Really? REALLY? I mean, REALLY?
Ok, so some of you know about the whole Barnes and Noble 'thing' that I've been a little, um, irritated about (until recently, at any rate), but today I heard this little tidbit about Borders, and really...
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?
I mean...seriously, check this out:
"For any author, getting a book sold at a major chain is an important way to attract new readers and move copies. But it's especially important to scifi writers, who often get little exposure in book review sections. Now Borders, one of the two major bookstore chains in the U.S., has stopped stocking many new scifi titles, closing their shelves to some honored authors in the process. What's the damage, and can something be done?"
From: http://io9.com/5065839/should-sf-writers-boycott-borders.
The article under the first link is interesting, if biased, as well.
For my defense, I borrow from a friend:
"The mere thought that science fiction could be dead injures such a vital part of me that I will not let it go without a fight. Science fiction calls to writers like no other genre. We write not because we feel inclined to do so, but because we have to. Burdened with the task of looking into the mirror and recording what we see, science fiction writers deliver a unique, and brutally honest, critique of the human condition. We expose our darkest fears and our deepest wishes; wishes for a world that can make us feel insignificant at times.
Science fiction gives sustenance to our imaginations. It provides refuge for those who feel like strangers in this strange land, and it lets us peek into our future, empowering us to change it, if need be.
I shudder to think of a world without science fiction."
-PJ Haarsma
Yup, pretty much.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?
I mean...seriously, check this out:
"For any author, getting a book sold at a major chain is an important way to attract new readers and move copies. But it's especially important to scifi writers, who often get little exposure in book review sections. Now Borders, one of the two major bookstore chains in the U.S., has stopped stocking many new scifi titles, closing their shelves to some honored authors in the process. What's the damage, and can something be done?"
From: http://io9.com/5065839/should-sf-writers-boycott-borders.
The article under the first link is interesting, if biased, as well.
For my defense, I borrow from a friend:
"The mere thought that science fiction could be dead injures such a vital part of me that I will not let it go without a fight. Science fiction calls to writers like no other genre. We write not because we feel inclined to do so, but because we have to. Burdened with the task of looking into the mirror and recording what we see, science fiction writers deliver a unique, and brutally honest, critique of the human condition. We expose our darkest fears and our deepest wishes; wishes for a world that can make us feel insignificant at times.
Science fiction gives sustenance to our imaginations. It provides refuge for those who feel like strangers in this strange land, and it lets us peek into our future, empowering us to change it, if need be.
I shudder to think of a world without science fiction."
-PJ Haarsma
Yup, pretty much.