Are You A Mystery? Or a Trashy Romance?

A colleague recently posted an intriguing question on my favorite Face Book Librarian hangout: “If you were being sold in a library book sale, which table would you be on?”

She had her first response within seconds:

Damaged.

Quickly followed by:

Mystery!
Adventure.
Bible stories. (I’m born again.)
True Crime (I work in a prison library.)
Humor books, of course. (They’re easy to read and you walk away smiling.)

As more librarians got into the game, the comments poured in:

Withdrawn.
Inspirational. (I want to make a difference in the lives of others.)
Overlooked gems.
Bedtime stories.
Audio books. (I never shut up.)

A few responses were both insightful and descriptive:

I’m the book leveling out the table the other books are arranged on.

I’d be under the table, out of sight and forgotten, in a waterlogged box full of baby spiders.

But most of the comments were limited to a few quick words:

Staff picks.
Oddities.
Fantasy!
Trivia.
Self Help.
I’m a trashy romance!

Some answers would seem to reflect low self esteem:

Hurt.
Distressed.
Never checked out.
Fragile. Handle with Care.

Others, not so much:

Rare finds.
Classics.
One-of-a-kind.
Valuable.

A few comments referenced the fact that some of us are getting on in years:

Old and unusual.
Used but useful.
Cover shows wear but contents still good.
Vintage and fabulous.

And then there were the librarians who walk on the wild side:

Banned Books.
DANGEROUS! ADULTS ONLY!
Forbidden… but alluring.
Sexy!
Cheap & Easy [snickers]

My very favorite response? (And entirely realistic, given this crowd?):

Scratched by cats.

In conclusion? One of the many joys of library work is having such clever, fun-loving colleagues. As far as I’m concerned, we’re all Rare Finds.

How about you? If you were a sale book, which table would you be on? Post your response in the Comments Section.

(Roz Warren is the author of OUR BODIES, OUR SHELVES: A COLLECTION OF LIBRARY HUMOR.) This piece first appeared on Zestnow.)