A Mom and Her Son Struggled to Find a Book He’d Actually Want to Read. Then a Stranger Stepped In
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Bookstores can turn complete strangers into unlikely allies when someone needs the right recommendation.
The dilemma here was helping one embarrassed kid without further provoking his already overbearing mother.
Once this shopper stopped addressing her and started listening to the boy, his enthusiasm finally emerged.
Sometimes the best employee in the store doesn’t work there.
Shopping Buddy
This was a number of years ago when there were still bookstores besides Barnes & Nobles.
I was pursuing the SciFi/Fantasy section when a lady comes in dragging her son with her.
She loudly starts asking if the kid would like this to read this book or another book all the while the boy was being quiet and was obviously embarrassed by the whole thing.
She catches me looking at them and says rather angerly, “What book would you recommend for my son to read?”
She knew who could answer this question.
I told her that I don’t work here but then ignoring her, I ask the son what he is into.
He mumbles sports.
I asked him does he want a serious book or a funny one?
His mom jumps back in, “He just needs something more than 100 pages.”
She helped him out!
I gesture with my hand for her to be quiet, and I wait for him to answer. He again mumbles funny.
So, I proceed to show him a couple of easy readers that are:
-More than 100 pages
-Have sports (or sport related)
-Are funny
That’s INSANE!
By the time I am done the kid is a chatty as can be, excited about the book he chose, and the mom is still fuming.
I’m sure that I stepped in something I shouldn’t have, but anytime I can get someone new into reading while simultaneously ticked off an entitled someone else, that’s a good day in my book. [Pun intended]
The mom should be happy not furious? She answered the question, just not in the way she had expected.
Let’s find out what folks on Reddit think about this one.
This user knows the mom is only teaching the son how to hate reading.
This user loves how this woman got the kid a book he loves.
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That’s right! This user appreciates what she did for that kid.
This user thinks the mother is really weird.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a fast food employee who shuts down a customer angry about her change with a single word.
This was a long time ago.
This helpful stranger ignored the mother’s attitude, learned what her son actually enjoyed, and found him the perfect funny sports book.
By the end, the formerly quiet kid was happily chatting while his mother remained thoroughly unimpressed by the unsolicited success.
He didn’t work there, but he absolutely understood the assignment.
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