A Series Of Unfortunate Questions
Patron: “Do you have Miss Peregrine’s Series of Unfortunate Events?”
Me: “That’s actually two separate book series: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and A Series of Unfortunate Events.” *checks computer* “The first Miss Peregrine book is checked out, but the second and third are available, and we have all the books in A Series of Unfortunate Events.”
Patron: “I’ll take the second book, and I’ll take all the ‘Series of Unfortunate Events’ books.”
Me: “All right, let me show you where they are.”
(I take the patron to the shelves and pull the first book, then show him where the ‘Unfortunate Events’ series is located.)
Me: “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Patron: “Do you have ‘Miss Peregrine’ on DVD?”
Me: “Unfortunately, it hasn’t been released on DVD yet. We can put you on hold for it, though.”
Patron: “Oh, okay… We have a VCR; do you have it on VHS?”
Me: “Um… no. I don’t think it’s going to be released on VHS.”
Patron: “Oh, okay… So do I read Series of Unfortunate Events before or after Miss Peregrine?”
Me: *realizes I’m not dealing with the brightest light in the harbor* “Actually, they’re two separate series by two different authors. Series of Unfortunate Events has nothing to do with Miss Peregrine.”
Patron: “Oh, so they’re like sequels?”
Me: “No. They’re two different book series. One has nothing to do with the other.”
Patron: “So, it’s like another season of the show?”
Me: “No, they’re completely separate book series. They don’t have the same characters or the same story or anything. They’re two. Separate. Stories.”
Patron: “Oh… so which one do I read first? Which is the sequel?”
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Question of the Week
Have you ever met a customer who thought the world revolved around them?
