Self Help 1

It may be apocryphal, but I’m guessing it probably happened: woman in chain bookstore overhears this exchange between clueless shopper and uninterested clerk.

Shopper: “I’m looking for a book by that French guy, you know the one they made a musical out of? ‘Les Miserable’ or something?”

Clerk: “Try Self-Help.”

I can’t remember where I read this; it was years ago, but it has stayed with me because it works on so many levels. First, the mispronunciation. Then, the clerk’s belief that someone might actually write a self-help book entitled “Less Miserable.” Not something like “How to be Very Happy Right Now!” but “How to be Less Miserable Eventually.”