Oh, I’m sure. The other indie publisher I know best/work with the most doesn’t sell to Amazon at all; if any of their titles show up there, it’s through the occasional third party reseller, or nothing. We do the same.

Bullshit.

THANK YOU.

All that to say, while I have a negative view of B&N, it has nothing to do with the people working there (well, not as a group, some individuals though...) It’s more that the corporate mandates for how the stores are planned end up making the stores feel cold and impersonal.

They look alike and are equally insufferable, so that’s understandable!

Ha! I missed that from your post, but thank you for the belated laugh.

Was going to post this if you hadn’t! Perfection.

Exactly.

As a longtime member of the book world (and now a publisher as well), I’m more than aware of that.

It’s not a question of whether or not a store is busy whenever you randomly happen to visit (also, 4PM on a Tuesday is after school for most kids, so bear that in mind). It’s a question of how poorly the business is doing overall, and how badly it’s run.

undoubtedly based on the encroaching success of Barnes & Noble stores across the country.

That would’ve been a great idea! Of course, it didn’t happen, because B&N in reality only makes completely backwards, nonsensical business decisions, so I guess in that sense, ignoring such a potentially good other option makes You’ve Got Mail pretty true to life!

I can see both sides of this. That is, I am fiercely loyal to indies and mom & pop shops, but I’m aware of how many thousands of them B&N killed off during their grossest years of over-expansion. I know there must be tons of towns and cities now where there is literally no other physical book buying option left BUT a…

Baww, I love that he has Jez fans! I will tell him, “Buddy, people on the internet like you!” and he’ll just stare at me with those big, crazy eyes, then go tearing down the hallway, probably.

I totally get it!

Haha, I love that he has fans here! I won’t tell him, though, he’ll get too much of an ego.

Haha, me too, they look so mischievous.

Aww, even better, the less loved kitties! That’s so great. Older, FIV+ and ailing kitties deserve all the love, too. Major kudos to you for helping them find good homes. I’m so happy to hear that.

Yep. Explained further in my other comment, but it was my basketball coach who did this shit to me. (That said, he also coached football. He did both incredibly badly. Our best games were when we basically ignored his calls as a unit, which I always found deeply ironic.)

Forcing a player to run until his body collapses, and then forcing him to continue running after that point, serves no legitimate conditioning purpose. It is cruel and dangerous macho posturing, a dominance ritual.