Nevada has legal brothels in some rural areas. On a road trip through Nevada, a friend of ours brought home a “menu” from one of these establishments. We are all adults, and we read the “menu” and had a good laugh. ("They do WHAT?? Eww! Ha ha!)
But what I saw in the “literature” that a teacher had given to 10 year old students and the “literature” that was in the elementary school library, I was shocked. In my whole life I had never seen or heard of acts so vile.
If adults want to read and/or do things like this, they are free to do so, even though they will probably end up getting some disease. But from what I have been told, giving this to small children in a school setting is to get them to think this is “normal” or “acceptable.” Well then call me a “book banner.”
To say that these people are disgusting is an understatement.
There were credible allegations made of sales-reporting numbers being manipulated heavily and maliciously by Amazon, the NY Times, BookScan, and others. As but one example, the publisher reported shipping 7,500 copies in advance to Amazon, only to have those advance orders not be recorded, the book listed as “sold out” for other would-be buyers upon publication, and only what few orders got through after official publication being recorded as “sales.” Meanwhile, Amazon customers who placed advance orders reported delayed or non-shipment of their orders. There are several other stories of similar number-manipulation being floated.
I spent a couple years in the bookstore trade. Everything I have heard being alleged is completely plausible, and similar tactics been documented in the past against popular tomes by Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, Beck, etc. I watched bookstore-chain managers who loathed conservative writers do their best to downplay or hide their books even as people who wanted to buy them came in asking for them—and of course many “independent” and co-op bookstores refuse(d) to have anything to do with such books while promoting Marxist tracts in their windows (no, really).
The blunt fact is, you cannot trust either the claims of “bestselling!” by supporters NOR the claims of “total bomb!” by Lemon and other naysayers. The number manipulation involved is as shady and corrupt as the accounting for all those Hollywood movies that allegedly take in hundreds of millions at the box office but are still officially regarded by accountants as “losing money” in the end (by inflating production and promotional costs, ignoring video sales, etc.).
And of course, the last two panels of today’s strip hearken back to the old paraphrase/misquote of New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael: “I don’t know how Nixon could have won; I don’t know a single person who voted for him.” (Actual quote isn’t any better—go look it up.)
Imagine about 1 year ago
Can we ban books about banning books?
some idiot from R'lyeh Premium Member about 1 year ago
It’s amazing how often “cancel culture” is actually just capitalism.
Zebrastripes about 1 year ago
Seems any loon, nut and wack job are writing books theses days! ☹️
oakie817 about 1 year ago
waiting for the movie
samuli creator about 1 year ago
What rhymes with Tucker?
Sprarklin about 1 year ago
Nevada has legal brothels in some rural areas. On a road trip through Nevada, a friend of ours brought home a “menu” from one of these establishments. We are all adults, and we read the “menu” and had a good laugh. ("They do WHAT?? Eww! Ha ha!)
But what I saw in the “literature” that a teacher had given to 10 year old students and the “literature” that was in the elementary school library, I was shocked. In my whole life I had never seen or heard of acts so vile.
If adults want to read and/or do things like this, they are free to do so, even though they will probably end up getting some disease. But from what I have been told, giving this to small children in a school setting is to get them to think this is “normal” or “acceptable.” Well then call me a “book banner.”
To say that these people are disgusting is an understatement.
LNER4472 Premium Member about 1 year ago
There were credible allegations made of sales-reporting numbers being manipulated heavily and maliciously by Amazon, the NY Times, BookScan, and others. As but one example, the publisher reported shipping 7,500 copies in advance to Amazon, only to have those advance orders not be recorded, the book listed as “sold out” for other would-be buyers upon publication, and only what few orders got through after official publication being recorded as “sales.” Meanwhile, Amazon customers who placed advance orders reported delayed or non-shipment of their orders. There are several other stories of similar number-manipulation being floated.
I spent a couple years in the bookstore trade. Everything I have heard being alleged is completely plausible, and similar tactics been documented in the past against popular tomes by Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, Beck, etc. I watched bookstore-chain managers who loathed conservative writers do their best to downplay or hide their books even as people who wanted to buy them came in asking for them—and of course many “independent” and co-op bookstores refuse(d) to have anything to do with such books while promoting Marxist tracts in their windows (no, really).
The blunt fact is, you cannot trust either the claims of “bestselling!” by supporters NOR the claims of “total bomb!” by Lemon and other naysayers. The number manipulation involved is as shady and corrupt as the accounting for all those Hollywood movies that allegedly take in hundreds of millions at the box office but are still officially regarded by accountants as “losing money” in the end (by inflating production and promotional costs, ignoring video sales, etc.).
And of course, the last two panels of today’s strip hearken back to the old paraphrase/misquote of New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael: “I don’t know how Nixon could have won; I don’t know a single person who voted for him.” (Actual quote isn’t any better—go look it up.)
JPuzzleWhiz about 1 year ago
It’s the Mr. Wriggly showcase today — he’s in ALL the panels!
Amanda El-Dweek creator about 1 year ago
Get out the way for old man Tucker…