# What are these books in the sketch "A Peek at Pico" on SNL May 14, 2022? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths, talk-variety-show\ **Created:** [May 15, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460 "2022-05-15T19:09:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/1 "2022-05-15T19:09:59Z")
In this sketch, there’s a librarian holding a pile of books that she’s recommending. The books are (in order from the top of the pile) _The Giver_ by Lois Lowry, a book that I don’t recognize, _American Gods_ by Neil Gaiman, _Wicked_ by Gregory Maguire, and one of the Harry Potter books. What is the second book from the top and which Harry Potter book is that on the bottom?: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/PLOJutxxj_Q/maxresdefault.jpg "A Peek at Pico - SNL") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLOJutxxj_Q) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/2 "2022-05-15T19:34:14Z")
I think the HP book is “The Order of the Phoenix." ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/3 "2022-05-15T20:11:01Z")
The Order of the Phoenix was a massive tome, by the green-blue shade and size, I think it is more likely to be #3 “The Prisoner of Azkaban” > **[Harry Potter series](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Harry_Potter_series)** > > The Harry Potter series may refer to: The novels, written by J. K. Rowling and published by Bloomsbury and Scholastic. The films, based on the novels and released by Warner Bros. The video games, based on the novels and films and released by... ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/4 "2022-05-15T20:41:07Z")
The colors of the spine match TOOTP: [![](https://media.karousell.com/media/photos/products/2019/07/27/harry_potter_book_set_17_1564210359_fb35d146_progressive.jpg) ](https://media.karousell.com/media/photos/products/2019/07/27/harry_potter_book_set_17_1564210359_fb35d146_progressive.jpg) Although, I suppose it’s possible it’s The Sorcerer’s Stone. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/5 "2022-05-15T21:24:30Z")
I think I see the number 5 on the side of the book, so it’s _The Order of the Phoenix_. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/6 "2022-05-16T01:55:34Z")
You made me look at an enhanced screenshot, you guys are right, it looks more like a 5 (that number 3 in the tomes is weird and threw me off) so it is TOOTP, no clue on the other book with the black and white spine. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/7 "2022-05-16T11:41:01Z")
So what was that skit supposedly about? Who found it funny why? Thought this week had an especially high number of clunkers. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/8 "2022-05-16T12:36:27Z")
I can’t stop you from discussing the sketch itself, but could you at least try to answer my question first? I want to know because I find it interesting that they use science fiction and fantasy books to interest people in reading. I can imagine people anywhere in age from 12 to adult being interested in the books the librarian is holding. I want to know what that other book is. I know nothing about what point the sketch is making. I had never heard of Pico Rivera before, but by searching I find that it’s a city of 60,000 or so in Los Angeles County in California. I asked here about the book that I couldn’t identify because I assume that people on the SDMB are reasonably well read and might be able to recognize a book from a blurry view of it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/9 "2022-05-16T12:48:15Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > So what was that skit supposedly about? Who found it funny why? Thought this week had an especially high number of clunkers. I agree (particularly the Cold Opening), but the bit with the women sending their boyfriends out ‘on their own" to pick up things at stores was freakin’ hilarious, especially because I’ve recently seen the Japanese show it was based on (where mothers send out toddlers on similar buying missions) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/10 "2022-05-16T14:38:41Z")
After looking, I agree that the Harry Potter book must be _Order of the Phoenix_ and that I have no clue about the second book. (Can’t read the words, and the design isn’t familiar.) > [@Dinsdale](#): > > Thought this week had an especially high number of clunkers. I thought so too, but I don’t know whether they were objectively clunkers or just referencing things I wasn’t familiar with. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/11 "2022-05-17T17:22:35Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I want to know because I find it interesting that they use science fiction and fantasy books to interest people in reading. I can imagine people anywhere in age from 12 to adult being interested in the books the librarian is holding. I want to know what that other book is. I wouldn’t try to read too much into a 4 minute comedy sketch they threw together in the past few days. The books were used as props and they probably grabbed whatever was available around the studio. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/12 "2022-05-18T02:04:29Z")
I think it’s unlikely that they grabbed whatever was available around the studio. Those books are pretty much what someone who was a science fiction and fantasy fan and a librarian would use to get kids (and maybe adults too) to keep them reading during the summer. I suspect that they did ask a librarian to make suggestions when they wrote the sketch. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/13 "2022-05-18T02:23:35Z")
The second book looks like an expensive hardcover edition, with a bookmark. That would indicate to me that it’s a book that’s achieved classic status, so not something very recent. I’ve seen an edition of _The Hobbit_ that looks like it, but the author’s name isn’t the right length for J.R.R. Tolkien. Could it be _The Moonstone_ by Wilkie Collins? That has a slight fantasy element, but it’s mostly realistic. Those names might be the right length but I can’t really see it clearly enough. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/14 "2022-05-18T02:23:38Z")
I took a quick look and couldn’t recognize the mystery non-Potter book immediately, but I’ll take a closer look tomorrow ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/15 "2022-05-18T03:27:48Z")
At 2:02, you get a very brief look at a little of the cover, and it appears to have a red/orange glow surrounded by black. Doesn’t help me at all, but maybe someone else will recognize it. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/16 "2022-12-12T23:04:49Z")
Re the mystery book – is that more likely to be a two-word author’s name and a three-word book title, or a two-word title and a three-word name? > [@beowulff](#): > > The colors of the spine match TOOTP: > [https://media.karousell.com/media/photos/products/2019/07/27/harry\_potter\_book\_set\_17\_1564210359\_fb35d146\_progressive.jpg](https://media.karousell.com/media/photos/products/2019/07/27/harry_potter_book_set_17_1564210359_fb35d146_progressive.jpg) > > Although, I suppose it’s possible it’s The Sorcerer’s Stone. TOOTP, of course – look at the amount of space between the lettering and the edge of the spine. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-books-in-the-sketch-a-peek-at-pico-on-snl-may-14-2022/964460/17 "2022-12-12T23:19:17Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I can’t stop you from discussing the sketch itself, but could you at least try to answer my question first? I’m piggybacking on this zombie to point out this is a classic case of someone discovering the downside to asking a question here. Wendell, you were basically looking for advice from a roomful of geniuses… with the attention span of kittens. You’re lucky this didn’t immediately devolve into a debate over the quality of the paper used as book jackets in the UK vs the US, how many girls you’ve seen with that flannel-shirt-buttoned-only-at-the-top look, and how far they had to stretch the linguistics to portray an accent where “batman” and “bad man” are near-homophones.