The Book in Question ~ Wednesday, April 21, 2021

What Is the Title of the Book?

by Author Author

I need to see if you have a book on hand that I could purchase.

We have plenty of books. You are in a bookstore. Did you have a specific book in mind?

Precisely!

What is the title of the book?

The title of the book is What Is the Title of the Book?

Okay. Who is the author, then?

The author is listed as "Author Author".

Alright then. What is the book about?

The book is about everything and nothing.

What do you mean by everything and nothing?

That is the subtitle of the book. The book is called What Is the Title of the Book?: A Book about Everything and Nothing.

Dear Lord, could this get anymore confusing?

Well, it is a book of contemporary Zen koans. You know...riddles to goad a reader to recognize the emptiness within enlightenment. It's a really popular book.

What do you mean by popular?

Well, I've read it and my whole class has already read it. I wanted to see if I could find an additional copy for a friend.

Okay, we could go look in our Eastern Philosophy section to see if it's there.

Hmmm... That's strange. We studied it in my Logic class. It's not really about Zen. It just uses the format and ideas to create little stories that contradict common sense. It's not really about logic or math either. I think I found my copy in the Fiction section some time ago. But I can't remember really as it's been a while.

Okay. Let me get this straight. You're looking for a book called What Is the Title of the Book?: A Book about Everything and Nothing by an author called Author Author.

Yes, that's correct.

Well, let me look it up in our inventory and I'll let you know where we can find it. It looks like we don't have any copies here right now but we have some at our sister store on the other side of town. I could call them if you like and have them put it on hold for you. What is your name?

Bezym Yannyy Nikto

Okay, they'll have a copy set aside for you under your last name, Mr. Nikto.

Thank you. You've been of great assistance. By the way, what's your name?

A. Bookseller