When You See Books As Distractions, You Need To Reprioritize  

(A friend and I walk into a large, popular furniture warehouse, looking for a bookshelf.)

Me: “Look, the books are shelved backward!”

Friend: “That’s weird!”

Me: “Don’t know how that could happen.” *picks up some books, which are mainly old Readers Digest collections*

Friend: “Must be a mistake.”

(I start turning books with the spine out; my friend takes the next shelf and does the same.)

Employee: “Excuse me, but I’m the designer here, and I need you to stop doing that.”

Me: “We just noticed these books were backward.”

Employee: “We do that on purpose. This way we don’t have to match colors.”

Me: “I assumed someone just shoved them on… probably someone who doesn’t read…”

Employee: “It’s part of the design. I don’t want the books to distract from the furniture.”

Me: “I can’t see the furniture because the books are so weird. But sorry for interfering!”

(My friend and I left, giggling like schoolgirls.)