When my hands went on my hips, he knew he was in trouble.
Patron*: So I read a book by a supposedly-good author recently, and it was a bit... lame.
Me: Yeah? What was it?
Patron: It was called A River in the Sky, I think.
Me: Isn't that... one of the more recent... [this is where my hands went on my hips] Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody mysteries???
Patron: Uh oh.
Me: I've been reading her books since I was twelve years old! I have two milk crates full of her books! Did you know she has a PhD in Egyptology? Huh? And she has a librarian character who goes to a Ricardian (people who believe that Richard III was innocent) weekend and then everyone starts getting almost done in in Richard III-related ways! And my classics professor friend learned everything she knows about that period of archeology from those books (I may have been exaggerating a bit there)! And she loves... cats! And awesome hats!
Patron: It just seemed to be like Nancy Drew** for adults.
Me: HELLO!! THAT'S THE APPEAL. They're bathtub books.
Patron: I think I'm more of a shower guy.
Me: AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!
That was when I turned to another patron, who'd been witnessing this whole exchange with a mix of awe and terror, and said something about how he always had to get the last word in.
And Laughs Abounded at Ye Olde Library. Then I gave him some Sarah Caudwell. We'll see how that goes.
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*Who, by the way, is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE PATRONS EVER. And who is used to my freakouts.
**Relatedly.