I was at the public library a few days ago and saw a display that I think could have stood a bit more planning before being released into the wild. Having my handy cellphone33, I snapped a picture:
As opposed to the vast quantities of unreadable non-fiction they have available… ? Yes, yes, do check out our readable non-fiction, it’s right over there. That stuff way back in the back? Utterly unreadable. Don’t even bother looking at it.3
- In German, they’ve figured out how to avoid saying “handy cellphone.” How? They call a cellphone a “Handy”. “Gib’ mir mein Handy!” [Give me my cellphone!] Awful, isn’t it?333
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August 17, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Tom
LOL. That’s really funny.
Was the poster supposed to say “Readable non-fiction” or is it two signs?
August 17, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Josh
I’m not really sure if it was meant to read as such, or if it was meant to be 2 signs. I’m leaning towards the latter, though, as they seem to be from one design - take a look at the orange on the left side of “readable”, and the orange on the right side of “non-fiction.”
The green sign below lends some weight to it being intentional: “Take a look at these readable true crime books!” And afterwards, check out our unreadable true crime books!
August 20, 2008 at 11:41 pm
MsTechLady
I’m the network tech in the IT department of a public library, so I have a little knowledge of libraray jargon. I’ve seen lots of confusing and misleading signs in the library, so I’m not sure what the intended message is, but it could mean “readable” non-fiction as opposed to “listenable” non-fiction, as in recorded books on cd/dvd, downloadable audio books, Playaways, etc…these type of audio “books” are very popular at my library.
August 21, 2008 at 6:27 am
Josh
MsTechLady: I hadn’t thought of it in that way. Perhaps that’s it.
As an aside, I’ve never been able to get into audiobooks. Podcasts, sure. But not audiobooks. I’m not sure why.
August 22, 2008 at 12:45 am
uncannyman
hahaha I wonder if they have NON-readable fiction!
even if it’s two separate signs, putting a sign like that in the library is akin to displaying a sign in the washroom that says “No peeing here”
It just doesn’t make sense
August 22, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Zeitlos
Great picture! Perhaps this is a warning: “Here are the books you like to read. All the other books are thos you are forced to read.”
And what a clever way to get that handy “Handy” information into the text…
September 8, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Prof. Horace Worblehat
Hey, I’m a librarian. Cut my brethren some slack.
The “readable” is intended to mean “reads like a novel,” i.e., not like a textbook or something you were forced to endure in school. There are lots of good non-fiction books aimed at a literate audience uninterested in the latest John Grisham. “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” referenced elsewhere on this blog, is one example. “Devil in the White City” (terrific book) is another. Want another? Try “Mawson’s Will,” about the toughest SOB who ever lived.
Librarians for the most part are dedicated souls, doing yeoman duty in an arguably losing cause: trying anything they can to get people to turn off the boob tube and actually sit down to, um, READ.
Does “unreadable nonfiction” exist? Darn right it does. Tons of it. What your local librarians are trying to do is point folks in the direction of some of the better stuff. Thank them. They will bloom.
Prof. Worblehat
September 18, 2008 at 8:46 am
Josh
Hey Horace,
Fair points. I’m always a bit sad to see most of the people in the public library running for the DVDs rather than the books. While I still thought the sign was a bit humorous, I do see its point. And agreed - I have tried to read my fair share of unreadable stuff. I even own a few copies of such specimens!