Book lovers discussion

HI JO, I'm from North Carolina & it's hot down here.Got up to 99 last week, just wondering whats the weather like in the UK?

I'm in the northern suburbs of Illinois, but I seriously wish I was in the UK!! I have an intense fascination with that country and can't wait to go!

the UK produces some great authors, will visit one day, but I love the sprawling states.

okay
i live in the UK
why would anyone want to live in the UK? i dont understand it

yhea i have been in london twice in my life coz i was with collage n i could not breath n it stank n people pushing n shoving
it not fun
n where i live i hate coz there r so meany chavs around (n the boys r always sticking their hands down their pants which is gross the girls look like hookers)
n i went shoping there was this shop n the people there were talking about the fact these two boys stole 3 tu-tu's

england is not what everyone makes it out to be

wow that is hot

Caitielyn, were you in the part of Louisiana that got hit by Katrina?

I went yard selling today & guess what i got? OK i'll tell, a hard back edition of Your Heart Belongs To ME ! For only .50 cents. Don't know when i'll get to read it but now i have it.

A book store burning books? That is weird & in poor taste. There are so many places they could be donated; old folks homes, hospitals, libraries, schools...

Couldn't they have donated them to a charity shop Husband and I are completely appalled and if there is a site we can put a protest on please let us know.So reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451 it is scary.I feel like crying!

It's interesting Jo, in Sydney here we have a subculture of homeboys called LADS, which are basically like your chavs. They don't seem to assimilate into other parts of Australia though and are looked upon as the true rats of our population. Nautica hats with velcro, short shorts, ankle socks, white sports shoes, stripy polo shirts and a Nautica jumper over their shoulders? Constantly walking around, fast, looking over their shoulders. You can have them back...thanks :)

by the sound of the guy the more people post re how bad book burning is the more he will like it-he is doing it for attentiona nd to sell books

I am not saying he won't do it but he has given himself leeway by the comment

"he Great Book Burning Sale began is whether or not The Book Tavern is really going to burn books? le the future is the future precisely because we can’t be as certain of what will happen as we are about what’s happening right this moment, I fully intend to burn books in front of our storeSaturday, January 9th as soon as the sky gets dark

He may intend at moment to do so but i think if he doesn't sell many he prob change mind-loose a lot of money- also publishers take books back

Afsana - you will have to please post to let us know if he really goes through with this. What a sin! When they could be donated to so many organizations!! Librarys, women's shelters, children centers....!

I wanted to post a very positive Goodreads comment here.

Since I've gotten active with Goodreads over this past year, it has opened my eyes to so many wonderful books that I otherwise would never have read. Just yesterday I was in Borders and looking at Shiver and The Historian. Thanks to nominations from various groups, I've read The Woman in White, Wuthering Heights, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the entire Millenium series. So CHEERS to Goodreads and all the members who make it such a great experience!

it is and Amelia lives near by and will probably be able to see the bonfire if he goes through with it!!!

will have to check on this link after 9th

http://www.booktavern.com/

Amelia wrote: "I will let you guys know. So far it sounds like they will. They are offering for people to buy books just for them to go on the bonfire."

yes i saw that but whats the liklyhood of someone wasting money just to see the book burn?

I thought you might want update

this is off the book tavarn's site:-

.Events Fiction News Reviews Specials Uncategorized ..
Jan 1, 2010 0

The heart of the Book Tavern
& 8 Days Until Fahrenheit 1026°


.. First Friday where we had an amazing crowd for the four short hours we opened. Aside from fudge tastings and hot wassail warming our gullets, we started selling off our overstock for $5.00 or less per book. Saturday we’re open from 10am – 6pm and the overstock stacks will be out front under our tent and inside the store in every nook we can find. Plus all our regular inventory will still be 30% off including new, used and rare books along with chocolate, fudge, ugly dolls and stationary. The only thing not marked down right now are DVD’s, special orders and employees (none of them seemed eager to match our inventory discount with a pay cut).

Dec 31, 2009 0
9 Days Until Fahrenheit 1026°
New Year’s Day

Thanks to everyone who has rescued books this week. We’ve got nine more days to go before The Great Book Burning consumes the tares & chaff and perhaps a few noteworthy titles too. The responses to our pronouncement range from unspeakable consternation (though somehow they found words) to “could you please burn my high-school journal?!?” We’ve even had numerous complaints filed against us with various state and federal authorities so next Saturday promises to be more exciting than I’d anticipated. Please plan on joining us to witness our protest and proclamation.

Regards,
David Hutchison
The Book Tavern

they haven't said on website but they are going to put a video iof it next week or so it says

Is there a spot to register complete dismay & utter disgust? An email address?

Jim wrote: "Is there a spot to register complete dismay & utter disgust? An email address?"

yes- Go to post number 24

There is a link and then you can leave a message and read up on it aswell!!

Thanks! Going & will vent.

Jim wrote: "Thanks! Going & will vent."

copy and paste what you say would be interesying!!

Well, I sent him a message on Facebook:
"News of your book burning has made a couple of different boards. I think & hope you will lose a lot of customers. There are a lot of places to donate books. Most of us just see this as a publicity stunt that is in really bad taste."

Then I put out for all my Facebook friends to see:
A new & shameful publicity stunt is under way. The Book Tavern in Atlanta, GA has decided to BURN their overstocked books. Yeah, there are a ton of charitable foundations that would love them, but they're just going to burn them in the hopes that the publicity will sell more books.
David Baruch Hutchison has a Facebook account. Please tell him just how nasty a crime this really is...

I included a link to the book store's site.

A crime? Come on now. It's like throwing out unused food because a shop doesn't want to go through the processes of welfare distribution. You have to admit that 90% of books are crap anyway...

Yes it's in poor taste but they've succeeded in making thousands aware of their shop through this gimmick. Stop giving them so much attention. Would it be so inexplicable if Fahrenheit wasn't ever written? I reckon they're sitting back reading your complaints with a wry grin, applauding their hardcore approach to advertising.

Just my thoughts.

Who said it was a crime? It isn't & shouldn't be. It's a disgusting publicity stunt. I know a couple of people that live in Atlanta & many that travel through there. I'm hoping they'll boycott his shop & tell others to do the same. I'm also hoping he'll get enough negative email to rethink his strategy or at least stop a repetition. You may be right though. He isn't the first business to gain recognition through negative advertising.

I don't think it is anything like not giving away food. We used to donate our company Xmas dinner to a homeless shelter until 2 years ago. It wasn't properly stored & we got sued - unsuccessfully. Still, they don't get any more handouts.

Tastes vary. A lot of what I read is 'crap'. I think it is entertaining crap. I sent a lot overseas to Iraq, Afghanistan & other military zones & they were happily received. Every time I brought a bunch of old books to a school, hospital or rehab, I've gotten a lot of appreciation, no matter what the books were. There's a lot of places starved for reading material.

No, I don't think burning books is a good idea, even if I think they are crap.

I thought you used the C word! Anyway, thanks for the response - some good points. Ever thought that this was all a bit of a joke though? Burning books is absurd and the response to this "outrage" is a bit over the top. The first thing I thought of originally was the impact on the environment.

One thing we're not short on in this world though, is books. My comment about most being "crap" was a little immature, but a few burnt here and there isn't the end of the world. It's sort of amusing really to me. Maybe they burnt books which they thought were of no use to people of our world?

there is shortage in the poor countries and those who can not afford it even in the western world where they are living on handouts and haven't got extra money for books so therefore the comment on there is no shortagge of books is incorrect. Yes there is a lot of books (enough for everyone) if everyone could afford it or have access to it but that is not the case.

Technically no it isn't a crime as it is his books and if he burns them safely then that is his decsion but you have to say that it is a crime in so far aas if he had a concious hecould of thought of a better why to rid himself of them

That all being said it was done as a publicity stunt it seemed obvious by some of his entries (In earlier post) but books were still burnt (maybe not as many as feared)

You could be right, Micko. It might be more of a joke. I hadn't really thought of it in that light, but probably should have. Oh well, it's in poor taste if it is one.

As for being short on books, no, we're not - others are though. It's hard to get definitive figures, but around 1/2 million are published yearly between the US & the UK, I think. When I compare that to the few I've read - say 150 books per year for the past 40 years. I read a fair amount compared to most, yet a tiny percentage compared to what is available.

What a wonderful problem - too many books to read!

Jim wrote: "You could be right, Micko. It might be more of a joke. I hadn't really thought of it in that light, but probably should have. Oh well, it's in poor taste if it is one.

As for being short on boo..."

isn't a joke you say you going to but then pretend to but not actually do?

Apparently I have misunderstood why they are burning books. I certainly didn't get this from the web site, but David Hutchinson wrote me back the following:

"I'd love to know which blogs. I'm sorry you didn't join us on Saturday night. We had quite a crowd and everyone seemed quite pleased by the conduct of the event. Later this week we will be posting video to our website along with the "Manifesto of Book Rights" and I think if you watch, it will clear up any misunderstandings. Many people suggested donating books and I have assured all of them we do donate thousands of books every year to various charities. Those books too poor to offer comfort any longer are typically sent to the paper recycler. The few books we burned to draw attention to the ways in which books are neglected and unloved hardly represent a loss to the world. Your accusation of a publicity stunt seems rather dull since no news media covered the story. But you aren't wrong, we hoped our words would be heard by a larger audience because of the controversial nature of burning books. If you are offended, so be it, our intent was to offend and bring a greater awareness to the offense books suffer, far worse than any minor distaste you might feel at our actions."

Jim wrote: "Apparently I have misunderstood why they are burning books. I certainly didn't get this from the web site, but David Hutchinson wrote me back the following:

"I'd love to know which blogs. I'm sor..."

oh

But from even what he wrote on his website it was not made clear and what was said was that they want to put new stock so anything not sold including new books will be burnt

" this from his website

"we started selling off our overstock for $5.00 or less per book. Saturday we’re open from 10am – 6pm and the overstock stacks will be out front under our tent and inside the store in every nook we can find. Plus all our regular inventory will still be 30% off including new, used and rare books along with chocolate, fudge, ugly dolls and stationary. "

nothing was said about only getting rid of old and unreadable books

So maybe he is now trying to quell the dislike and put positive spin on it now that the event has occured and he has the attention.

He may have only burnt o few-I did say in an earlier post that its publicity stunt and he even said (re burning book) can't see what the future holds but

" Great Book Burning Sale began is whether or not The Book Tavern is really going to burn books? le the future is the future precisely because we can’t be as certain of what will happen as we are about what’s happening right this moment, I fully intend to burn books in front of our store"

Yeah, that's pretty much what I said in my reply to David - "Oh? Really? I didn't see that on your web site."

So, I still think it was a publicity stunt in bad taste. I thought it was interesting how poorly it was communicated. For some reason, I expect better from a book store...

What rights can an inanimate object have? I guess I could watch the video, but it doesn't seem worthwhile. If anyone else bothers, let us know what you find out.

Wow guys...I just read this entire post and this whole thing seems really crazy! I'm still a little bit confused as to what actually happened...I understand that the owners of the bookstore threatened to burn books that didn't sell in thier big sale...is that correct? Then they actually did burn some older titles? Is that correct? Then they admitted that the whole thing was a publicity stunt(in rather bad taste) to get attention on their store? Is that correct? So what is all the talk of rights? That the bookstore has the right to do whatever they want with their books? Or am I missing something? I did read that people suggested donations and that the bookstore does do thousands of donations etc...I'm just trying to figure this all out....thanks!!!

Ok...I went back to post 24 and went to the website and read all the stuff there. Looks like publicity is what they wanted and what they got. Quite strange....I wonder how much they did sell before Jan 9th and how many they actually burned.

Shelli

the store after the event said he was trying to higlight the way people neglect books

Thing is when he mentioned the burning of books on said date he said he was making room for new stck and nothing about trying to get attention for neglected books

Afsana wrote: "Shelli

the store after the event said he was trying to higlight the way people neglect books

Thing is when he mentioned the burning of books on said date he said he was making room for new s..."

Yeah....the whole deal was kind of strange and questionable and the idea of burning books is just a bad one...period.

Okay I came in on the tail end of this one but I have to say that burning books, whatever his motivations, lands in the same catagory as burning the flag - its protected freedom of speech. Basically when Americans were given this basic right by the constitution they were given the right to piss off someone somewhere with any given word or action. But it also gives everyone the right to protest anything they find offensive. If you have an issue with this man's actions, don't support him (or his actions) in any way.

Burning the flag isn't that big of an insult to me. Especially as that's the way you're supposed to dispose of it.

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Head on over to the Webby site and cast your vote for Goodreads! Voting ends on April 29, so hurry!

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I have to say after a few weeks of checking out the goodreads boards, this is by far the friendliest. Wouldn't you know you are in the UK and I am in Denver, CO! I think it is wonderful to read posts from Sydney, Australia, UK, and USA all sharing their passions for books. Also, I find it interesting how many members there are and yet so few post comments.

ms.petra wrote: "I have to say after a few weeks of checking out the goodreads boards, this is by far the friendliest. Wouldn't you know you are in the UK and I am in Denver, CO! I think it is wonderful to read po..."

You have to also think that some people are members of quite a fe groups so maybe don't always have a chance to come on or waiting on a particulr subject

Afsana wrote: "ms.petra wrote: "I have to say after a few weeks of checking out the goodreads boards, this is by far the friendliest. Wouldn't you know you are in the UK and I am in Denver, CO! I think it is won..."

Excellent point Afsana....
Also depending on hat books you are Currently reading which group you will chat more in...

have my moments

thanks...I guess I hadn't thought of that. But you all are still really nice!

Afsana wrote: "have my moments"

Always knew you did....

Jo wrote: "DJ wrote: "Afsana wrote: "ms.petra wrote: "I have to say after a few weeks of checking out the goodreads boards, this is by far the friendliest. Wouldn't you know you are in the UK and I am in De..."

LOL and equally surprising the ones that do not stop...I name myself here so that everybody knows this comment is based mostly in jest....

Jo wrote: "Lol i like the ones that don't stop talking :)"

Gawds you must love me then!
LOL!!!

Jo wrote: "Of course :)"

Aw shucks....Better send you some Annadin Extra so that you can keep coping....LOL!

not only nice, but entertaining :)

ms.petra wrote: "not only nice, but entertaining :)"

We aim to please...
Glad you enjoy our banter.