An alarming announcement at Barnes and Noble

· by Michael Welland

Barnes1

I have a habit, more often than not masochistic, of dropping into book stores to see whether my efforts are on the shelves. Wandering around the upper Westside of New York a couple of days ago, I spotted a reasonably large Barnes and Noble store and indulged my habit. I was delighted to find two copies of the book on the shelf (the bottom one - the continuing penalty of having a name at the end of the alphabet), but I was also alarmed to find that, next to my book, was a message: “NATURE ENDS HERE.”

I recalled the controversial work of Francis Fukuyama from some twenty years ago declaring the end of history, but this seemed far more disastrous. Do Barnes and Noble know something that the rest of us don’t? Is this a metaphysical statement placed there by some member of staff embroiled in the angst of a philosophy course at nearby Columbia University? Would there be further clues glued to other shelves in the store? Could it possibly be that some supernatural being uses this communication method instead of tablets and revelations? Is the rapture upon us - but, if so, why would it commence in a New York book store?

I fled in terror but your explanations will be much appreciated.

Comments

  • chris m
    Ha! Perhaps it is a jab at deserts. Costa Rica with its tropical plants counts as "nature", but sand.....
  • Jules
    How about an acronynm? Something less alarming...NATURE ECOLOGY and DIVERSITY HERE! or NATURE ENdlessly DelightS HERE?
  • david williams
    Michael, Well you never know what you will find in America! Nature has to end somewhere and it might as well be at Buns and Noodle. By the way, is that book just to right of yours titled The Hive really by someone named "Bee Wilson?" Cheers, David
  • suvrat
    a sign of the coming apocalypse... good catch :)
  • Diggitt.blogspot.com
    It's much more benign than you think -- check back in a week to see whether it's there and if it is, tell the manager. I suspect it means that the Nature section ends there, and the next shelf is waiting for a different section sign to be put on the edge. Or else they are reshelving a section and "nature ends here" was info for the staffer doing the shelving. Work at B&N is very cut-and-dried -- every single tiny detail is planned by someone in corporate and nothing is left to chance.
  • Sandglass
    Thanks for all the possible interpretations - I'm feeling better now (as long as the apocalypse will hold off for a while). The sign was robustly glued to the shelf, so it seems like a permanent statement - perhaps, even under the cut-and-dried regimen, one staffer had a sense of humour. And, David, in my distressed state, I hadn't noticed the Bee Hive book - I've checked it out and it really is her name! Perhaps I should change my name to Sandy.....
  • david williams
    Michael, Bee Wilson is a great name. Sandy Welland sounds good if it helps sell books. B.S. Williams\* \*Building Stone
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