to the register. The receipt in your hand is a white flag of surrender as you quickly walk out the door to the parking lot.
The book looks interesting at least, seems like something you’d read and the author’s name is familiar. The cover rings a bell too now that you think of it and suddenly, you figure out why: It’s one you already own but haven’t gotten around to reading yet.
10: It’s not the most efficient conversation but with a little prompting and clarifying questions from the clerk, the two of you are able to figure out which book you’re looking for.
11-19: You remember who wrote it, have a pretty good idea of the title and it’s just a matter of pinpointing the correct shelf and seeing if it’s in stock. Task complete, take a moment to enjoy the feeling.
20 / critical success: Putting the phone back in your pocket, you look up at the line of people in front of you. There’s a book you’re supposed to get but you’re blanking on the title after the Lemmy thread you’d been browsing on the way through the parking lot and front doors. Scanning the surroundings for something to jog your memory, you see the book that you wanted and, even better, it’s on the clearance shelf with a steep discount since you’ve got some niche hobbies and interests.
1
Disadvantage: Roll twice, take the lower score of those two.
Having been a bookseller for nearly 4 years this wouldn’t Be accurate unless at least 3 people in the line only recalled the color of the cover of a book that was on a promotional display 6 months ago
Whats a bookstore
It’s like a library you need to pay for.
Pay for?
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