About that Should This Book Be Banned thread...

[EsmeraldaX]

This is from Publishers Weekly and I just felt that I had to post it because I think a lot of booksellers are getting a bad rap about this....

Think of it what ye will...

EDIT!!!!Decided to remove the story since it is a pay subscribers only peice.

The basic jist is this : People would call up bookstores and and order these books in huge quantities under false names leaving store owners with lots of unsold books. No one knows who was doing this but storekeepers say it sounded pretty organized (the people who called almost sounded like they were reading off a script).

The book (Unfirt for Command) actually sells quite well, it's at #5 on the Bestseller list. Depends on where you are. Obviously in a very liberal city it doesn't sell as well as in a conservative one etc.

Borders & B&N and other bookstores are in NO WAY trying to ban this book.

PM me if you'd like me to send you the email.

~S

 

[Deb in IA]

I assume that's a typo, and the book is "UnFIT for Command", not "unfirt".

I may not agree with the book, but I am much, much MORE opposed to banning freedom of speech.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by Deb in IA
I assume that's a typo, and the book is "UnFIT for Command", not "unfirt".

I may not agree with the book, but I am much, much MORE opposed to banning freedom of speech.

lol! Yup. that was a typo. Well the article is basically saying that these allegations that these bookstores are "banning" the book are untrue.

Publisher's Weekly is the #1 publication of the book publishing industry and is very non-partisian.

 

[katerkat]

Could you maybe explain it a little better? At my bookstore, we don't let people order the books over the phone - they have to come into the store to reserve a copy. You have to have a card to special order, as well. We do "holds" over the phone, but only for 72 hours, so the book copies wouldn't be out of circulation that long.

 

[Disney Doll]

I haven't read the book, so I don't know it's contents. I disagree with book banning though.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by katerkat
Could you maybe explain it a little better? At my bookstore, we don't let people order the books over the phone - they have to come into the store to reserve a copy. You have to have a card to special order, as well. We do "holds" over the phone, but only for 72 hours, so the book copies wouldn't be out of circulation that long.

I PM'd you the article from PW.

If you go to the PW website, and you're a subscriber, you can see it too.

 

[Jimbo]

Maybe this is sort of OT, but the DIS itself used a similar tactic a few years ago. Rita Aero (is she still around?) had a new edition of "WDW For Adults" coming out. She is/was friends with management of the DIS, and has apparently worked with them.

So the owners of this website requested that all of us call our local bookstore and order a copy, even if you had no intention of purchasing. Then when you were notified that the book had arrived, you were free to refuse to buy it. It was a way to artificially drive up the number of copies shipped, which is apparently good for the author.

I thought the whole thing was unethical, and got into kind of a heated exchange with one of the webmasters here. Eventually I went to my local B&N to see what they thought of the practice, and they kind of shrugged their collective shoulders. Apparently it's pretty common, although maybe not on a large scale.

I'd like to see the article, EsmeraldaX.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Sent, Jimbo.

I don't have any idea what to think. I'm not in any way affiliated with the publisher of the book, I have not read it and I doubt I will.

I just saw a thread here, where someone was talking about the book being banned by certain bookstores and I felt like I HAD to say something, since I had read this article.

PW is quite non partisan and a pretty reliable source for the truth about these sorts of matters.