I'm rude.

A girl approaches my desk. "I'm looking for textbooks," she says.
"Fourth floor," I say.
"No, they're like textbooks, but like, not for a class."
"Okay. If they're not for a class, they're not text.books. I can help you find a normal book."
"No, it's a textbook."
"Well, the definition of a textbook is a book for a class. So..."
"You're rude."
COME. ON. I mean, seriously. Throw me a bone. Give me the name of your book. Explain what you're looking for. STOP saying you want a text book when there is a huge sign in front of your face that says "TEXTBOOKS = 4th floor."
I still have no idea what she really wanted.
And the thing is, this is the opposite problem I've been having with people for the past two weeks. Most students come in and say, "I need a book for a class, but it's not a textbook." Because they only think of textbooks as being a huge biology book. Once again, ANY book for a class is a "text." Fourth.freaking.floor.
That said, it's entirely possible to buy some of your "texts" on the trade floor. Like if you're taking 20th century American Lit, you're going to be able to find your books. But they're not going to be all together in a neat little pile under a nice little card labled "20th Century Amer. Lit."
FOURTH FLOOOOOOOOOOR. Just go there. Please. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Heh. This reminds me of this post.