Thursday, February 16, 2012

Boooo, Bookworks Alburquerque. Boooooooo.

‎,"You stand by not hosting this hero, really? Which reason of the many you've given should I tell my friends and family is the most accurate, would you say?" """"The logo also appears on a 7.62mm M40 sniper rifle carried by a Marine in another photograph distributed Thursday by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Information embedded electronically with the image shows that it was released...See More
www.airforcetimes.com
Marine Corps scout snipers used the logo of the notorious Nazi SS organization while in Afghanistan in 2010, the service acknowledged Thursday.
· · · 5 minutes ago ·

I’m a retired USAF colonel who often travels to Albuquerque to visit family and have been to your store several times. I understand you’re not allowing the author of “No Snowflake in an Avalanche, “ Mikey Weinstein, to hold a book signing ceremony at your store. After reading your declination letter, please realize that I will no longer patronize your establishment and will suggest to everyone I know in the community to take their business elsewhere.
· · 54 minutes ago ·

  • You and Paul Guy like this.
    • Bookworks Albuquerque Hi Ken, thanks for your comment. While the factors I cited in my letter to Mr. Weinstein's publisher were accurate, ultimately, the decision not to host Mikey at our store was actually based on two things: past sales of his book at our store (we sold zero copies of his previous book), and the fact that he had just had an event for his book at Page One in Albuquerque. We receive many more requests for events than we can accommodate, unfortunately. We're sorry we couldn't host Mr. Weinstein. We do regret that Mr. Weinstein, and his publisher, have apparently taken our decision personally, and are using it to draw attention to his book and their cause in an inappropriate and frankly unfortunate way. Contrary to what Mr. Weinstein said on his website, his book is not "banned" in Albuquerque, or at our store, as we plan to stock his book for purchase. We simply cannot accommodate an event for him, at thist time. But thanks for posting!
      40 minutes ago ·
    • Ken Lynn Then that's what you should've said in your declination letter. My position remains unchanged.
      29 minutes ago · · 1
    • Bookworks Albuquerque I understand, and I agree, we should have said that and been less oblique. However, we have found through past experience that authors sometimes get their feelings hurt when we say that we just don't think there's sufficient interest in their book to warrant an event, or that they should have come to us first, before booking an event with another store (because at that point, it's too late and nothing can be done). I stand by everything that was said in the letter. However, ultimately we have to do what is best financially for Bookworks, so that we can stay in business to serve Albuquerque's customers for another 28 years. Thanks for taking the time to share your opinions, as I really appreciate hearing them (and I am not just saying that).
      20 minutes ago ·
    • Soup McGee ‎:-/ "Hi Julia,

      Our store owners and I discussed this at length, and based on what we know about our customer base and the political climate of Albuquerque at the moment, we don't feel that this event is a good fit for our store. We are trying to be conscious, in this election year, that tensions are running high between people with very disparate religious and social beliefs."---- right? BOOOOOOOO! BOOOOOOOO!
      20 minutes ago ·
    • Soup McGee so, which is it?----"ultimately, the decision not to host Mikey at our store was actually based on two things: past sales of his book at our store (we sold zero copies of his previous book), and the fact that he had just had an event for his book at Page One in Albuquerque. We receive many more requests for events than we can accommodate, unfortunately." or "We are trying to be conscious, in this election year, that tensions are running high between people with very disparate religious and social beliefs. We strive to serve customers of all belief systems, backgrounds, and ideologies and try to never consciously marginalize anyone, of any philosophy, who might walk into our store at any given moment. We are located in a city with an Air Force base and we do count many active-duty military personnel among our best customers, and we have to be cognizant of that. We also work with Albuquerque's evangelical community at times on book events, and have many customers who are members of Albuquerque's evangelical churches. While we do not specifically cater to that clientele, we cannot afford and do not want to alienate them either." BOOOOO. Thanks for your service, Ken.
      17 minutes ago · · 1
    • Bookworks Albuquerque Hi Soup (great name, by the way) - yes, that is true, and as I said, we stand by it. We try to always be sensitive to people's ideologies, no matter what they are, as we want our store to be welcoming for all people. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
      17 minutes ago ·

3 comments:

  1. Bookworks Albuquerque Hi Soup, we really appreciate your interest in this issue. However, we've said what we're going to say about this in the post below, and if you have further questions or concerns, you can feel free to email events@bkwrks.com. Thanks!
    59 seconds ago · Unlike · 1

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  2. Is he wrong? Wowser, and I've worked at a bookstore--they come in to RAISE the sales numbers-We hosted Jerry Brown even though his book, Dialogues, had sold zero copies in our store--sold six the next week...you could have handsold the book if you were worth your ink...--

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  3. Bookworks Albuquerque Hi Soup, Bookworks has scheduled an event with Mr. Weinstein for Thursday, April 5th at 7pm. We appreciate the time you have taken to let us know your thoughts on this matter and we realize that we have made a mistake, this has definately been an education. Please email me at danielle@bkwrks.com if you have any further thoughts or questions, or post here. Thank you, Danielle Foster

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