Why you can't find good stuff at Barnes and Noble

[yendi]

"The people who read Judy Blume don't grow up to read books. They grow up to read magazines."

So says the fiction buyer for the chain.

In other book news, as usual, not only is the latest Fforde novel available six months ahead of time in England, but the next Michael Marshall Smith book isn't even listed in America yet. Suck-fucking-tastic.

Comments

[mermaidblue.livejournal.com]

grrrrr. no FAIR!

[kizlj.livejournal.com]

YAY! I didn't realise he was close on another. The last involved so much lag and procrastination I figured it'd be several years before the next. Lavie at michaelmarshallsmith.com better get cracking on the updates.

[yendi]

Actually, Lavie's been replaced, according to the news section of the site (which might explain the lack of updates). The site's supposed to get a new look in January.

[kizlj.livejournal.com]

Oh? Man I'm out of touch. I was happy to see in the afterword to More Tomorrow, though, a line about Lavie's annotated bio actually being about to see the light of day, from PS Publishing. I did some Greek transliterations for the bio in Feb 02, and after all this time I'd figured it was a dead project.

[yendi]

I still haven't finished MT -- I've been devouring it slowly at lunch each day, a story or two a day. I'm enjoying re-discovering the ones I'd already read, and find new tales as well. Just a great collection. And I refuse to skip ahead to the afterword.

[kizlj.livejournal.com]

oops, hope I didn't spoil!

[yendi]

No worries! I don't count that as a spoiler, I'm just not letting myself skip ahead.

[sistermaryeris.livejournal.com]

Nice. That moron is responsible for what hits B&N shelves. No wonder that store sucks so bad. And for the record, I read Judy Blume as a kid and I hate magazines.

[dorei.livejournal.com]

I rarely read magazines. I read a LOT of books. And I read a LOT of Judy Blume as a kid.

I hate being pigeonholed by someone who doesn't know me.

[branwynelf.livejournal.com]

I was going to say the same thing. I read all her stuff (including Wifey) as a young teen ... I read books voraciously ... and I only read magazines when waiting for a doc's appointment.

[iresprite.livejournal.com]

*thinks*

Hoom.

I may have to do some fiction buying for you when I'm out in Dublin in February, if you wait that log. Just let me know what you'd like before I leave.

[ariedana.livejournal.com]

I read a lot of Judy Blume as a kid (as well as Beverly Cleary and Ann M. Martin and other "kiddie-lite" authors) and I read many different things as an adult. So does my sister and a lot of other people I know. Should kids read only them? No. But at least they inspire some kids to start reading in the first place.

[silme.livejournal.com]

I read lots of books AND magazines. :)

You should have contacted me last summer. I posted five or so signed (actually inscribed) copies of the latest Fforde to people in the US. And one signed copy to Denmark. Check with me next summer. I think he's getting used to me asking to have multiple copies signed. :)

[silme.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I never read Judy Blume until I was in teacher training courses at university. :) I think I was too old. :)

[seanhtaylor.livejournal.com]

Wow, I feel bad then, I read some Judy Bloom growing up, and I read anything from books to magazine to the backs of cereal boxes. Sigh.

[yendi]

Yeah, but as the buyer would no doubt point out, you grew up to write comics (which are just magazines with more pictures, right?).

[seanhtaylor.livejournal.com]

Geez, I feel better now... Sigh. Where's that tub of ice cream I need for moments like this? *grins*

[fings.livejournal.com]

You do know the Amazon stores use the same login information, correct? So ordering from amazon.co.uk is just as easy, if a bit more expensive, as amazon.com.

I find my orders from amazon.co.uk show up just about as fast as those from amazon.com, two or three days after shipping. (Living next to NYC probably helps.)

Amazon.fr orders take about two weeks. Amazon.de takes almost a month.

I haven't ordered from amazon.co.jp, or the recently opened amazon.ca.

[yendi]

Oh, I'm well aware, and have ordered from them before (in fact, I was a customer of Bookpages, before Amazon bought them out). It's just expensive to pay the shipping charges on top of the crappy exchange rate (especially when I'm only looking for one book or so). I've actually had better service from amazon.co.uk then from amazon.com.

[eudaimonia.livejournal.com]

I ordered my latest Fford copy from amazon.co.uk. I'm instant gratification woman lately.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Fuck you, B&N fiction buyer.

Ahem. I knew there was a reason that (as far as big-box bookstores go) I like Borders better.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Fucker.

[coffeeinhell.livejournal.com]

I never read a Judy Blume book. In fact, I skipped the entire genre of adolescent-girl-fic entirely. My parents taught me to read very early and never censored what I read, so by fourth/fifth grade I was wandering the Adult Fiction stacks at the library, pulling stuff and checking it out based purely on covers and jacket descriptions -- everything from Mary Stewart and Erle Stanley Gardner to Anton LeVey and Portnoy's Complaint.

Now, as an adult, I read both books

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I never read a Judy Blume book. In fact, I skipped the entire genre of adolescent-girl-fic entirely. My parents taught me to read very early and never censored what I read, so by fourth/fifth grade I was wandering the Adult Fiction stacks at the library, pulling stuff and checking it out based purely on covers and jacket descriptions -- everything from Mary Stewart and Erle Stanley Gardner to Anton LeVey and <I>Portnoy's Complaint</I>.

Now, as an adult, I read both books <and</I> magazines. So ... ha. I guess.

[piratejenny.livejournal.com]

That's because we actually re-edit and reprint the Fforde books here, we don't just offset from the UK. I'm willing to wait. :-)

Oh, and I read Judy Blume growing up! Damn them anyway. What kid who has to wear a scoliosis brace wouldn't appreciate Deenie? I don't even know how many times I read that book.

But naturally, Staten Island doesn't have a Borders. Hell, we only got a B&N about 4 years ago.

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

Obviously, the buyer is not a reader. What a pity.

I read Judy Blume, along with just about everything else I could get my hands on as a teen. I used to read more magazines, but now I just stick to books. Though I do dream of a subscription to F&SF, Analog, Asimovs, and the like...

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

Irrelevant to book travesties:

Dude! What happened to your officer corps?! o_O

[divalea.livejournal.com]

Buyer's a fuckwit. That is all.

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

Don't panic! The new MMS book - well, technically the new MM book - is going to be out under a different title (if memory serves, 'The Upright Man') in the US. I asked him why and the answer I got was roughly: "Publishers. Don't ask."

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

Amazon.com link for it (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0515136387/qid=1071823333//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i4_xgl14/002-3958012-2096865?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

[shellefly.livejournal.com]

Another good reason to SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE!

/psa

[treadpath.livejournal.com]

That quote is a bit out of context, isn't it? I guess I'm being a little argumentative. Sorry about that.

In the article you linked to, that statement was used as an example of how the buyer was wrong--as quoted by the buyer! It thought it was actually pretty cool that she could say "You know, I made a snippy comment and jumped to conclusions based on my opinions of Judy Blume's young adult novels, and as you see I was completely wrong."

Anyway. I still prefer independent bookstores meself...

P.S. I found you through Shadesong and I'm sorry that the first occasion I comment is to nitpick. :)

[yendi]

I thought it was out of context at first, too (it was the only line mentioned in the link I came across). But it's not. Yeah, she's admitting she was wrong about the fact that the Blume book wouldn't sell, but she never, ever, apologized or implied she thought Blume readers were anything about sub-literate, so she's still on my shitlist.

And no apologies necessary! Nitpick away!

[treadpath.livejournal.com]

Wow... I totally didn't interpret it as implying that Blume readers were subliterate! People I know who prefer to read magazines over books are generally really smart, hip, and arty and like to be up on breaking trends and pop culture. From what I recall about Judy Blume, a usual theme of her books was about learning to deal with life and being a bit of a misfit... and since many of my geeky-arty friends, like myself, grew up identifying a bit with Blume characters, well... that's how I interpreted that. Iiiinteresting. I apparently do not understand these strange Earth insults. ;)

So, anyway, chappy chanukah! :)