The "Personal Growth" Section

With the publication of Fifty Shades of Grey, publishers have seen a tremendous rise in sales of erotica. Some have attributed its popularity to the development of e-readers, which allow readers to purchase what was once taboo while retaining a degree of anonymity. And as a former book-seller, I think perhaps this benefits not only customers, but sellers as well.

My first real job was as a sales associate at Books-A-Million. I was a somewhat naïve, just-turned-eighteen year old who had been employed about two weeks when a middle-aged, well-dressed woman came to the service desk. Her hair was elaborately styled and she wore a vibrant, purple work suit. Obviously, she was a confident business woman. But when she reached the counter, she hesitated for a moment.

“Could you point me to the romance section, please?”

I looked at her, slightly confused. “Sure, it’s right there,” I said, pointing to the shelves that were literally right behind her.

She turned, looked, and grew noticeably uncomfortable. “No, that’s not it. I was looking for the other romance section.”

“Oh.” I had no idea what she was talking about. “Uh, if you look on the other side of that shelf, we have some of our more specific romances, like the westerns and series.”

She sighed and looked around. “Is there someone else…?”

“I’m sorry, I’m the only one on the floor while my manager’s at lunch. I want to help you, but I’m not sure what you’re asking for,” I confessed.

She winced as she said, “I’m looking for adult romances.” I stared blankly. “I’m looking for Penthouse novels!”

“Penthouse publishes novels? What the…?! Oooohhh.” I paused and remembered having stocked a sex manual recently. “I think that’s in, uh, the Personal Growth section. Do—do you want me to, er, show you—?”

“No! No, please, I’ll find it. Just point me in the general direction,” she said.

I pointed toward the back corner of the store. She quickly turned and hurried away, head down so she met no one’s eyes. Meanwhile, I felt sorry for having embarrassed her. A few minutes later she passed by again, two books clutched preciously to her chest, looking everywhere but at me.

Later, I told my manager about that experience, which cracked him up. Our managers divided the store into large sections and assigned them to different employees, whose job it was to become experts in that section and keep it orderly. Thereafter, I was assigned to the “Personal Growth” section for the duration of my time there.