This makes me so happy! It’s a picture of Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless — at the Hillsboro Library, part of the Washington County Library outside of Portland, Oregon!
I do sort of wish they hadn’t put the bar code right on my face. But I understand that librarians have hard jobs and are sometimes rushed. And mostly I’m just supremely happy to see that my books are in libraries. It means that people who can’t afford to buy books can still read them. (My books are pretty affordable if you get them as ebooks — and no, you don’t need an ebook reader to read ebooks, you just need a computer or a smartphone — but I understand that even the cost of an ebook will stretch the budget for many people.) It means that my books are available to people who are doing research. And it means that people who are just browsing in library shelves can come across them.
If you see a copy of any of my books in a bookstore or a library — take a picture, and send it to me! It always makes my day. (And if my books aren’t in your local bookstore or library — ask them to carry them! The books are carried by standard distributors, including Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and IPG.) Thanks!
From some librarian experience: The barcode is probably on your face because the (probably quite old) barcode scanner is set to a certain distance off the spine, and putting it further up means it’ll scrape off sooner.
Dang! When I saw “Hillsboro,” I thought it was Hillsboro, Texas. (Being a Texan, this is a natural assumption for me.) That would have been rich as Hillsboro so close to Waco, Texas, home of Baylor College and in the middle of the Bible Belt.
My friend has worked at that library for years I will send him a message and tell him to fix it so the face isn’t covered.
Clearly, you’re angry because someone has put a barcode over your face. I’d be angry too. 🙂