Wow. Just WOW.

A Boston area independent bookstore employee got quite the reaction out of the internets yesterday when he published this condescending, self-important piece: A Bookseller's Elegy.

Douglas Koziol apparently has taken exception with the popularity of the New York Times bestseller Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance. A partial description of the book from the back cover:

From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a probing look at the struggles of America's white working class through the author's own story of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town.

Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis - that of poor, white Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for over forty years, has been reported with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. In Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hanging around your neck.

The book has received rave reviews from a multitude of publications including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Economist, New York Post, Christianity Today, Washington Post, Toronto Globe and Mail, plus the Institute of Family Studies.

Koziol apparently doesn't agree, which has created a bit of a personal and moral dilemma for him, which he summed up as:

What can you do when a customer wants a book that you not only find objectionable but also believe actually dangerous in the lessons it portends amidst such a politically precarious time?

Oh, I don't know. Ring up his purchases and politely wish him a good day? Because you are not the bookseller, you are a clerk. The store's owners are the booksellers and they have chosen to carry this book. It isn't your call.

A lot of people took exception not only with Koziol's desire to lecture his customers about their taste in reading, but with the condescending, hectoring tone of the piece. Here are a few samples:

But when it comes to the above conversation concerning J.D. Vance's bestselling memoir, there is something a bit more personal at stake, viz, my moral objection to the book that has become, for conservative and liberals alike, a means of understanding the rise of "Trumpism." And while it's easy enough to take this moral high ground, it comes into direct conflict with that old chestnut about the customer always being right, to which even the most fiercely independent of bookstore largely adhere. 

Even now, I fear that I'm slipping into a haughty and unproductive tone - that of an ideologically perfect soul who can't seem to break through to the rubes. 

You're not slipping into it, you're already there.

I can hide the stacks of Hillbilly Elegy in the back (if my boss is reading this, I'm just kidding). But I suspect that the most fundamental thing I can do is also perhaps the most trite: I can try to start conversation.

Yes, just what the "rubes" want from their local bookstore - a "conversation" about how awful they are, but luckily Douglas Koziol is here to enlighten them. Also, I hope his boss did read this and fires him, because he just cost their bookstore some business. Again, it's not the cashier's call on whether a book should be stocked and sold - it's the owner's. This is an hourly job for Koziol. For the bookstore's owners, it's their livelihood, and he just stuck a dagger in it by trash talking customers. Remember Borders?

Here comes the final zinger (bold mine):

Listening to what made the person gravitate towards the book in the first place, listening while withholding judgment, listening as if I don't know all the answers.

How fortunate we rubes are to have Koziol willing to debase his all-knowing self to help us see the light.

And let's also look at the most obvious fallout: this guy has just driven more customers away from bookstores and toward Amazon. In fact, you know what I did after reading his diatribe against a book I hadn't previously heard of? I went to Amazon and bought it. Vance should pay Koziol commissions. In fact, the article may have something to do with this:

And just a friendly reminder that Hillbilly Elegy isn't a work of fiction. Vance lived it. Koziol apparently would like to see him silenced. How tolerant and open-minded of him. I don't know how he finds to time to work in a bookstore, seeing how busy he is being such a saint.

Of course, this being the internet, the responses were the best part.

RIP Surfas (for now)

Surfas - or as one Yelper described it, Disneyland for foodies - has closed their California stores. The Orange County store is closed for good, but they are planning on reopening the Culver City store somewhere, at some point, and I'm hoping they're able stay in the area. But now, the wrecking ball has come for Surfas, whose location right across the street from the Culver City Expo Line Station proved too tempting for developers.

From their website:

The 80th Anniversary year of 2017 has been a year of unexpected events for Surfas. Coming into 2017 we had no plans for changes to our stores in California but we knew changes would be coming in 2018. Surfas sold the 8777 Washington Boulevard, Culver City store location a couple of years ago and anticipated vacating the property in 2018.

*****

Shortly after the decision to close Surfas Costa Mesa our store location in Culver City was sold to Clarion Partners. The corner will become the location of HBO Headquarters with demolition of the building this Summer.

*****

We are NOT giving this up! So...ninety days ago we began searching for a new Surfas LA location. We have negotiated multiple agreements but none have been finalized. Please know that we are as frustrated as you have told us you are to find ourselves in this position. But we are still aggressively searching because we know that we will find a location that is the right fit for us and for our customers.

*****

Today, the Culver City Surfas store and cafe are closed and the wrecking crew is ready to roll...


So sad. I found some really cool stuff there and the location was really convenient. Really hope they come back soon and nearby.

I'm not a tattoo person, but some of these are really cool

52 tattoos inspired by books.

Some of my personal favorites:

To Kill a Mockingbird

Poirot!

Where The Red Fern Grows. I remember this being read to us in elementary school.
We cried at the end.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Fahrenheit 451

Totally insane tat for Lord of the Flies

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Hitchhiker's Guide again

Kafka's The Metamorphosis

Be sure to scroll down to the comments, a lot of pics being posted there.
This one is for The Silence of the Lambs.

H/T to Midnight Ink on FB for the link.

Product placement done right

One of the most annoying things that can happen when watching TV or a movie is product placement that sticks out like a sore thumb and distracts from the story. It's a real pet peeve for me.

This, on the other hand, is a beautiful example of how to do it right: Breaking Brand: Cinnabon Sees $1 Million in Media Value From "Better Call Saul" Placement.

From the article:

As AMC's "Better Call Saul" opened for the first time, the camera panned in on Gene, a character played by Bob Odenkirk, whose nametag, apron and regalia indicate that he's the manager of a Cinnabon.

Set in black and white, the scene followed Gene as he makes the company's famous cinnamon rolls step by step. For many, the scene was a peek into the new life of Saul Goodman, a beloved character from "Breaking Bad" forced to change his identity. For Cinnabon, it was two minutes of uninterrupted TV time in front of millions, a boon for its marketing department.

*****

Cinnabon's brand name was the first thing the show's 6.9 million viewers saw during the show's premier. How did the company get here? Quite organically, as Jill Thomas, vice president of marketing at Cinnabon, tells it.

I think the key word here is "organically".

When Saul Goodman had to leave Albuquerque for parts unknown, he told Walter White he'd be lucky to end up as a Cinnabon manager in Omaha, Nebraska. He didn't seem thrilled with the prospect. But instead of taking offense, Cinnabon treated it as an opportunity. They tweeted a job application to Bob Odenkirk, who played Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad and Saul's predecessor Jimmy McGill on Better Call Saul. Brilliant, just brilliant. And it didn't cost them a cent.

When the morally flexible lawyer was spun off to his own show and the producers approached Cinnabon to be part of the his post-Breaking Bad future, the company not only agreed, but put Odenkirk through Cinnabon training for the opening scene mentioned above. Odenkirk has told the story on various talk shows, providing even more publicity. Again, no money changed hands, but everybody wins.

Do take the time to read the whole article. With so many companies crashing and burning on social media and in the public eye, it's kind of amazing to see a company do it right.

H/T to Better Call Saul Fun Facts on Facebook.

I don't know how you miss this

Woman had 27 contact lenses in one eye.

I'm extremely near-sighted and have worn contacts since my teens. Even if it was only a couple, or several, I don't know how you don't realize you have multiple lenses in. But TWENTY-SEVEN???

The mind, it boggles.

Brilliant advice for screenwriters: Think like a producer

Sometimes the most obvious, most common sense advice is the hardest to grasp. For screenwriters, here is some of the best - and simplest - advice: Think like a producer. From the linked article:

Elements that will get the picture funded are: Cast, Genre and Budget. When these three items are aligned, your screenplay will have a better chance of getting made. Let's take a look at each of these from a producer's perspective.

So simple, and yet so very important. As writers, sometimes it's hard to remember that we also have to look at our work from the perspective of producers, editors and publishers. We get so wrapped up in how important the story is, we sometimes assume it will have the same effect on everyone else. But like everyone else, people in the position to usher our work into the public eye have their own issues to consider.

When you see your name on Amazon

The novelty still hasn't worn off.

Also, I made it through my first three author appearances without a train wreck. Good times.

End of a writing era - The Writers Store is closing

Sad news - The Writers Store in Burbank is closing its doors this month.

Good news - it will still be around online.

Very sad to hear this, but not surprised in this era where so many of us make so many of our purchases online.

According to their website, you have until July 17 to drop in and score some heavily discounted products.

Cool video of the day: Woman saves drowning osprey

She just saved a drowning osprey, and boy are her arms tired. Seriously, I love how the bird just sat there and eyed her, like he was trying to process what had just happened.

When what you need to make your day complete is a horse blowing bubbles

I love this horse. I love his goofy face, but most of all I love watching him blow bubbles. And he seems to enjoy it too.

Fire in the sky

We got our usual great fireworks last night to wrap up the truly insane celebrations at my apartment complex. New Year's around here is a snoozefest compared to the 4th of July. It is the big holiday here.

You could see the moon in the background, which was really cool. I don't know if you can see it in the videos, but when I was watching the fireworks, there was this weird optical illusion where it looked like the moon was trying to move away.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Independence Day!

Happy Birthday, America!!!

Or, as it's also known in my household, Happy Twilight Zone marathon on Sy-Fy day!

Everyone have a great holiday!

Note: Pics and vids snicked from various parts of the internet. If one is yours, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.