Book People honcho Steve Bercu’s comments to the New York Times regarding book theft are eerily reminiscent to something I wrote shortly after being laid off by Book People, where Bercu was my immediate supervisor.
From the December 16, 2009 NYT piece:
| Quote: |
| 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. |
And from my 2002 "Geeks with Books" essay "The Five Finger Discount" (later reprinted in my 2003 book Geek Confidential):
| Quote: |
| There is a whole other class of bible thief: the one who believes the word of God should be free for all to experience. I want to get these folks bumper stickers that say "The word of God, not just for terrorists anymore." What these fools don’t realize is that the price covers paper, binding, the bookstore rent, employees and a zillion other expenses. |
(I added the emphasis.)
Perhaps this is just a coincidence. Bercu could have read my piece when I wrote it and the phrasing stuck in his subconscious. I know while I was working there, Bercu was a regular reader of my column. I have no idea if he continued the practice after I left.