Bookstores, much like kids, do the darndest things.
bookstore (noun) – a store where books are sold.
In November 2012, I did a list of 11 Accidentally Funny Book Placements at Bookstores. I can’t believe I never went back to that well. And sure, I’m not sure if I’ve been to a bookstore since then, let alone a metaphorical well, but whatever. I like things.
Here are 11 more photos of inadvertently comical book arrangements at bookstores.
1 | Diseases?
Just because it’s like a tapeworm eating half your Cheetos and shit, doesn’t mean it’s a disease. If I were feeling more ambitious, I’d try to unlock the achievement of tying this to criticism of anti-vaxxers. But I am not.
2 | The Idiot’s Guide to Your Carbon Footprint
It feels like this display is actually more “on brand” than anything in the book itself. This also is close to being irony; the title would just need to be “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Reducing Your Carbon Footprint” to get there.
3 | What Teens Are Reading Now
Hey, at least they’re reading, right?
4 | Yoga for turtles
This is actually quite a good broad strokes view of yoga. In every yoga class, you’re either the lady or the turtle. If I tried that lady’s position, I’d be the turtle. But I’m no Diamond Dallas Page.
5 | Self-help is more metaphorical
This might be a sales trick, like if you listen to the sign, they have a really good way to convince you that you need the books.
6 | Good old Nicholas Sparks
Displaying all of these books like that sure does prove no author has ever cornered the “clutch someone else’s face” market quite like Nicholas Sparks.
7 | The mystery section
Bonus points to whoever flipped all those books but was too lazy to bend down to take care of the bottom two shelves. Fully committing to a bit is for sellouts.
8 | Mammals?
I feel like the whole “Did you know dolphins are mammals?” thing has completely ruined people’s understanding of classifications. It’s like how a strawberry is a vegetable and a tomato is a fruit and a banana is an emulsified soy protein or something. Nothing’s anything anymore while simultaneously being everything.
9 | Anxiety-Inducing Books
I’m already having anxiety about paying for my kid’s college one day, so this is truly apt. Right now I’m banking on one of three scenarios: (1) college prices hit a tipping point, drop a bit, and level off somewhere reasonable (2) I make a billion dollars (3) my kid is a total screw-up and decides to really focus on his music.
10 | One Thousand White Women
This woman just defeated Target’s entire attempt at a book club in one photo. Well played, ma’am.
11 | A couple of fiction greats, side by side
This placement isn’t necessarily accidental, it’s more of a weird, jarring, sign-of-the-times juxtaposition. “Poe” and “Polizzi” are next to each other in alphabetical order. These two have actually written the exact same number of fictional novels. And they’ve each successfully made the mid-Atlantic coast seem like a horrible and scary place.
