... I have been keeping an eye out around town for Mark Levin's book, Liberty and Tyranny. It has been on the best seller's list for 3 weeks (non fiction, Amazon, NY Times, etc) but it has not appeared in my little corner of Alberta yet. Tonight I decided to ask the book store clerk about it, and I could not believe the answer I got... I didn't know if I should laugh or scream.
She said "No, we don't carry that because it is about American politics, isn't it?".
Normally I am not confrontational, I avoid it like the plague. If someone says something to my face that I don't agree with, I usually wimp out and keep my mouth shut. But I couldn't keep the trap shut tonight - I laughed in shock and said "Are you kidding me? You have ELEVEN books about Barack Obama over there, not to mention one about/by Hillary Clinton and even Joe Biden (Joe who?)". She still looked at me like SHE was perplexed, and I said "those are about American politics, are they not?"....
.... and she actually had to stop to think about that for a few minutes......
.... and finally answered "Oh yes, they are, but I imagine they are more popular". I casually informed her that Liberty and Tyranny has been the NUMBER ONE best seller since it came out and she could only mumble and stumble an 'oh' in response. She then told me that I can only order it online and would have to pay for the shipping myself, not through their regular order system where you can pick the book up at the store for free. Perhaps this is an actual problem with the publishing company, who knows. But I found the actual conversation to be totally unbelievable. Right in front of her was a stand showcasing THREE Obama books along with Her Way (H Clinton), but I was told that they won't be carrying the Levin book because it's about American politics. Hmm I wonder what the point is of their World History, World Travel, and *gasp* World Politics sections, now that I think about it....
Anyhooo, I found the whole thing both hysterically funny and sadly moronic. If you can manage to get hold of the book, go for it. I will be waiting to order the Audio Book online I think. All of this running around has exhausted me too much, I can't even turn a page even if I had the book in my grasp (which of course, I don't, because Canada doesn't carry books about Americans).
I'm not sure if this will change soon, but currently Levin's book is still #1 on the Non-Fiction Best Seller chart at amazon.com and the top non-fiction hardcover on the NY Times list (even ahead of Michael J Fox's esteemed book), #2 at Publisher's Weekly ... and then yet here we are up in Canada with The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama still listed as the #1 Non-Fiction Best Seller at RandomHouse.ca.... and Dreams of My Father still in the top listings ---no wonder so many up here are clueless as to what is really going on south of the border.
But the 'audacity' of the book store clerk to tell a customer they won't be carrying a #1 Best Seller because it's 'about American politics' while standing less than 2 feet away from a book by/about the American president really takes the cake. I have no idea if people actually THINK with their brains, or if they just reherse drivel spewn by someone else without taking even 2 seconds to form a thought around those words. I was actually quite embarrassed for the woman, she has worked there for at least 20 years I am sure, and not learned anything the entire time.
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