Al Franken's book and my local Barnes & Noble (get my tin foil hat!)

Walked in my local (Cincinnati) B&N today, and Al's book was nowhere to be found. Not in New Books, Best Sellers - not even in Humor, which is where a clerk went first to help me find a copy.

She went in back, came back with an armful of copies and handed one to me. "Just out of the box," she said. Glad I got my copy, but I have questions:

1. What was the exact date Al's book was supposed to hit bookshelves? Was it last Tuesday or yesterday?

2. Did the Fox News lawsuit cause booksellers to hold onto their copies until the suit was dropped?

3. And am I being paranoid about all this because I live in Bass-Ackwards Right-Wingnut Conservative-Central Cincinnati?

Massive right-wing conspiracy or no, I'm so happy to finally get my greedy hands on the book. Yay!

So wouldn't it have had to have been released before then? (Or maybe not because people can order it in advance, I guess.)

...so I assume they count pre-orders in their numbers.

Ann Coulter was #1 for a bit right before Treason came out.

I was B&N Saturday asking for the book, and had a wonderfully informative manager type woman tell me that, becuase of the lawsuit, all bookstores had to hold on to their books. She said that the books would ship Sunday night or Monday morning, and maybe hit the stores late Monday or Tuesday.

I asked, "Will they definitely have the proper title"? And she assured me that yes, they will.

I don't when the lawsuit was decided or anything - just found out today it was thrown out, but thatmight have happened Friday for all I'm aware of what's going on in the world.

That was in Cleveland. B&N is playing games.

I assumed the woman knew what she was talking about.

or else the NYC ones, being down the street from FOX, were worried about lawsuits if they had the books there...

Who knows?

I know some people here on DU were talking about last week having read it, too.

:shrug:

til next month. No conspiracy, they're just clueless.

1. What was the exact date Al's book was supposed to hit bookshelves? Was it last Tuesday or yesterday?

A. Actually it was September 12.

2. Did the Fox News lawsuit cause booksellers to hold onto their copies until the suit was dropped?

A. No. The lawsuit and its attendant publicity actually moved the release date up, which caught B&N and other booksellers unprepared. Scrambled to ship them out Friday, which meant some did not get to the stores until yesterday or today.

3. And am I being paranoid about all this because I live in Bass-Ackwards Right-Wingnut Conservative-Central Cincinnati?

A. Maybe. But just cause you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't really out to get you... :D


Note: B&N discounts best-sellers by 30%. Wait for the book to be displayed on the Best Seller shelf with a sticker on it. Otherwise, the book should be on a display table or in Current Affairs.

I paid the full $24.95 for it. D'oh.

But I got the first one outta the box! It's worth it, dammit!! :D

bought my copy at local B&N on Monday.

It was 30% off.
Book was out front & center on first table in the store
by main entry.

Sorry, and thanks for setting the record straight

Any bookseller who doesn't open the boxes on a book that's already #1 at Amazon is certifiable. In fact, they have night-before parties for Harry Potter because they're not allowed to open the boxes until midnight. So, if they had had it out last Thursday, they would have been in serious trouble. But there's no reason in h*ll those boxes shouldn't have been opened first thing Friday morning.

BTW, B&N.com shipped mine on Friday and I had it on Saturday. So, online B&N was no problem. Your store manager may be to blame.

Book Stop (owned by B&N) didn't have em here. Borders down the road did have them in a big display right inside the front door. 30% off cover price. This was last week!

B&N and Book Stop dropped the ball on this one.

on Mockingbird Lane. They're owned by B&N, so draw your own conclusions.

Paid full price, too. Worth every penny!

Even if you have to pay the full cover price, the authors typically get their royalties cut in half from sales made by the big chain stores. Plus when you shop at the local mom & pop shops, you're getting better service b/c you're usually taking to the owner or manager, you're supporting your local economy, - and most likely supporting somebody who deserves your support.

My local bookstore, the Ninth Street Bookstore in Wilmington DE, has a frequent buyer club. After you buy like 5 books you get 10% of the value of those 5 books off your next book. I pretty much got "Reefer Madness" by Eric Schlosser for free!