Doesn't anyone read anymore?

[angel_luv]

Apparently, reading comprehension is a lost art in our city.

On top of my booth at the mall, there is a sign that says: Pick up a FREE book here.
The sign is set right beside stacks of the same book- the exact book that is prominently pictured on the "Free book" sign.

Nevertheless, grown up people, all fluent in English, regularly approach my booth, read the sign slowly, and then proceed to ask me what the sign means.

And when I say ask, I don't mean in a jesting or a making conversation way. The people are completely confounded.

The sign is one that anyone who has completed fourth grade reading and is capable of playing the matching game ought to be able to figure it out.

Honestly, I don't know what to say to these people.

Suggestions?

[JoeChalupa]

Most people these days don't believe anything is free. But yes, reading has gone down hill.

[Blake]

Most people these days don't believe anything is free.

+1 we've grown accustom to expecting a catch

[Crookshanks]

That's because people are so conditioned now to the fact that nothing is really "free". They think there has to be a catch somewhere. They probably have a confused look on their face, don't they? :lol

[Dr. Gonzo]

God's love is free.

[z0sa]

i love to read.

[angel_luv]

That's because people are so conditioned now to the fact that nothing is really "free". They think there has to be a catch somewhere. They probably have a confused look on their face, don't they? :lol

I guess that is it. But it just threw me that people literally asked, " What does the sign mean?"

If they had asked, " What's the catch?" or even " Is this book really free?" I would have understood that.

I have seen several people read the sign and take a book so I just assumed that everyone got the concept.

[angel_luv]

i love to read.

You want a book? I have tons of them!

I'll even like to give you the sign, since apparently it is useless to me. :lol

[Melmart1]

At least they aren't trying to pay for a gift card with a shitload of $1 bills while asking what the sign means. Wouldn't want to annoy you two times all at once.

[angel_luv]

At least they aren't trying to pay for a gift card with a shitload of $1 bills while asking what the sign means. Wouldn't want to annoy you two times all at once.

Way to help me see the silver lining. Thanks Mel! :)

[BacktoBasics]

People are stupid. This isn't about skepticism its about a complete lack of comprehension. I get asked dumb question after dumb question daily. I know it might come as a shock to most people but 2-3 times a day I have someone point to the sofa and ask me if its a sofa. They'll point to a table and ask me if its the table. They'll walking into the bedroom see the bed and ask me if it the bedroom :rolleyes"oh noooo this is the bathroom just shit right there on the comforter". You have no idea (or now you do) how unbelievably stupid people are. These people usually have kids too. Which is even more frightening.

[z0sa]

You want a book? I have tons of them!

I'll even like to give you the sign, since apparently it is useless to me. :lol

which mall are you at?

[angel_luv]

which mall are you at?

Rolling Oaks.

[z0sa]

Rolling Oaks.

maybe i'll stop by :)

how long will you be there? i am getting off work.

[desflood]

What's the title?

[angel_luv]

I am actually about to leave for today. I will be here tomorrow from 10-3.

The book is a Halequin entitled " Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch". It is by B.J. Daniels and is categorized as a suspense novel.

Feel free to come by and take several. I literally have boxes full to give away.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

I get this sort of fun everyday. Admittedly the entire purpose of our office is to be kind of a lighthouse for the lost and moronic, but some people really take the cake. The most frequent question we get is where to get a student ID. So to save everyone some time and effort we put a big sign right next to our front door that says, "STUDENT I.D. OFFICE: UPSTAIRS, #279".

At least once a day someone stops, reads the sign (sometimes twice, as we watch their lips moving), and still bothers to come in and ask. And someday these kids are supposed to be the ones slicing me open on an operating table or designing a bridge I might drive over on a daily basis.

[Bigzax]

what is this thread about?

[z0sa]

I get this sort of fun everyday. Admittedly the entire purpose of our office is to be kind of a lighthouse for the lost and moronic, but some people really take the cake. The most frequent question we get is where to get a student ID. So to save everyone some time and effort we put a big sign right next to our front door that says, "STUDENT I.D. OFFICE: UPSTAIRS, #279".

At least once a day someone stops, reads the sign (sometimes twice, as we watch their lips moving), and still bothers to come in and ask. And someday these kids are supposed to be the ones slicing me open on an operating table or designing a bridge I might drive over on a daily basis.


Kids that were just like them are the men and women slicing you open/designing your bridges nowadays.

[BacktoBasics]

what is this thread about?its about trying to figure out how to get you to quit posting.

[Bigzax]

you stop, i'll stop.

[ashbeeigh]

This kind of bullshit happens at my office all day. We are in an office building full of doctor's offices. It doesn't really piss me off to direct people to the office they need to be at, but it really ticks off one of my male co-workers. So much so that he's written a sign, in English & in Spanish that says "We are not a doctor's office and we are not optometrists. Labcorp is in suite 301." We get people every other day coming in asking if we are eye doctors or if we are Labcorp. They don't bother reading the mother fucking sign. Dear God! Do we look like a doctor's office? We have tables and signs screaming "Stop foreclosure! Unionize the workers! Health care for all! etc." When it happens several times in one day it irks me, but I get a laugh out of it when my co-worker calls the wayward patients "stupid" every single time it happens.

[AlamoSpursFan]

I'm currently reading Michael Connelly's The Brass Verdict and I have Mark Levin's Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto waiting in the wings.

I don't have much time to read now that I've become addicted to Mafia Wars on Facebook...

:lol

[Summers]

I get this sort of fun everyday. Admittedly the entire purpose of our office is to be kind of a lighthouse for the lost and moronic, but some people really take the cake. The most frequent question we get is where to get a student ID. So to save everyone some time and effort we put a big sign right next to our front door that says, "STUDENT I.D. OFFICE: UPSTAIRS, #279".

At least once a day someone stops, reads the sign (sometimes twice, as we watch their lips moving), and still bothers to come in and ask. And someday these kids are supposed to be the ones slicing me open on an operating table or designing a bridge I might drive over on a daily basis.

No, they're not. Those are the art majors.

:)

[Summers]

what is this thread about?

:lol

[CuckingFunt]

No, they're not. Those are the art majors.

:)

Hey now!

[Summers]

hey now!

What the heck? I'm trying to put the big toothy grin here and it's not working. :lol

[ashbeeigh]

I don't have much time to read now that I've become addicted to Mafia Wars on Facebook...

:lol

:lmao I've stayed away from any applications that were not on facebook when I started using facebook (confined to groups, gifts, the wall, profiles, and there's a bit of wiggle room for fan pages and causes...this was in 2005). They sound too addicting!

[ploto]

Being the mall, they probably think it is part of some promo- like get a free book when you apply for a credit card. That is why they ask what the sign means because they assume it can not be taken at face value.

[mrsmaalox]

Being the mall, they probably think it is part of some promo- like get a free book when you apply for a credit card. That is why they ask what the sign means because they assume it can not be taken at face value.

I think that's what it is also. Not necessarily that they can't comprehend the meaning of the words on the sign:)

[MiamiHeat]

this isn't a dumb question.

Nothing is free. If you are giving out free books, they expect that you want them to sign up with a credit card company, or fill out a form to join a CD catalog club, etc.

[Sapphire]

They should move the books down, away from Angel, put a sign on them saying $25.95, and see how many get stolen.

[DarkReign]

Psssh, I'd start selling the books for a quarter. Make a hundred bucks.

[PM5K]

So who is the real idiot here? The people that supposedly don't know how to read, or Angel for thinking that?

[MiamiHeat]

if you've read angel_luv's posts, you will already know the answer to that question.

[jack sommerset]

I have not read in 6 years. I am not reading this. Someone else is doing it for me.

[angel_luv]

So who is the real idiot here? The people that supposedly don't know how to read, or Angel for thinking that?

I remember when you used to be nice. I miss those days.

[angel_luv]

I think all the extra clever people must have been working yesterday and so are at the mall today.
7 out of 10 people who have approached the book display have read the sign and just taken the book, no questions asked!!!!!

:elephant

[baseline bum]

If the sign is at your booth, I can see people thinking there's a catch and that they need to talk to you and perhaps fill something out or answer some questions; something like that. If the pile of books and the take one sign were placed somewhere there isn't someone working, then no one would think it was some scheme to get personal info, sign up for something, etc.

[sabar]

You all give regular people waaaay too much credit.

Newsflash: people are stupid. I know you would like that think that they think there is some kind of catch, but that's not the deal, they are just plain retarded. Since my earliest memories of interacting with other people, I have come to terms with that fact that most people out there are just plain dumb.

Just look at half the posts after a spurs loss... or right now with manu out.

[spursfan1000]

reading is hated by alot of people...cmon why read if you can watch a movie?

[PM5K]

It's a horrible book anyhow, you should be paying people to take them.

[angel_luv]

My day is made! Someone took the last book off of the counter and so I have taken the sign down!

:elephant

[angel_luv]

The book display is back up and bigger than ever. The sign is prominently placed on top of huge stacks of the free book.

I even moved the display to the far side of my booth so people would not feel under surveilence, should they want to take one.

Today a forty something women went to the display, stood there for several minutes studying it, and took a booth.

So far so good.

She comes up to me. I had been standing with my back to her but had seen her out of the corner of my eye.
She had not looked at me and I had not spoken to her.

The woman comes up to the front of the booth and asks me, " Is the book free?"
Because I knew she had read the sign and because I wanted to see what would happen, I said, " No."

To which the woman argued, " But the sign says Take a free book."

:rolleyes Seriously, Sherlock?

[jack sommerset]

Start a ST book club.

[Bukefal]

A huge number of today's youth are not reading anymore, even less with the popularity of internet and other technology. Thats really dangerous!

I love reading. I try to read 1 or 2 books every month, depending on how busy I am with studying.

Reading = knowledge!

[exstatic]

The book display is back up and bigger than ever. The sign is prominently placed on top of huge stacks of the free book.

I even moved the display to the far side of my booth so people would not feel under surveilence, should they want to take one.

Today a forty something women went to the display, stood there for several minutes studying it, and took a booth.

So far so good.

She comes up to me. I had been standing with my back to her but had seen her out of the corner of my eye.
She had not looked at me and I had not spoken to her.

The woman comes up to the front of the booth and asks me, " Is the book free?"
Because I knew she had read the sign and because I wanted to see what would happen, I said, " No."

To which the woman argued, " But the sign says Take a free book."

:rolleyes Seriously, Sherlock?

Look on the bright side: if they weren't free, you might have to deal with those pesky one dollar bills instead of some blank looks and stupid questions.

[LnGrrrR]

Apparently, reading comprehension is a lost art in our city.

On top of my booth at the mall, there is a sign that says: Pick up a FREE book here.
The sign is set right beside stacks of the same book- the exact book that is prominently pictured on the "Free book" sign.

Nevertheless, grown up people, all fluent in English, regularly approach my booth, read the sign slowly, and then proceed to ask me what the sign means.

And when I say ask, I don't mean in a jesting or a making conversation way. The people are completely confounded.

The sign is one that anyone who has completed fourth grade reading and is capable of playing the matching game ought to be able to figure it out.

Honestly, I don't know what to say to these people.

Suggestions?

Maybe they think there's a prisoned named Book that you're trying to free, a la South Park's "Free Hat"? Have they asked to sign a petition? :lol

[ploto]

Maybe consider changing the sign:



Free Book- No Strings Attached

Free Book- No Gimmick

Free Book- Yes, it's really free

[angel_luv]

Maybe consider changing the sign:



Free Book- No Strings Attached

Free Book- No Gimmick

Free Book- Yes, it's really free


Good idea. :lol

[angel_luv]

Look on the bright side: if they weren't free, you might have to deal with those pesky one dollar bills instead of some blank looks and stupid questions.

Very insightful. Thank you. :)

[baseline bum]

Maybe consider changing the sign:



Free Book- No Strings Attached

Free Book- No Gimmick

Free Book- Yes, it's really free

How about

Free Book - But $10 if you ask me.

[PakiDan]

I think all the extra clever people must have been working yesterday and so are at the mall today.
7 out of 10 people who have approached the book display have read the sign and just taken the book, no questions asked!!!!!

:elephant

I think you should stop worrying about such inconsequential things and stop judging people based on your conceptions. That is not very christian of you. If this part of your work frustrates you, maybe you should look within instead of looking to project the confusion and frustration outward. I think you know the answers are not on a message board...

- Confucious

[FaithInOne]

I just discovered the greatness that is microsofts new read program that reads your ebook to you.

Technology ftw!