A Wellington bookshop for book-burners

August 6th, 2014

A significant part of Wellington's literary set have a poisonous consensus against views they do not favour. In effect they define their tribe by what it agrees to hate. What they hate is drearily predictable, including road improvements (particularly fly-overs), Israel, and any challengers to their clerical view of what is 'appropriate' and 'inappropriate'.Thomas Sowell refers to this class as the anointed. Their world is divided into the righteous and the unrighteous.

Our Prime MInister is among the un-righteous, obviously. Making a fortune is irredeemable, especially out of investment banking, then being overwhelminly popular with voters who have to attract voluntary customers for a living.

Accordingly Unity book-shop has attempted to minimise its sales of John Roughan's biography of John Key. Since it was published it has been on the floor behind other stands whenever I or a friend has checked. Much of the time it was face down.

I tackled a person who appeared to be an owner or manager. He said it was his staff who put it there, and he couldn't stop them from doing it. Each time he tried to turn it face side up or give it more prominence they would return it to where people would have to ask for it expressly.

For years I've deliberately restricted my book-buying on Kindle and Amazon, to do my bit to maintain enough local demand to save our book-shops.

In future Unity will see my custom only when there is no alternative.

Filed under Arts, Commentary

Comments

Coincidentally, it was Thomas Sowell who convinced me to stop buying books at Unity – or at least the disapproving frown of the woman behind the counter when I asked whether they stocked any of his books.

Well said! I used to visit Unity bookshop when I was in Wellington and then I noticed there was a section labelled ‘George Bush and his Cronies’. Last time I went in there was no section labelled ‘Barack Obama and his Cronies’. You could almost cut the smugness in the air it was so thick. No I go to Busybee they are nice people with all sorts of books for sale and no smugness at all.

thats disappointing, but now i dont feel guilty at all about only going in there to kill time before meetings and to see what books to buy on my kindle.

As a business owner myself, it never ceases to amaze me that some business owners would seek to alienate potential customers over something so pointless as politics. if i ran a bookstore i would sell as many barack obama and helen clark books as i could, and no customer would ever know that the profit would be used to laugh at their ideology.

Well said Allan-while they have right to sell what they want it tells you everything about an owner whose staff can decide what books to restrict.

[…] P.S. the book was launched at Unity Books – that might explain why Stephen Franks calls it a bookshop for book burners: […]

You’re a real deep thkiner. Thanks for sharing.

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