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Bookstore Bias
www.chronwatch.com ^ | 11/25/02 | Cinnamon Stillwell

Posted on 11/25/2002 11:52:57 AM PST by SeenTheLight

Ann Coulter’s book “Slander” includes an excellent section on liberal bias in the world of book publishing. She provides evidence that, despite the consistently high sales of politically conservative books, most publishing companies persist in pushing books from the left side of the spectrum, at the expense of all others. But there is another link in the chain of bias in the publishing world that is rarely addressed: independent bookstores. Independent bookstores are overwhelmingly owned and staffed by liberals and they make sure that their political inclinations take precedence.

A letter to the editor in the Chronicle (11/22) inadvertently highlights the kind of politics many independent bookstores espouse. The writer of the letter sings the praises of City Lights Bookstore for “its four-paneled sign, which states “Stop war and war-makers” with a picture of President Bush on the last panel.” In fact, it’s fairly common to see this kind of leftist, anti-war rhetoric posted in the windows of independent bookstores. These establishments could demonstrate a modicum of professionalism by curbing their proselytizing and doing what they’re supposed to do, which is sell books, but I’m not holding my breath.

Having spent a couple of years working for an independent bookstore, I witnessed first-hand the dominance of leftist politics in that sphere. The buyers, although they did order a wide variety of books for the sake of keeping the store competitive, often conveniently forgot to order paperback versions or additional stock when it came to conservative books. The Marketing Department did their best to imbue the front window displays with as much liberal propaganda as possible, to the point where they ignored customer complaints in the process. Even the humble sales clerks wielded their own power when it came to recommending books, “facing out” books on the shelves and doing floor displays.

Politically conservative books were rarely displayed, even when they were bestsellers. At the same time, leftist books were displayed constantly, even when they were no longer new releases. The anti-American screeds of Noam Chomsky, and the hateful vitriol of Gore Vidal were mainstays of the political displays, as were such juvenile favorites as Michael Moore’s “Stupid White Men.” If it fit their liberal sensibilities, it was assured of long term prominence in their displays.

In contrast, I was in Borders recently and it was a revelation. Their Military History and American History sections were three times the size of the ones at my former job. There were stacks of books everywhere, including many by well-known conservative authors. There was a conspicuous display right by the front door on liberal bias in the media. None of these books were tucked away or hidden for fear of letting out the conservative bogeyman, but rather put out there, along with the whole range of political books, for all to see. In short, it was exactly as it should be in a bookstore.

The fact is, Internet sites like Amazon.com and the large chain bookstores are by far the most democratic when it comes to offering different political viewpoints. It is time for independent bookstores to adapt to a changing world, or go the way of the dinosaurs.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: bookstores; liberalbias; sanfrancisco
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To: SeenTheLight
Big'ol and I ended up killing some time in a B&N this weekend. I began to get queasy around all the anti-Bush/anti-conservative titles so Big'ol gallantly turned the books around or slid a benign title in front of them. I felt better immediately.
21 posted on 11/25/2002 12:54:26 PM PST by Lil'freeper
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To: Xenalyte
-Here in Jax is a store called "Chamblin's Bookmine" they feature New, Rare, Used, and Non-existant books.

Okay, I'll bite . . . what kind of non-existent books do they sell? If they have it, I'd love a copy of Famous Jewish Sports Heroes.-

Say, I'm looking for two books Great French Naval Victories and Famous Italian Generals . Do you know where I could find these in print?

jriemer

22 posted on 11/25/2002 12:56:43 PM PST by jriemer
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To: SeenTheLight
The Borders here in Bangor is no bargain. I have to spend hours re-arranging their magazine rack so that The American Spectator, National Review, Liberty and Reason are out front where they belong.
;O)

Also their Gay-Lesbo mag section is growing and growing, crowding out both conservative and liberal political mags.

23 posted on 11/25/2002 1:02:06 PM PST by metesky
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To: Dutchgirl; Xenalyte
Non-existant books.

I've been looking for a copy of "Ethel The Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying", myself...

24 posted on 11/25/2002 1:02:22 PM PST by general_re
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To: wayoverontheright
Barnes and Noble plays a game...when you request a book by a conservative or a book about President Bush (like Fighting Back by Bill Sammon) they will tell you that they are sold out. The truth is that they didn't order the book at all. They will have all the liberal books in major displays but the conservative books will either be on some back shelf somewhere or not there at all.

I have had this done to me four times by that store and last time, I decided to have a loud hissy fit in the store. I told them that I was sick and tire of being told the book I wanted was "sold out". I was sick and tired of liberal books getting the large displays and I was sick of thier lies. I also told them I would never be purchasing another book in their store. I was loud and I can't believe how wonderful I felt after I did it. By the way, I said some other stuff, too.

My main point is this: WE MUST LOUDLY CONFRONT THESE BOOKSTORES IF WE WANT CHANGE. WE CAN'T CONTINUE TO ALLOW THEM TO GET AWAY WITH THIS. IF WE MAKE ENOUGH NOISE IN THIER STORES, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. WE ALSO NEED TO STOP GOING TO THESE STORES ONCE WE HAVE MADE OUR POINT.

25 posted on 11/25/2002 1:03:45 PM PST by Wait4Truth
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To: SeenTheLight
Here's a decent list of books:

50 Best Books of the (20th) Century

50 Worst

26 posted on 11/25/2002 1:06:27 PM PST by lds23
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To: jriemer
I could also use these:

1. A Guide to Arab Democracies
2. A Journey Through the Mind of Dennis Rodman
3. Amelia Earhart's Guide to the Pacific Ocean
4. Career Opportunities for History Majors
5. Contraception by Pope John Paul II
6. Detroit: A Travel Guide
7. Different Ways to Spell "Bob"
8. Dr. Kevorkian's Motivational Speeches
9. Easy UNIX
10. Ethiopian Tips on World Dominance
11. Everything Men Know About Women
12. French Hospitality
13. Bob Dole: The Wild Years
14. How to Sustain a Musical Career by Art Garfunkel
15. Mike Tyson's Guide to Dating Etiquette
16. Mormon Divorce Lawyers
17. One Hundred and One Spotted Owl Recipes by the EPA
18. Popular Lawyers
19. Staple Your Way to Success
20. Puritan Fun!
21. The Amish Phone Book
27 posted on 11/25/2002 1:07:52 PM PST by Xenalyte
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To: general_re
http://www.chamblinbookmine.com/ Enjoy!!
28 posted on 11/25/2002 1:10:00 PM PST by Dutchgirl
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To: SeenTheLight
That's why the National Endowment for the Arts is controlled by and gives grants only to ultra-left wing no-talent hacks. If left to the pressures of the market, they would have to work. Count the number of independent book stores you remember. Now, try to find them. Most are gone and the rest will follow. Leftists are all talk and are very good at spending YOUR money. When it comes to spending their own money, they'll buy at a discount rather than pay leftie the list price. Small towns? Yeah, matbe there is still a book store. But, not for long.

The last independent bookstore around here was run by liberals, nice enough people, but to by paperbacks for the airplane, I'd go right next door to Winn-Dixie and get them at a 15% discount. Today, neither store is there.

29 posted on 11/25/2002 1:12:49 PM PST by Tacis
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To: Dutchgirl
Thanks! At last, I might finally get my hands on volume 2 of "The Amazing Adventures of Captain Gladys Stoat-Pamphlet and Her Intrepid Spaniel Stig among the Giant Pygmies of Corsica"...
30 posted on 11/25/2002 1:13:37 PM PST by general_re
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To: general_re
Non-existant books. I've been looking for a copy of "Ethel The Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying", myself...

I've wanted a copy of Republicans Who Reduce The Size of Government for about a decade now.

I hear it's a very small book.

31 posted on 11/25/2002 1:20:32 PM PST by DAnconia55
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To: SeenTheLight
This is a bit off subject, but I just read a novel that seems to have mentioned Free Republic. It's called karlmarx.com, and it's about a woman who studies Marxism but insists she isn't a Marxist--she only wants people to read Marx and think about his ideas. (Sure.) She gets a job with something called the Thought Institute, in Washington, and a group of cyber protesters gather outside with signs. One of the signs says "I love capitalism!" Wasn't that an actual freeper sign, or something like it?

Anyway the book is published by commie publisher Simon & Schuster, may their name be blotted out.

32 posted on 11/25/2002 1:25:58 PM PST by firebrand
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To: DAnconia55
LOL. That's okay, I'm hoping to pick up a copy of Electable Libertarians someday...

Zing! :^)

33 posted on 11/25/2002 1:27:39 PM PST by general_re
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To: Grampa Dave
Right on, Grandpa Dave; Don't get the least bit worked up by these folks; let the market take care of them. If they only want to sell to a narrow audience, so be it. If they don't want to carry topics that they dislike, instead of trying to maximize revenues, they'll simply go out of business.
34 posted on 11/25/2002 1:30:53 PM PST by mallardx
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To: SeenTheLight
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised at the Pasadena Border's last week to see Militant Islam Comes to America prominently displayed, alongside another similar book.
35 posted on 11/25/2002 1:32:53 PM PST by Inkie
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To: mallardx
This is why liberals hate capitalism. They can't get by with their bs when dealing in the capitalistic marketplace.
36 posted on 11/25/2002 1:37:02 PM PST by Grampa Dave
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To: SeenTheLight
A great way to bypass BOTH the lefty indie stores and the bland chains -- and save money in the process -- is to buy directly from Web-based used booksellers. The Bookfinder online dealer database has something like twenty million titles listed on their search engine.
37 posted on 11/25/2002 1:41:58 PM PST by MikalM
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To: MikalM
Oops, posted the WRONG LINK for Bookfinder in that last one!

Here's the real link to the immense Bookfinder database.

38 posted on 11/25/2002 1:44:16 PM PST by MikalM
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To: Xenalyte
22. Ethics for Elected Officials by President William BJ. Clinton
39 posted on 11/25/2002 1:49:40 PM PST by Still Thinking
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To: Xenalyte
My favorite 'non-existent' book: "Career Choices for History Majors."
40 posted on 11/25/2002 1:51:02 PM PST by Calico Cat
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