That letter isn't writing; it's typing.

Let me get this straight. A Borders store owned a bunch of Curious George Puzzle Books or something. Assuming they were not from China and not made with lead they decided for whatever their own reason they did not want them and threw them out and now Borders is supposed to feel as guilty as I was supposed to feel when I did not eat all my brussle sprouts and there were/are "poor starving children in Ethiopia." Oh wait, they poured laundry detergent on them so dumpster diving kids can't read then too? MY God!!! Ray Bradbury is spinning in his grave right now!! Its all starting!!!! Next people are going to go insane a start burning AL Gores books and the government by George Bush's Authoritarian hand is going to create the Federal Department of Allowable Reading.

Is this really an issue nowadays when kids read their computers or cell phones and not books. Its not like these devices are for the 'elite' anymore and the poorest of kids do not have access to them. Elite people, to me nowadays, sit around at Starbucks and read books written by people like Jack Kerouac and expect some high school kid with a summer job to know everthing about American and world literature. Let it go dude. This is America where we have choices go to Half Price Books or something.

The only thing Ginger Allen exposed the other night is her stupidity and apparent unwillingness to do even the smallest amount of research before running a story. It is common practice for retailers to strip the cover from a book and discard it or to destroy it in some other way if it cannot be sold within a reasonable time, or at an acceptable price. This is how retailers receive a refund for unsold product. Due to myriad factors such as the inherent weight of books (thus, very expensive return shipping costs), that they become damaged from wear as shoppers handle them (making them, essentially, unsellable once returned), etc. this is the agreed upon method of performing a return for credit. Borders--or any other retailer for that matter--could, in fact, donate the books if they wanted...but they would not receive any refund from the distributor or publisher for those items.

Amazon is the way to go. I have no nostalgia about big chain book retailers, no good feelings associated with shopping at them or browsing their books. They are a blight. Is parking not a hassle? Are the other shoppers not fat, soulless, glassy-eyed zombies that make you dispise the human race and hope that you get out of there without catching the latest newfangled pandemic? Do they not assault your senses with garish advertising displays all over the store? Is the store not intentionally arranged to cause you to become disoriented and wander around aimlessly so that you might stumble into an impulse purchase? Do they not pipe in some extremely annoying form of music? Is it not a significant use of time and gasoline just to go there? And as Mr. Bucks so vividly point out, the staff is far worse than useless. I will go out of my way to support a locally owned book store, but the local outpost of some ugly chain like B&N should be avoided at all costs.

Way to go James. It seems you've been sleeping for too long. A bit of hell raising from time to time does a body good. btw - you still working at the Black Forest Cafe in Half Priced Books?

These teens probably make minimum wage, which pays for their running the register and stacking things real pretty - not keeping up on whether or not Kerouac is trendy again this year. And if you ask for books "about" an author, you could mean biography or scholarship.

And ditto on JSP's comment. They do the same thing with magazines (and charge the publisher a fee for doing so).

In regards to the argument over the employees recognizing the author...

If he doesn't consider himself to be a "literary snob," then what does he call himself?

I'm not one to call names, but he sounds pretty snobbish to me.

I hardly think it could be considered "snobbish" to think that someone who works in a bookstore should know
who Jack Kerouac is.

No more snobbish than finding a record store clerk that is not familiar with The Beatles.

jack jett
www.yabbadabbahubbado.com

I must say that at first, I was looking forward to someone tearing into a big chain such as B&N, but after reading the essay I must say that Mr. Burnett sounded incredibly pompous much of the time. Not everyone has tastes and interests that mirror his own. I have never read anything by Jack Kerouac and, before reading this post, I'm not sure that I had ever heard of him. I suppose it's a good thing I don't work at Barnes & Noble. Now, it's one thing if the manager was totally rude and apathetic, but he shouldn't morph into a complete literary snob just because a bunch of teenagers haven't come across any of Kerouac's work. If Burnett would've taken the time to spell out the author's last name to the B&N clerk rather than, I can only presume, work himself into a frenzy, he might have saved himself and others a considerable amount of grief.

Mr. Burnett was not expecting for bookstore employees to have read Kerouac or keep tabs on whether he's trendy again, he was just expecting them to have heard of him. "On the Road" is one of the most iconic and influential books of the past 60 years. It's sad when multiple employees of a bookstore haven't even heard of it. It's like going to a clothing store and finding that the employees don't know what a sweater is, and they ask you "is that something you wear on your head, or your feet?" and then the manager comes out and tells you "we can't expect our employees to be familiar with every piece of clothing ever made" OK, it's hot in Dallas and there's not a lot of opportunity to wear sweaters, but if you work in a clothing store, shouldn't know what a sweater is? If you work in a bookstore as a "customer service representative" you should at least recognize major works of 20th century American literature, written or typed. Ignorance is unfortunate, but the beligerent defense of ignorance is apalling.

>>No more snobbish than finding a record store clerk that is not familiar with The Beatles.

barring a few exceptions around here, record stores don't exist anymore. :(

Bucks, my brother, you're in Dallas, Texas.

With all due respect to the legacy of "On The Road", Jack Kerouac was a gay prostitute who died because of his alcoholism and ongoing drug use. Do you really expect anyone there (smack in the middle of a Red state which executes more convicts than any other) to hold Kerouac in any regard whatsoever?

Reminds me of the story Bill Wisener once told me about going to meet Andy Warhol at a book signing downtown. There was no one else there to meet him, so Bill bought 30 copies of his book and kept circling through the "line" over and over again.

I doubt the clerk knows who William Burroughs is, either. Or Allen Ginsberg. (In fact, when Karen Minzer brought Ginsberg up to my KNON radio show to read his poetry back in 1986, I thought he was the accountant for the station or something.)

We were all dumb at one point.

Anyway, consider it a blessing that the chain store clerks are less-than-educated. Those who appreciate important literature will continue to buy their books at places like Half-Price.

Well, if it's not snobbish, it sure is petty.

There are greater tragedies to cry over.

If the clerks are only supposed to run the register and stack books, then they should be made to wear a sign around their necks which clearly states, "don't bother asking me about books, I don't know anything."

Doesn't sound like Bucks (really? His name is Bucks?) knew what he was looking for in the first place. He asks about "all those books that just came out about On The Road by Jack Kerouac" but if this is such a landmark event, shouldn't he know the title of what he's looking for? And while "The Scroll Edition" may have a lot of added information on the book, it is not "about On the Road", it IS "On the Road".

Sounds like he's just jealous his personal lord and savior of the literary world didn't get the Harry Potter display treatment from B&N. So the teenager at the store is an idiot for not knowing about Kerouac and he probably doesn't think too highly of you for not being able to recite Avril Lavigne lyrics. Guess you'll both have to deal.

And Liles, I don't think a guy named Bucks Burnett has to be reminded he's in Texas; he's a lifer.

Wow, Liles, so you don't expect Texans to give a hoot about some gay prostitute named Kerouac, but then in the very next paragraph you expect Texans to give a hoot about some guy named Wisener who at one time surrounded himself with gay prostitutes (called his employees). The ironies here are simply delicious.

Brother Russell, I kept reading Liles's post, trying to figure out why my brain kept going "Does not compute, does not compute," and you nailed it. Thanks!

To all the fine people in Dallas who favor book destruction over book distribution and recycling, my humblest apologies. Also I deeply regret any statements favoring literary knowledge and customer service. Lesson learned.

Bucks

Don't apologize to these guys. They would have written the same letter had they gone in and asked for The Swift Boat Veterans For Truth by Glenna Whitley (a head writer for the Observer) and the guy/gals would have given them crap service.

Customer service has been on the decline for years, many studies to prove it, so for you to take the time to write a letter that might best serve all of us, I thank you, and perhaps someone will pick up a Jack CareOwhack book the next time they are in a bookstore and find out what they have been missing.

If you spend much time on this blog, you will see that anyone slightly to the left of
Kay Bailey Hutchinson is considered a raging lunatic snotty liberal.

Of course, we can be content in knowing that we will soon have the George Bush library to further make certain the world knows where they can find multiple copies of My Pet Goat.

Good going Bucks.

jack jett

JJ -

Customer service is down because people won't pay extra for it, and because the culture doesn't value politeness.

Places like B&N (and Amazon for that matter) flourish because consumers value price and selection over literary knowledge and friendliness.

The market spoke. If anyone doesn't like corporate bookstores, open your own or shop at an idie. Book People and Powell's seem to be doing great.

Though you and I may like books, they are not any different than any other item with a UPC code sold by any other big box retailer. There is no difference between a 12 pack of Haynes socks at Target and a copy of Atlas Shrugged at B&N. To the big POS system in the sky, they are just another SKU.

Overstocked media is destroyed so it doesn't end up on e-bay or at Half Price Books, and drive down the value and velocity of the remaining inventory, and because it is too heavy to ship back to the publisher.

So what??

Even if the books were free, who the hell would be reading them here?

Does Dallas strike you as a book reading culture, other than the Purpose Driven Life and the Left Behind Series?

First of all, it's Barnes & Noble, not Barnes and Nobles. Secondly, if you go into a store looking for something negative, I'm sure you will in your determination find fault. I wish I had as much time on my hands as you apparently do, Mr. Unfunny Indignant Activist. As for Borders "just loving this"- they throw out books, too. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. It's a fairly common practice in the industry. These books couldn't even sell for a DOLLAR. Sometimes you CAN'T even GIVE them away. Often, charitable institutions turn down donations of these books, so some stores stop trying. Yeah, it's a shame. But if you knew what kind of payroll budget these stores have to work with, you might understand why they can't run around town searching for people to take what are usually leftover, shopworn, crappy books that no one really wants. If you are one of those people, by all means call the store manager and let him know you'll take all those books. And I challenge you to then look through your newfound treasures and not be tempted to toss most if not all of them yourself. Better not let me see them in YOUR dumpster!

Does Dallas strike you as a book reading culture, other than the Purpose Driven Life and the Left Behind Series?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Reading Unfair Park for the first time has alerted me to something I never would've dreamed possible; I AM NOT THE DUMBEST PERSON IN TOWN. Close, but not first place, not by a long shot. Look you idiots (those in favor of Born In A Barnes and their 'save face' 'apology' - the MAIN POINT I'm trying to make, is this: THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO DUMP BOOKS OUT OF THEIR STORE BUT SHOULD RECYLE THEM INSTEAD OF THROWING THEM AWAY (and) IT SHOULD NOT TAKE TWENTY MINUTES FOR TWO STAFF MEMBERS TO FIND A NEW RELEASE, regadless of who wrote it. So if you're against quick service, and against recycling and prefer throwing books away, CONGRTAULATIONS, you've made us what we are today, your side has won the battle but I am starting the war, THE WAR ON CRAP, and you are in my way.

Make fun of ME all you want, denounce ME and recycling all you want, settle for crap service all you want. Settling for less is asking for more of the same, and you will get what you deserve, but the rest of us refuse to suffer your pathetic version of life on Earth.

I did not go into the store looking for something negative so I could find it, I went in looking for a copy of On The Raod and they couldn't.

By the way, my 'apology' was - get this - a joke. A special shout out to all those who said cool things, esp. Mr. Jett. And to my detractors, I can only say - - - get to know me.

Bucks

The Dallas Observer bloggers have already anointed me the dumbest person in Texas. I hope that you will not leave this blog as we need more varied opinions. As you may or may not know, the Observer is managed by a Julie Lyons, a person with extreme fundamentalist views, as well as Glenna Whitley who is part of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

I have been called every name in the book on this blog. My favorite being that because I am gay, I must have a dirty rectum that sins a lot.

On the other hand, there are some great people on this blog that show that Dallas is really a much cooler city than the Dallas Observer portrays.

If you would have started your posting with ....On my way from church, I stopped by the book store to pick up a copy of the new Oliver North book..........
You might have found a bit more love.

To NancyDrew2, why would you make a comment like "Mr. Unfunny Indignant Activist" and then proceed to rant and rave and make very little sense. Perhaps if they have so many books that are not even worth a Buck, (pun intended), then why do they charge so much for them in the first place? With the prices of books, they should have more than enough money to pay employees enough to know a bit more about the product they are selling.

jack jett
www.YabbaDabbaHubbaDo.com

Oh, the drama!
"I will say that at that moment, my life changed forever."
"...your side has won the battle but I am starting the war, THE WAR ON CRAP, and you are in my way."
"...the rest of us refuse to suffer your pathetic version of life on Earth."

Get to know you? You gotta know you're not exactly coming off like someone to kick back and have a beer with.
Beer. How lowbrow. And I ended a sentence with a preposition. Ah, but if you only knew how much of a liberal and a book snob I normally consider myself to be. I'm beginning to realize I don't hold a candle. No, alas, I don't think it's meant to be. Peace, brother.

Peace to you sister, truly, and to everyone else. I'm too concerned with the f'd up state of things to bother with this silly ass ping pong game anymore. Bad customer service and thoughtless detsruction of books by a company that can afford a recycling program are not things I will ever take lightly, and if I have to be ridiculed for it, so be it. I will repeat, one last time, the issue is not my personal distaste for everything that's happened, it's that BOOKS SHOULD NOT BE PUT IN DUMPSTERS WHEN THEY CAN BE RECYLECLED. If you don't understand it, I can't explain it to you. Fine, I'm a dramatic snob who thinks it should take less than a day to find a well known book in a book store. Nail me to the f'n cross of your choice.

Generica is a lesser country these days due in part to a lot of 'small' problems going unchallenged by consumers who were once called citizens. I don't have time to write endless comments on blogs, I'd rather write book store headquarters and urge them to try harder, and that includes myself as well, to try harder to recycle more, offer better customer service to MY customers, not get to ruffled by people who think I'm the bad guy in this picture. I'm just a dude in a no name band who was gettin' a prez for his buddy, only to discover TWO outlets of the same chain f'ing up royally on the same day. I think it's worth making a fuss about, and The War On Crap will begin shortly.

If you learned to quickly dislike me, I'm off to meaner pastures, you're rid of me. If you agree there's a problem here, click on a link and stay in touch. Remember when debate was civilized???

Rock on, Mr. Jett, with your fine gay ass. I'm outta here.

OK, Jack Jett, written messages don't always account for tone, or lack thereof. I was feeling pretty casual when I weighed in on this. And as for "making very little sense," it's called business sense in the real world.

Sorry it's not a utopia. Unfortunately, recycling is not always cost-effective on such a large scale and not all the materials are recycleable. B&N has shareholders to consider, shareholders concerned with cost-effectiveness and profit. Hence, the prices of the books- which are initially determined by the publishers, not the retailers.

Retailers do some speculative buying so that they can offer a wide range of choices. They can't predict with 100% accuracy the whims of the buying public, therefore a relatively small quantity remains even after the markdown process.

As for the employees, is it really fair to make sweeping generalizations about tens of thousands of them based on one incident? Do you really think this "No Child Left Behind" generation is getting a lot exposure to the likes of Kerouac in Texas high schools? I've been to some indy bookstores where the knowledge might be deep in places, but not very wide.

My work is done here. I got a life to lead, ChaCha. Have fun, kids.

Okay, son of the farewell comment....Mr. Jett, please contact me soon via my Namedropper site. Your humor and support have saved my Ego for ONE MORE DAY.

Miss Drake, if you ever see this, truly no hard feelings on this end...this is all silly AND serious...I bet if any of us met in a bar and started chatting, we'd all end up starting a cool commune together.

My best wishes to everyone who agreed or disagreed with li'l ole me or anything I said. Everybody ROCK ON!! And thank you RW.

Which book was he looking for?