Russian girl: When I read in Russian, nothing can stop me. But when I read in English, I need silence.
American girl: That's what the music is for!
Train
Moscow to Nizhniy Novgorod
Russia
Overheard by: Adam Nathan
Russian girl: When I read in Russian, nothing can stop me. But when I read in English, I need silence.
American girl: That's what the music is for!
Train
Moscow to Nizhniy Novgorod
Russia
Overheard by: Adam Nathan
Man to salesperson in hippie bookstore: Hi I'm looking for a children's book about how chemicals and global warming are destroying the earth.
Salesperson: Oh, sure, it's right over here!
The Bookshelf
Guelph, Ontario
Canadia
Overheard by: The zoe
Library worker girl: That's a cute bag.
Library worker girl with clear purse: Thanks!
Boss man: But then everyone can see everything you have!
Library worker girl with clear purse: It's not like I got a gun or anything… I can always hide things between the books…
Library worker girl: Like your gun?
Kent State University Library
Kent, Ohio
Boy, holding bodice-ripper romance novel: Dad, is this a book for fifth-graders?
Distracted father: No. Put it back.
Boy: What is it?
Distracted father: Hardcore pornography. Put it back.
Fairwood, Washington
Overheard by: he was so hopeful
Literature professor, after reciting Hamlet's “To be or not to be…”: So now you all need a Valium…count on me to ruin your day.
English Lit Class
Anchorage, Alaska
Overheard by: Rosencrantz
Professor, discussing King Solomon's Mines: So they find the body in the cave, and it hasn't decomposed at all. Not such a strange thing, as those of you who've ever hidden a body in a freezer will know.
Carleton University
Ottawa
Canadia
Professor, about a book currently sold out at the campus bookstore: This book has been required in my class for years. All the upperclassmen have this book. Borrow it! (whispering) Steal it!
Point Park University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Overheard by: ZB
Eager freshman: It’s like a disco, but with books!
Harvard Yard
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Husband: What's the greatest story ever told, then?
Wife: Hansel and Gretel!
Los Angeles, California
Guy on cell: I would be walking, and suddenly the word “vaginas” with a massive smiley face beside would pop into my head, as if my brain was trying to tell me it's fun… like a children's book.
Winnipeg
Canadia
Overheard by: Chad
