Disorganised purser is a turn up for the books (8)
I believe the answer is:
surprise
'a turn up for the books' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'disorganised purser is' is the wordplay.
'disorganised' indicates an anagram.
'purser'+'is'='purseris'
'purseris' is an anagram of 'SURPRISE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for surprise that I've seen before include "Take unawares" , "Startle, astonish" , "Unexpected thing" , "Unexpected or astonishing event" , "Something unexpected" .)