SE

🎃Spooky Emily🎃

emmy.baby

Okay, funny bookstore category

Book section labeled "Most Stolen Books"

6857

112

LD

Lucky7Deb

lucky7deb.bsky.social

Haha! Remember the book from the early 70s called "Steal This Book?"

ZJ

Zachary J. Smith

vocabulist.bsky.social

Why steal The Great Gatsby? It’s not worth the risk and is available at libraries.

BB

🫧🐝 Bliss📎Bee 🐝🫧

blissb33.bsky.social

I see a lot of books that could get you put on a list somewhere.

ID

Il Due di Coppe

ilduedicoppe.bsky.social

😂

AQ

socalcallie.bsky.social

I love it! Almost as good as ‘Banned Books’!

AQ

brcraig3.bsky.social

And yet nothing by Abbie Hoffman

M

Maiko

maikoharri.bsky.social

@mikannn.bsky.social deve ter a seção dos banidos

M

Maud

maudhd.bsky.social

I will pay the book for the people who want to read Fahrenheit 451… More US people need to read it before the next elections…

CS

Caroline Somewhere 🇨🇦❤️🇨🇦

carolinesomewhere.bsky.social

I do remember reading a book by Abbie Hoffman titled "Steal This Book" in the 70's

AQ

suffolkcanary.bsky.social

And yet somehow very informative. 🤔

AQ

killerbees575757.bsky.social

Need another display: MOST BANNED BOOKS

LL

Low Level Creep

akaalsova.bsky.social

Also, be sure to put the table near the exit.

D

Diane

dkaycee.bsky.social

I worked in a bookstore. Our most stolen category of books were bibles… we had to security tag bibles…😔

S

Sciencematters

totoroandscience.bsky.social

Interestingly, I bet that same table in the library would have a completely different set of books. People steal from bookstores because they want a book. People steal from libraries to keep others from reading said books.

D

DirtyDLSmk2

hornydlsmk2.bsky.social

It's be funnier if the table was empty.

P

Patricia

pattidezgn4u.bsky.social

At least someone is reading....rather someone can read!

P

Patricia

pattidezgn4u.bsky.social

🤭🤣🤭 Welcome to 'merica

AQ

crimson-rose-field.bsky.social

I get most of them. But why "word study?"

Z

ZonbiNed

zonbined.bsky.social

Damn so many bangers

MB

Mike Blizman

mrunkelmike.bsky.social

Even stolen, "The Great Gatsby" feels like assigned reading, to me.

AQ

chipcroft.bsky.social

Reminds me of Abby Hoffman's book title back in the '60s, "Steal This Book."

GJ

Graham Jones

oldmanrambling.bsky.social

Is that a challenge, do you think?

P

P

author-sushi.bsky.social

The mark of a truly great book.

EE

Eddie Esielionis

hippymama.bsky.social

Hahahahahaha I love this

XC

xian cochran

melferburque.bsky.social

hopefully an entire harry potter shelf def steal that shit

AQ

kathyincanada.bsky.social

At one bookstore I worked at our most stolen book was bibles.

LC

lyan-cat

lyan-cat.bsky.social

This is awesome. Not seeing Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman though, you think those already got pocketed?

L

Luna 🌙

headingwest.ca

So many classics. These are most stolen because they're assigned reading in uni English classes. I bet anything.

NO

North of Somewhere 🇺🇦💙📖📸⚛️

esther.bs.k4zka.online

Too bad Americans only steal fiction. Maybe if they stole some history books, our elections would look different :)

HC

🏳️‍⚧️HO_CHI_MINGE🏳️‍⚧️

semiotech.bsky.social

People stealing Lolita so they aren't seen buying it

D

Doods

doods.bsky.social

What, no Atlas Shrugged ? Surely all those small dick supermen nick it as a sign of entitlement ?

S

Suzen

rebel-librarian.bsky.social

We had to keep all Charles Bukowski books behind the counter…🙄

JA

jazzrat2000 AKA Bonsai anonymous

jazzrat2000.bsky.social

They should have it on an empty table

AQ

yanke-pen01.bsky.social

It’s accurate, given who actually looses out with book bans.

RB

Russ Bengtson

russbengtson.bsky.social

stealing IT should be an olympic sport, that bad boy is *massive*

T

TheFurryDM

thefurrydm.bsky.social

Im not surprised Lolita is in there, I mean you basically have to steal it cause no one wants to sell it. Though idk why people would want to read it either

KW

Kathleen Weldon

kathleenweldon.bsky.social

Harvard Bookstore used to keep Kerouac and Bukowski behind the counter because they were stolen so often.

F

FemBotsUnite

fembotsunite.bsky.social

I wanna work at this bookstore!

AD

Amanda Daria Stoltz, PhD

sciencebarbie.bsky.social

Funny? I think this is sad!! These are mostly books that get assigned in school and it means kids can't afford them!!!

AQ

glory-b.bsky.social

"It?" By what method I wonder.

S

Semys

semyjameson.bsky.social

@btanaka.bsky.social espero que não role aí mas adorei a categoria

CA

Cyrin Auria 🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

cyrinauria.bsky.social

Bruh. If Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman isn't in there, lmao

AQ

squirrels1963.bsky.social

High school reading list, coincidental?

MK

Mya-ko Pritchard

mya-kotkd.bsky.social

Great marketing originality 🤣

D

DirtyPantsArtGallery

warhawk0004.bsky.social

Stealing Lolita is fucking crazy

BC

B Chalks

bchalks.bsky.social

It may be apocryphal, but legend has it a bookseller once told Sir Terry Pratchett was he was the most shoplifted author in the UK, to his great delight.

A

AngryHoss

angryhoss.bsky.social

I see a lot of required reading for high school honors English classes

JC

Joysea Crew

joyseacrew.bsky.social

Abbie Hoffman’s “Steal This Book” (1971) and yep, someone stole mine…

TT

the.4th.estate

the-4th-estate.bsky.social

non-readers don’t want to spend their money on required reading

F

Followfornow

followfornow.bsky.social

Well, you gotta figure that if they are often stolen, they have to be good.

AQ

cowboybanjobiker.bsky.social

They should display that close to the front door.

C

Carissa

carissamcqueen.bsky.social

Most of these are very high on banned books lists too.

N

Nyebodnye

nyebodnye.bsky.social

What! No catcher in the rye ?

RV

Ron V 🏳️‍🌈

rvillanova312.bsky.social

Ironically, when working at a bookstore our most stolen book was….the Bible

CI

COVFEFE! is my battle cry at dawn

totesmcgoats9.bsky.social

…and a Bible lol

BA

Borders Abound

bordersbarking.bsky.social

Made you look though!🎃

MP

Microwaveable plastic

squigglymips.bsky.social

I wonder how much of this is broke students who were assigned this for school

AQ

saltmarch.bsky.social

I don't see The Anarchist's Cookbook

JM

Jaesen Moreaux

jaesenmoreaux.bsky.social

I really wish I'd been assigned some Chuck Palahniuk.

AD

Ali Dobbs

alidobbs.bsky.social

So summer reading assignment. Bibles are also a frequently stolen item

AQ

breadofevan.bsky.social

Better if there wasn’t a single book under that sign………

MR

M.R. Klass-Johnson

thatwritermike.bsky.social

And quite a few are banned.

EA

Ellen/Anjuli

eternaldefiance.bsky.social

And how many of these are regularly also on the "banned book" list?

OW

Ominous Whoosh

ominouswhoosh.bsky.social

No Bible?

JH

James Head

jamesrhead.bsky.social

On a light-hearted TV Gameshow the question 'whose books were the most shoplifted from book stores last year?' came up. Terry Pratchett, one of the contestants, buzzed, and answered 'Mine!'.

SR

Susannah R

susannahredelfs.bsky.social

Thieves have excellent taste, though.

AQ

thenonextremist.bsky.social

I'll bet they don't have a copy of Steal This Book by Abby Hoffman.

TB

Thomas Buchanan

thomasbuchanan0.bsky.social

Most notable omission: ‘Steal This Book’ by Abbie Hoffman. Americans are naturally rebellious I suppose😆

SM

stosh machek

stoshm.bsky.social

i used to frequent a used bookstore that kept all the Bukowski behind the counter bc it was routinely the most stolen

PD

Plant Daddy 🇺🇦🇵🇸

plantdaddy.bsky.social

Lol all the schoolbooks kids read, accidentally destroy/lose, and steal to replace it. Love it.

WR

WorldOnFi/Re

284boosky.bsky.social

Why would you steal From a bookstore when the library rents them to you for free lol

V

Victoria 📚

its-its.bsky.social

I see a mix of brilliant books, mandatory English honors high school assigned reading(maybe college), banned, and books you might be embarrassed to buy?

RL

Roy Lewis

rwlewis.bsky.social

A friend owned a foreign language book shop in Merida, Yucatán. He was losing his shirt do to theft, so he started paying very close attention. Turned out French language books and books shelved next to them were the most stolen. He stopped carrying French books and instantly became profitable.

AQ

inandoutre.bsky.social

Love this!

AQ

pierce-m.bsky.social

Or “predators and the disenfranchised”

S

Strangely

strangelyfruited.bsky.social

Guilty pleasure. But I shop from others personal collections.

DM

Dats_mani

datsmani.bsky.social

I can see why lolita is there😂🤌🏻

CN

Cecilia Nemo

cecilianemo.bsky.social

Having worked in libraries, occult books usually get stolen the most.

BT

Bartleby the Paralegal

sunraa.bsky.social

i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-U4...

B

BeMissH

bemissh.bsky.social

Don’t see “Lesbian Nuns: Breaking the Silence” on that table. It would just fly off the shelves.

P

Peggy

peggybishop.bsky.social

Interesting! lol

GP

Gareth Penn

garethspenn.bsky.social

How close is that display to the front door?

DC

Darryl Cunningham

acmedarryl.bsky.social

If the table was empty, it would be funnier.

IV

Irrelevant V

v-eras.bsky.social

I don’t see a single copy of Abbie Hoffman’s Steal This Book.

E

ENVY2024

envy2024.bsky.social

Oh so clever!!

P

PreferNotToSay

frmrusmcpltsgt.bsky.social

The fact that the Bible is in that category as most stolen, means people are missing the lessons.

IB

Iona Brand

mikeiona.bsky.social

They have to have copies of "You're Stepping on my Cloak and Dagger" in that display. For a while it was the most stolen library book in America.

J

JimmyO

jimokenfuss.bsky.social

I love that Damned by Chuck Pahlaniuk made the cut. A great book.

S

🌸SinDaily🌸

sindailyy.bsky.social

Lmaooooo!

R

Rory

8robee.bsky.social

Well, that might encourage more stealing..

AQ

lisdoon.bsky.social

😂

MG

My Good Name

thecrazybear.bsky.social

I liked the category at our library that was like anti-suggestions lol..books staff had read that they do NOT recommend

S

Sharkmeister77

sharkmeister77.bsky.social

Somewhere years ago I read an article declaring the books most stolen from libraries were about legal ethics.

AQ

vedhed21.bsky.social

Thieves have good taste.

K

Kenji

kenji76.bsky.social

The irony of some of these books being stolen is nothing but poetic.

N

Nickelbagofunk

chefdog74.bsky.social

How is "Steal this Book" not front and center?

AQ

andreaschulz.bsky.social

Missing from table: Abbie Hoffman’s classic: Steal This Book

DS

Daria's Glasses

yourinnermonologue.bsky.social

These are all usually assigned books 🤔

AQ

robertjeff57-58.bsky.social

😂😂😂

AQ

mthrntr49.bsky.social

At least thieves are reading or building their own libraries. But the permission is granted to rip off the people by the Big orange Grifter and magat cabal.

J

Jeannie

jeanniewarren1961.bsky.social

Love this!!!!!

VO

Vinewood O.G.

vinewood-og.bsky.social

Shoplifting Express Checkout! 👍🏻

NL

Nicole Lee Aguilar

nicoleleeaguilar.bsky.social

HA! That's amazing.

AQ

annemariedejon6.bsky.social

They don't do that so badly yet. Those are not the first the best books

FO

Fen of the Glen 🔞

fenoftheglen.bsky.social

Honestly would have expected that table to mostly be comics and manga.

R

[REDACTED]

md00xx.bsky.social

Palahniuk sighting 🥳

AQ

ctheworld510.bsky.social

A very scary bookstore category….

L

LordP666

lordp666.bsky.social

Don't fall for it. That's where they have the most cameras.

AQ

watchlady.bsky.social

Abby Hoffman's Steal This Book

N

Neil

nudgecloud.bsky.social

Abbie Hoffman's Steal This Book is not on the list of most stolen books?

LG

Lissa Guillet

sunsinegrrrl.bsky.social

Who steals Catcher in the Rye. Honestly.

CP

Cherie Parks

macherie123.bsky.social

In my science classroom library, the most stolen book was The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. I was the ASB advisor for a lunchtime student led Bible study, but a local church provided paperback Bibles for the students to use. They were replenished regularly.

HM

Hamna Mahmood

hamnaanwar.bsky.social

thats such a smart way to push readers to pick classics omgg

JM

James McCormick

jamesmccormick.bsky.social

Near the door?

W

WWPunctuate

willpunctuate.bsky.social

How do you steal ‘It’? It’s thick as a brick!

KH

Keith Healing

keithhea.bsky.social

On the Isle of Wight there is a bookshop that has categories like "boring poets", "dead writers" and "weird shit".

D

DaveGodin

davegodin.bsky.social

Could also be books most frequently required reading for college courses.

SF

Slut For Bowser

slutbowser.bsky.social

American Psycho being there is crazy work

SF

Stephanie Flynn

stephanieflynn.bsky.social

I love the people stealing the study Bible! It's a rough start, but I bet they get the hang of 'thou shalt not steal' eventually.

S

SiperlyWhenWet ™

siperlywhenwet.bsky.social

How close are they to the exit?

KM

Ken MacLennan

historiken.bsky.social

there's a whole high school english curriculum on that table

TB

Tony Bucci

tonybucci.bsky.social

AQ

katiepyr0style.bsky.social

who the fuck is stealing IT

AQ

iamjustabud.bsky.social

imagine trying to hide "It".

JB

JimBird@bsky.social

jimlareau.bsky.social

Reminds me of Abbie Hoffmans book,”Steal This Book”.

B

BakerGirl ✊🏼🌲🦆🇵🇹

newme541.bsky.social

I have several of them, but I swear I paid for them all! 🙋‍♀️

DL

Diana Lucifera 🌟

dianamcqueen.bsky.social

Oh that's so nice of them to put them in an easy to find area!

J

Jen

jennerzi.bsky.social

If that's legit, the DSM should be on there. No one wants to pay for that racket.

KE

Keith Edwards

kedwards.bsky.social

It’s no coincidence that you could just swap the sign with “Most Banned Books” without having to change anything else.

DH

David Haug

davidhaug.bsky.social

How in the WORLD are people managing to sneak “It” out undetected?

JL

Jane loves rain (and Bluesky)

janelovesrain.bsky.social

Includes a Bible. Hmm.

L

#LoudORCHID

ladyslipperhere.bsky.social

Forgot to add Abby Hoffman's "Steal This Book"

KP

Killer Pomodoro

killerpomodoro.bsky.social

Anybody who can surreptitiously hide a brick like the trade paperback version of "It" deserves my praise, not my scorn. I'd be happier if it was the long version of "The Stand," but that's just my own prejudices coming through.

SM

Seamus McIsaac

dusty8.bsky.social

Everyone I know who has Abbie Hoffman’s, ‘Steal This Book,” stole that book.

TB

Thomas Bsketty

wykstrad.bsky.social

If people are managing to smuggle It out of your bookstore under their coats, your employees are not being observant enough. Train them to ask themselves certain questions, like "Was that person visibly pregnant when they came in the store?"

K

Kim

kimwicklander.bsky.social

So funny!!!

DD

DOKI DOKI

salarta.bsky.social

Aw yeah stealin the Bible

GH

Gregory Humphrey

gregoryhumphrey.bsky.social

As a book lover, this is a topic I never have heard about before. I’m assuming this is for real? And how would data like this be accumulated, as I am just intrigued. Thanks for the post.

P

PurpleCyanBlack

purplecyanblack.bsky.social

>Lolita Yeah that adds up.

ET

Eobard Tron the Akramentalist

eobardtron.bsky.social

When you want to read it, but don't want to support the author or admit to anyone at anytime that you bought the book.

PD

Prof. David Kitchener

davidbsky1.bsky.social

Bukowski's Post Office will be in there!

CG

Chris Gallen

villain57.bsky.social

There’s a certain irony in Fahrenheit 451 being one of them.

AB

Anastasia Beaverhausen ❌👑

theluckyladybug.bsky.social

@stephenking.bsky.social you made the list! 😊👏🏻💜

G

Ginger 🍉

gingerbreadpill.bsky.social

Fahrenheit 451 is extra funny to me, but most of these are classics assigned in school 😞 We’re failing kids so hard

FG

Farah Ghuznavi

farahghuznavi.bsky.social

Always good to have some discreet "advice" at hand when you are having difficulty making your final (purchasing, not purloining!) choices during a bookshop visit...

VM

Victoria Mathis

readerv.bsky.social

I loaned out my Steven King collection never got it back.

AQ

chahliejones.bsky.social

"How to get your best security with only 1 camera"

Ω 👑 🥷🏻 🔨

rabbitpellets.bsky.social

"Fahrenheit 451" is about far more than burning books. It's about the resistance & brilliant.

LW

Lady Who Knows Stuff

ladywhoknowsstuff.bsky.social

I wonder how many of these are stolen by teens that don’t have access to them?

NE

n0etic

n0etic.bsky.social

That’s actually really weird advertising. It’s basically saying these are the books that make you look cool.

RO

Randy Oswald

blackberry-jam69.bsky.social

It would be too funny if the table was just completely empty 😄

AQ

lolob11.bsky.social

At the public library I worked in, the most stolen books were Cider House Rules by John Irving, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson, and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

AQ

stuffal.bsky.social

How are so many people stealing it, I feel like that should the difficult book to steal.

JB

John Boggs

subsublibrarian.bsky.social

When I worked at Aardvark in San Francisco, the owner refused to carry Abbie Hoffman's "Steal This Book."

K

Kirsten

kmschubring.bsky.social

Not sure if it is a coincidence but these books are often required reading for school and some students might not be able to afford them. The other reason could be that a lot of those books are also banned books.

FE

Friedrich Engelsdude (CHAOS)

carlmarxman.bsky.social

I love it.

O

OG

og-me.bsky.social

No fifty shades? I call BS.

S

SimmingGrandma

simminggrandma.bsky.social

I'm so surprised to see 'Brave New World' still being reprinted. It was written in 1934. I did a report, on it in a class I was taking, in the early 90s. It's a book about a very dystopian future world. Interestingly, I can see it unfolding now, in the 21st century.

AQ

chazzstock.bsky.social

... and very considerate too. Shoplifters don't have to waste their time traipsing around the shop looking for the book they want to steal.

AQ

jabs1.bsky.social

Lol!

AQ

debkyle.bsky.social

Too funny, I wonder how many of them are on banned reading lists in other states

C

charlie

lgbtqiautistic.bsky.social

fun fact: the bible is the most stolen book

C

Catzgalore1953

eyez-1953.bsky.social

I've pretty much read most of these, way before MAGAts showed us their ignorance.

AC

Ace Creator [Open Comms, See Bio]

tishki.net

Is the exorcist on there?

H

Hank

hjjjjjjdd.bsky.social

People steal books?! Have they heard of libraries?

A

Askk

abidsaleem-ktk.bsky.social

😂

W

WVDave420

wvdave420.bsky.social

My favorite bookstore category I've come across was in New Orleans - "True Crime and Rascality".

J

Jables

jablesissomewhere.bsky.social

Well somebody went viral.

D

DDagger2024

ddagger2024.bsky.social

LOVE this!!!

SC

Sarah CD53

spacequeen00.bsky.social

That’s Hilarious!! 😂📚👍🏼 To be honest, I would most likely steal “Stephen King’s IT!” His books are the best! 🤭🩸🔪🤡🎈

AQ

stillcrazy77.bsky.social

Of the 13 titles I can read in the photo, I've read 8.

AQ

yitzi2.bsky.social

Given typical retail markups, if it lets them sell one extra book for each one that is stolen, they're well ahead of the game.

LN

Lauralee Nole

lnole.bsky.social

Lolita prob stolen by teenage boy? What is the name and town of that bookstore please?

S

Sephiroth144

sephiroth144.bsky.social

Especially if its by the door...

AQ

playbackjunkie.bsky.social

Most of those are definitely stolen for English Lit class

S

Sandi

sandihamilton.bsky.social

🤣🤣

DB

David Borer

daborer.bsky.social

They forgot the all-time record holder in this category:

JZ

Jon Zajdel

falderalmalarky.bsky.social

I worked at a discounted book pop up store for a while. A group of young people asked what I would recommend. I went off to work another portion and then heard later they'd stolen all the things I said were good bets and none of those recommended by my coworkers. Slightly pleased by that.

IH

incendiarySolution 📎 [he/they]

incendiarysolution.bsky.social

This is neat

L

Lynne

platapus1.bsky.social

Love it.

DM

Douglas Moran

dougom.bsky.social

That is…an interesting collection.

S

Shawn

stubbornirish.bsky.social

Think I’ve read most of them

O

Oregoncowgirl

cowgirloregon.bsky.social

Oddly many of those like the lost banned books as well.

AQ

myedison.bsky.social

Looks like a senior high school reading list.

U

Ugh

ninguna.bsky.social

How is Abbie Hoffman not on that table?

T

T

cocorebelle.bsky.social

Good ol great gatsby (:

CW

Chet Wydrzynski

realchet.bsky.social

Looks like a lot of books that are required reading in English class. Poor students who can't afford them.

AQ

myfrosty.bsky.social

Very cool

AQ

waltwb.bsky.social

Shouldn’t the table be empty?

AQ

ibcutie33.bsky.social

Wow the Bible and @stephenking.bsky.social are on the list right next to each other. 🤭 I love this. SK is the best.

TM

Tim Morton

timmorton2.bsky.social

Say it ain’t so

A

ArtOfNAR

artofnar.bsky.social

It's like they're begging me to use the five-finger discount.

KB

Kelsey Byron

heyimkelsey.bsky.social

You need a big bag to steal IT.

AQ

anewdaydawning.bsky.social

Good to know 🙂