bookstores

Another reason to buy from independent bookstores

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged Amazon books bookstores on by

Depending on which reports you read, Amazon handles a quarter to a half of all book sales in the US. It’s convenient and allows one-stop shopping. But when we become heavily dependent on one source, it’s bad for an open market. There’s less of a market share for independent dealers, which makes sellers more dependent on one business’s whims.

Amazon has exercised various whims over the years. In 2009, it removed a significant number of LGBT books from its sales ranking on the grounds that they were “adult” books. (Strange terminology; I didn’t think of Amazon as primarily a kids’ book dealer.) It blamed The Algorithm and reversed its decision under public pressure.

The same year, Amazon pulled its most ham-handed book removal, deleting 1984 from customers’ devices after they had bought it and refunding their money. It served as a reminder that what you “buy” on the Kindle remains under Big Brother’s, I mean Amazon’s, control.
(more…)

Update on Uncle Hugo’s

This entry was posted in News and tagged books bookstores on by

File 770 has an update on the effort to bring back Uncle Hugo’s. The bookstore was destroyed by a fire set by an unknown arsonist during last year’s Minneapolis riots. The article says, “Last month [Don Blyly] found three prospective buildings to consider – one would be satisfactory if he can get it for the right price.”

The fundraiser has raised nearly $200,000 and is still active.

This entry was posted in News and tagged books bookstores science fiction on by | Open »

There’s a new update on GoFundMe on Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore. As you may recall, it was destroyed by arson during the Minneapolis protests, most likely by someone taking advantage of the confusion rather than a legitimate protester. But they’re still working on finding a suitable location for a new store. In the meantime, you can buy books from the website.

They’re really going for the long haul. As I’m writing this, Uncle Hugo’s has an event scheduled for July 31, 21021.

I have no association with the store. I’m just a fan supporting other fans.

Thoughts on Uncle Hugo’s

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged bookstores on by

I’ve never been to Uncle Hugo’s bookstore. In fact, I’ve never been in Minnesota. But like many of you, I think now and then of Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore, which was destroyed by fire on May 31, 2020. An article which I read the other day reminded me of it in an infuriating way.

A fundraiser has been running since last year to try to restore the store in some form. Fans have been very generous, but half a million dollars is a huge amount to raise, and it’s still far short of its goal.

A recent article by Carz Nelson reports that there’s still hope. Owner Don Blyly remains determined. He’s still looking for a new location. Insurance helped, but much of what was in the store was irreplaceable. Old used books and signed editions can’t just be re-ordered.
(more…)

Book meta-discussion: Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy 1

This entry was posted in Book discussion Censorship and tagged Antifa books bookstores censorship on by

This will be the last of my regular Monday book posts for a while. In preparation for moving, I’ve put a lot of my books in boxes, and it’s getting harder to find the books that I want to reread and discuss. Naturally, this isn’t stopping me from acquiring even more books. This post is about an upcoming book by Andy Ngo, called Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy. Or rather, it’s about Antifa’s attempt to suppress the book. I have it on pre-order from Water Street Bookstore but haven’t read it yet.

There’s a lot of misinformation about Antifa. On the one hand, mainstream media articles keep claiming it’s an “anti-fascist” organization. It’s anti-fascist in the same sense that the Capitol riot was “patriotic”: not at all, but the people involved find it handy to appropriate a term which they don’t deserve. On the other hand, some people on the right have built it into a ten-foot-tall organization which is behind everything. It’s even supposed to have been the real people who invaded the Capitol. What it mostly does is disrupt speaking events it doesn’t like. It’s basically a gang of thugs who hate freedom and aren’t hugely important.
(more…)