Found this list through the Bookcrossing.com forums: "The 9 Most Annoying People I Always See at the Bookstore." I will vouch for its validity. What gives me the credential? I, er, recognized the store in the picture as a Borders (corporate America is nifty like that--see one franchise, you've seen them all, whether it's the decor or layout).

I digress. A highlight:

FIRST-TIMERS
Hey, you who stormed in. Have you really never been to a bookstore before, or do you just enjoy drawing attention? You remind me of the old people I see at the post office who make buying a roll of stamps a 10-minute process of discovery and indecision. You gaze around in faux confusion for a moment before making a beeline for the help desk – or, aggravatingly to those of us waiting patiently in line, the checkout counter – and half-angrily ask, “Where’s (insert title here)?” as if you just arrived at the hospital emergency room and were looking for your trauma-victim daughter. Hey, Magellan, see those big signs hanging from the ceiling that point out the subject sections? That’s where you’ll find it. You’re in a nicely organized bookstore, not a vast warehouse of a Sam’s Club or Costco.

Some of the categories in the article are unique to huge chain stores (people who go just for an overpriced coffee), while others are more universal, like the above excerpt. Still, there's a way to avoid many of them: find your own local and/or used bookstores. It truly is a different demographic, generally scruffy looking college students and eccentrics. Bonus? If they're in the store buying, chances are they've sold back to said store--and what interesting reads I've found in the used book stores. That cuts down half the annoyances and certainly brings an element of serendipity to the book hunt and likely save money.

Of course, my problem is this: I can resist the $20 book I don't really need. It's the 20 books for $1 apiece that I can't pass by. Oi vey, this weekend ended up being a book binge.

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