Steal These Books

The New York Times has an essay about shoplifted books.

From the piece...

With the recession, shoplifting is on the rise, according to booksellers. At BookPeople in Austin, Tex., the rate of theft has increased to approximately one book per hour. I asked Steve Bercu, BookPeople’s owner, what the most frequently stolen title was.

“The Bible,” he said, without pausing.

Apparently the thieves have not yet read the “Thou shalt not steal” part — or maybe they believe that Bibles don’t need to be paid for. “Some people think the word of God should be free,” Bercu said. As it turns out, Bibles are snatched even at the Parable Christian Store in Springfield, Ore., the manager told me, despite the fact that if a person asks for a Bible, they’ll be given a copy without charge.

Personally, the biggest heist I ever had was at a B. Dalton Bookseller when I was a kid. Circa 1980, Capital Mall, Olympia, Washington - Jonathan Shipley unbuttons his long-sleeved shirt, places a large baseball card price guide against his belly, rebuttons said shirt, and walks out of the store. He hides the price guide under his bed for one year so no one finds out. What he finds out is how much his Dale Murphy rookie cards are worth.