Well, no, you didn't say that your tastes are too "quirky/cerebral."
You said that conservative voices were being suppressed by a conspiracy
of liberal bookstore clerks. That's what you posted on your web site.
But have it your way. Everything you post is wonderful. I wish you
success. I'm outta here.
--- Joy McCann <joy.mccann_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> I thought that's what I was saying: my tastes are too
> quirky/cerebral. No
> one'sfault but my own. (Though as for customers messing with the
> political
> balance
> of your book displays . . . would the exact tactics differ if you
> worked in
> Berkeley, or
> Manhattan, or Austin, versus in the O.C.?)
>
> And I will have you know that Postrel's literary agent also
> represents
> serious writers like
> Salman Rushdie, along with some pop-science lightweight called David
> Linden
> . . . Sounds
> kinda Jewish to me. Whaddya think?
>
> Actually, I think some of you would like Postrel's second book, The
> Substance of Style.
> The premise is that aesthetics are relevant, and the line between
> what is
> "useful"
> and what is merely "cosmetic" might be a good deal finer than many of
> us
> suppose.
>
> --J
>
>
> On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 2:47 PM, Alex Melnick <aemelnick_at_yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Honestly, I'd never heard of Virginia Postrel. I see from our
> > wholesaler's website that her most recent book came out four years
> ago
> > and was published by Yale University Press. Sorry, but that's not
> > something you're going to find in a run-of-the-mill, general
> interest
> > bookstore. Nothing to do with her politics, and everything to do
> with
> > business.
> >
> > You're complaining that there aren't conservative authors
> represented
> > in general-interest bookstores. The truth may be more accurately
> that
> > there aren't serious authors represented. You're not going to find
> > George Lakoff in most stores, either.
> >
> >
> > --- Joy McCann <joy.mccann_at_gmail.com <joy.mccann%40gmail.com>>
> wrote:
> >
> > > But you're entitled to your feelings and your perceptions. I
> > > recognize that
> > > I'm hard to please in bookstores, so I don't complain--I was able
> to
> > > find
> > > Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism at the La Canada Bookstore &
> Coffee
> > > House,
> > > but there's a lot of dreck out there that's "conservative" or at
> > > least
> > > looked at that way (Bill O'Reilly's just a populist, though I
> would
> > > have
> > > gone on his show to talk about this in a minute). And I've got no
> > > interest
> > > in it. Ann Coulter? Please.
> > > What I want is Virginia Postrel, Thomas Sowell, Popper, Mencken.
> > > Stuff like
> > > that.
> > >
> > > So I walk out with a copy of Foreign Affairs, and order what I
> want
> > > online.
> > > I mean, I'm happy that Michelle Malkin sends me traffic, but that
> > > doesn't
> > > mean I'm going to read one of her books. (I don't even read books
> by
> > > media
> > > people I like: Larry Elder is great on the radio, but he can't
> write
> > > worth a
> > > damn.)
> > >
> > > Still--if I'm willing to spend the money, there's always
> something
> > > wonderful
> > > at a bookstore. Like David Sedaris. Who can quarrel with David
> > > Sedaris?
> > >
> > > --J
> > >
> > > On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 8:21 AM, Alex Melnick
> <aemelnick_at_yahoo.com<aemelnick%40yahoo.com>
> > >
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > I was going to stay out of this, but there were some comments
> in
> > > Joy's
> > > > blog about bookstores hiding conservative authors that have got
> me
> > > > riled. I'll admit that it's possible that individual clerks may
> be
> > > > hiding books, but the notion that there's any sort of organized
> > > > movement to do so seems absurd. In the stores where I've
> worked,
> > > > nearly every worker would rather sell a book they despise than
> no
> > > book
> > > > at all. It's simple economics.
> > > >
> > > > On the other hand, bookstores face a big problem with
> conservative
> > > > customers who vandalize displays of liberal or even
> non-partisan
> > > books.
> > > > It's gotten to the point that our Anaheim store got rid of our
> > > > election display, which was scrupulously balanced between
> liberal
> > > and
> > > > conservative best-sellers, because customers kept messing it
> up.
> > > > They'd take any books with Obama on the cover (even the
> anti-Obama
> > > > titles like "Obama Nation") and move them to other parts of the
> > > store,
> > > > hiding them behind or underneath stacks of unrelated titles, or
> > > even
> > > > tossing them up into the rafters. The McCain books, meanwhile,
> sit
> > > > untouched (and, notably, unsold).
> > > >
> > > > Our clerks also have to deal with a constant stream of
> complaints
> > > about
> > > > the "liberal" leanings of our products. I worked the counter
> during
> > > > much of the 2004 general election, and I got really very tired
> of
> > > > dealing with this. It didn't matter how prominently displayed
> the
> > > > conservative books were, the fact that we had even a single
> liberal
> > > > book anywhere in the store was cause for complaint.
> > > >
> > > > Grumble. Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, but this is a sore
> > > subject
> > > > with me.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- Christophe <xof_at_chanticleer.com <xof%40chanticleer.com>
> <xof%
> > 40chanticleer.com>> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > If anyone has managed to come up with a way of getting
> hundreds
> > > of
> > > > > teenagers to silently participate in a nation-wide
> conspiracy,
> > > they
> > > > > could be doing much more interesting things that suppressing
> the
> > > box
> > > > >
> > > > > office on a movie.
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > Alex Melnick
> > > > aemelnick_at_yahoo.com <aemelnick%40yahoo.com>
> <aemelnick%40yahoo.com> --
> > > > http://www.geocities.com/alexm_94109
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Joy M. McCann
> > > Goddess of Ink and Paper
> > > (But pixels obey me, too.)
> > > Mistress of proofreading, fact-checking,
> > > Line-editing, and copyediting
> > > Copy Write Editorial Services
> > > 818/429-9806
> > >
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Alex Melnick
> > aemelnick_at_yahoo.com <aemelnick%40yahoo.com> --
> > http://www.geocities.com/alexm_94109
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Joy M. McCann
> Goddess of Ink and Paper
> (But pixels obey me, too.)
> Mistress of proofreading, fact-checking,
> Line-editing, and copyediting
> Copy Write Editorial Services
> 818/429-9806
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
Alex Melnick
aemelnick_at_yahoo.com --
http://www.geocities.com/alexm_94109
Received on 2008-10-10 16:33:42