Customers of Distinction

I sold a small stack of very interesting books to magician, actor & comedian Ricky Jay yesterday.

Being halfway between SF and LA sightings of famous folk around town are not uncommon, but this was odd because he's been coming here for years and I just spotted him.

I mistook him for a book dealer, which is understandable given his eclectic taste in reading material.

99.9% of the books I sell are, to me, totally generic and forgettable.
Not judging them by literary merit- as a work of art you can't fault something like The Sound and the Fury. But it's a book I see a million times year...which is the case for nearly all of the titles I buy and stock.

I notice people who buy books that spark my jaded palate, but anyong buying several books of that sort get cataloged by my subconscious as book dealers.

But this time was different. I thought "oh, it's the dealer who asks if his dog can come in", but then I did a double take. And the credit card confirmed my suspicions.

It's like watching a movie you haven't seen in a long time and spotting a familiar face you don't remember being there.

Last night Devra was over and we screened Bullets Over Broadway and spotted Edie Falco (she has a small bit as a maid in the theater). Suddenly you notice something.

So Mr. Jay joins the short list of luminaries I've sold books to, along with Michael Stipe, Diane Lane, Bill Frisell, David Linley, Peter Case, the lead singer for Men at Work & the sax player for the Charles Mingus Big Band (either musicians buy a lot of used books, or I'm just better equipped to recognize them...).

And he vaults to the head of the line as having by far the most interesting taste in reading.

I've previously linked his excellent New Yorker profile, but here it is again. Deal!

/edit
oh, I forgot TC Boyle..but he's more of a family friend than a famous person.
Included for the sake of completeness.