Placement of Political Books in Bookstore

[GiovanniC]

All right, this has been bugging me since a little before Christmas. I usually do my book-shopping at a small local chain of bookstores. But I've been noticing something about product placement that's concerned me a little bit.

In the front of the store there is the Michael Moore book "Dude Where's My Country?" Next to it is Bill O'Lielly's book, "Who's Looking Out for -- SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Equal time, right? I can dig that.

In the political science section there are the usual suspects... Krugman, Coulter, Conason, Hannity, Carville, etc. Al Franken was there as well. General Wesley Clark's book, "Winning Modern Wars", was not there, although it may have been sold out. They only keep one or two books like that on the shelf at any given time because, let's face it, political nerds such as ourselves are in the minority. But although they have books from both the left and the right, it seems as though the books from the right wing are MUCH more prominently displayed. They'll face Coulter, Hannity, and Ingraham so their covers are displayed, while Carville, Franken, etc. have only the spine of the book visible. WTF?

Another interesting omission was Alan Colmes's book, "Red, White, and Whatever You Say, Hannity". I found that book later, however... under "HUMOR". "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" wasn't in humor. "Dude Where's My Country?" wasn't in humor. But Alan Colmes's book is humor. WTF?

I think I remember hearing that B&N and Borders were just as bad. What's the deal?

[wtmusic]

1. I ALWAYS cover up Michael Savage's new book

with a Liberal Choice for the Day...Suskind's book fits right over it!! :-)

[Caution]

2. because the idea that Colmes has any political credibility

at all is laughable. I think it is dead on to put him in humor.

[GiovanniC]

4. Yeah, But...

He was like, the only political book in Humor. And there were a couple of them, so it wasn't like some customer had put it down there.

Also, you're approaching 1000 posts... brace yourself.

[mobuto]

3. Tee hee

Its exactly the opposite at my local bookstore in DC.

I'm amazed that even 10% of the books are the standard O'Reilly/Coulter/Schlaffly etc. crap, since I doubt a registered Republican has ever once entered the store.

[liberalhistorian]

5. I don't know about ALL Borders

and Barnes and Noble stores, but the ones near me are just as bad, they prominently display all the repuke vomit burgers, and go out of their way to make any Dem/liberal books unnoticeable or hard to find.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

6. good stuff

especially like the "Red, White, and Whatever You Say, Hannity" and the ""Who's Looking Out for -- SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!"

good stuff man, keep it up! oh, and, umm, i don't know why bookstores do that. maybe it's because RW'ers aren't the most literate so they need the picture on the cover to tell them who wrote the book - thus the bookstores face those covers out. just a guess.

[twistedliberal]

7. It's not always the people who work there who arrange the books...

I spent most of my xmas shopping time doing a little rearranging, like flipping Coulter's books over or putting them behind Franken's or Molly Ivins'. In fact, any time I'm in a bookstore I do this as long as no one who sees me will really care. It's a little obsession I have. I can't shop if I can see Hannity's or Coulter's smirking, smug faces.

So, there's a chance that maybe some neo-cons are doing the same thing and trying to hide the librul books. But even here in conservative North Dakota, I feel that the bookstores seem to be pretty fair in their display. (I just try to give our side the edge any chance I get).

[GiovanniC]

9. I Don't Know

In this case, it didn't APPEAR to have been customers who did it... usually you can tell when that's going on. They're arranged in alphabetical order by author's name, so if there's a big space dedicated to Ann "Is-That-An-Adam's-Apple-Or-Are-You-Just-Happy-To-See-Me" Coulter, but nothing for, say, Al Franken, then I tend to think that the store did it.

[LeahMira]

8. What's to stop you...

But although they have books from both the left and the right, it seems as though the books from the right wing are MUCH more prominently displayed. They'll face Coulter, Hannity, and Ingraham so their covers are displayed, while Carville, Franken, etc. have only the spine of the book visible.


Can't you quietly do a little creative "straightening up" of the bookshelves for them?

Shhh! I have been known to do that favor for Borders. Don't tell, though. I have also been known to insert flyers in library books. We managed to reunite a birthmother with the child she relinquished that way... she had never known who to ask for help. Damn. Get with it, Giovanni. Go ye forward!

[GiovanniC]

10. Hehe... Their Poly-Sci Section

Is right next to the cashier. Another reason I doubt random Freepers rearranged the shelves in the first place. It would be hard to get away with any kind of MAJOR rearrangement... although the occasional, subtle Franken-over-the-top-of-O'Reilly maneuver I could probably get away with.