The reading selection at Wal-Mart

[underpants]

Okay on black Friday I was out and about when I realized that I needed an oil change. My wife was going to drop me off the next day in the tailgating section for the UVa-Va.Tech game ('Hoos won) and then drive on home and I didn't want her to have any problems if possible.

Before you chew me out for using Wal-Mat you have to understand something...I was at my folks' house and I don't really know my way around the area so I figured I kill two birds with one stone. Well make that one because they didn't have any UVa sweatshirts.

While I waited I decided to eat an early lunch at the McDonalds that was in the store. Geez talk about your bourgeois days :eyes: I also got a (gulp) cellphone.

Okay I like to read whilest I eat so I go over to see what magazines they have. No Time, No Newsweek, No US News and World report, the SI I had already read.....and it isn't that they were sold out THEY JUST DON'T CARRY THEM!!!! If you needed o know about trucks/minitrucks/detailed cars with women posing on them/monster trucks you had PLENTY to choose from. I had no idea there were that many automobile type magazines available.

Okay magazines are out, maybe a book. Though I have already read some of them I looked to see if they had them. No Michael Moore, No Al Franken, No Hillary, No Madeliene Albright....none of them (more on this later) but they did prominently displayed O'Reilly, Goldburg, the Elizabeth Smart story, and the Jessica Lynch book. I ended up reading some of "Arrogance" by Bernard Goldberg with my two cheeseburgers, needless to say it is mindnumbingly twisted and incorrect. He cites the Media Resource Center in two "chapters" of quotes and mentions that yes there could be some right wing elves (his word) working in the MRC, he also COMPLAINS about how the "liberal media" treated the Saddam statue coming down apparently in his universe the media criticised the move. :shrug:

Okay to follow up on the books. I went into a Books-a-million and checked out the bestsellers display. Same books as Walmart but with Moore and Franken down at the bottom listed as the #'s 25 and 27 bestsellers respectively. No Albright or Hillary or Molly Ivins to be found.

That is what 'Murka is reading.

[wryter2000]

1. They won't carry paranormal romance novels

You can't get most paranormal romance novels in Walmart because the books are "Satanistic." Another reason I won't go into a Walmart.

Oh, plus...a while back they contracted with a big NY publisher for small romances that the authors wrote for a smallish fee. No royalties. They stopped carrying those because the publisher wouldn't accept returns of unsold books.

Pfffft!

[underpants]

4. I had never been in the "book section"

I was quite amazed. THe impulse buy racks near the registeres only had Redbook, National Inquirer, and Weekly World News type magazines and tabloids in them. I know they can't carry everything but no Time or Newsweek?

[GOPisEvil]

2. Welcome to Right-wing hell.

I'm guessing that Wallyworld doesn't carry the magazines because no one bought them. How sad. :-(

[underpants]

5. My God our corner stores even carries them

and I know they don't sell but maybe one a week of each (of course the owner does carry a wide assortment of skin mags which almost sell out each month).

This is probably part of the reason that many in this country think that People and Entertainment Tonight are actually news. I remember hearing about that 5 or 6 years ago.

[otohara]

3. Same at My King Soopers

I complained weeks ago to no avail, same shitty right-wing books on display and no liberal.

[underpants]

6. Okay I have to ask

What is My King Soopers I know it is derivative of the stores actual name but I am not aware of it.

[otohara]

20. Stores in CO - Kroger Owns

I forget that their stores are called Kroger in most of the states

[Pattib]

7. Thanks for posting that. I've been wondering about that too.

My Wal*Mart in NW Florida carries a lot of right-wing books too. They also have complete displays with hundreds of books devoted to Christian reading. Friends of mine who live in different parts of the country tell me that depending where in the country you live determines what reading materials are offered. Guess being in the Fl. panhandle means we get a lot of RW Christian material. I have yet to see a Newsweek, Time or any "news" magazine for sale at my Wal*Mart.

As far as magazines go it is hunting, fishing, guns, crafts and hairstyle magazines. Very limited popular fiction book selection. I also noticed they are covering up the covers of Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and other magazines which feature anything to do with sex. Of course they no longer sell Maxim, Stuff and all other magazines for men.

[underpants]

8. Right hunting, fishing, guns, crafts and hairstyle magazines

There were PLENTY of those.

This Wal-Mart is in Western Virginia in the Shenandoah valley which is very religous and rural, nothing wrong with that but they are very well they vote Republican. There was a movement to create a new Congressional district running along the Va-WV border for the express purpose of GIVING Ollie North a seat. Yes it was that close, cooler heads stepped in and stopped it.

Welcome to DU :hi:

[madrchsod]

9. the publishers

of time,newsweek,and usnews may not want walmart`s business. do alittle research on the way walmart treats their venders and maybe those guys said no way. there also maybe a limit on how much capicity the printers of these mags can run each week.these mags have large production runs and the printers may not want to purchase new production for "walmart"
see why the right-wing shit has big sales numbers? they have to buy back what doesn`t sell....

[underpants]

11. The did have some Time/US News compilations

It think the US NEws one was on space and NASA and the TIME was on...........wait for it...............9/11 like you couldn't have guessed that.

Interesting I will try to find out about this.

[GainesT1958]

10. Interesting you'd mention Books-A-Million...

About three weeks ago I was in their store here in Wilmington, and found much the same thing, to my consternation. A woman of about 60 or so went up to one of the customer service people and asked about Al Franken's book, noting that the NYT Book Review had it at #1 that week. "Oh, m'am, we don't go by the New York Times rankings; we use one of our own". Well, upon hearing that, I said to myself...:wtf: ?

Wonder where "one of their own" comes from? And if it DOES come from their own sales, that, indeed, is a sad commentary of B.A.M.'s readership. Went over to Barnes & Noble, and at least THEY had Al's book at #1.

By the way, UNDERPANTS, I was braced to hear you say that the rankings in that Mal-Wart were 1-2-3 Hannity, O'Really, and Little Oral Annie. And they don't even CARRY Time and Newsweek? That's sad, but I guess for Mal-Wart it figures.

Oh, well...hope you were happy to see UVa beat VPI...I think VPI's players were nervous...after all, they owed their coming into the ACC to the school Admin. of their biggest rival..and Mark Warner, of course!:D

B-)

[underpants]

12. No Hannity or Coulter

Lots of diet boks though (insert own joke here I'm not touching it).

Now if you need to know about knitting or crafts.......:eyes:

[Kat45]

17. Well, Books-A-Million is based in Birmingham, Alabama

Here's a little paragraph from the store's website. (Particularly note the last sentence):

"Books-A-Million Superstores average over 20,000 square feet and provide an expansive selection of books, magazines, bargain books, collectible supplies, extensive card and gift departments, as well as special category shops with the store. Our "Testaments Shoppe," for instance, features the best of references and writings for the Christian market"

[PROGRESSIVE1]

18. May "Books A Million" go Bankrupt!

.

[TXvote]

13. Did They Sign The Contract With America

Cuz you cannot do bizness with liberals if you did.......

A lot of small printing companies and lawyers have had their bizness effected by this Repug only policy.

Ouch.

[prolesunited]

14. WalMart has a long history of censorship

It's part of their business philosophy.

Censorship
With its roots in the Southern Christian heartland, Wal-Mart believes that being a "family" store is the key to their mass appeal. They refuse to carry CDs with cover art or lyrics deemed overtly sexual or dealing with topics such as abortion, homosexuality or Satanism.

http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/stores3_2.html

[LSparkle]

15. Was just about to respond the same thing ...

It's part of the strategy -- the dumbing/numbing down of the world, one Mart at a time. Just heard today that WM's branching out into real estate companies, car sales, even an (????) airline ...

[Nikia]

16. We don't by books and magazines at Walmart

We have a small local chain book store down town. When we aren't buying stuff there, it is at Barnes and Noble, which has a huge selection of almost anything you would want to read. I wish I could say that we don't shop there, but it is about 200 yards from my front door so we do pick up cleaning supplies, toiletries, perscription drugs, and occaisionally snacks from there because it is convient and open later.

[matcom]

19. what? no PLAYBOY?????

now THAT is 'reading material' suitable for a McDonalds lunch :D

[Padraig18]

21. Patronize an INDEPENDENT bookstore!

A public service announcement from an independent bookstore owner! :hi:

[A HERETIC I AM]

22. Here Here!! I agree!

When i lived in Dearborn, MI, i always shopped at "Little Professor" book store on Michigan avenue. They stocked every periodical you could imagine on almost any subject you ould think of. Newspapers from every major US city and quite a few overseas as well. I wish there was such a store here in Palmdale,CA I have yet to find even a decent magazine rack in an independant stoer so i am forced to go to B & N for my occasional "The Nation" and "Skeptical Inquirer"

[underpants]

27. Well I didn't BUY it I just stuck a french frie in it and put it back

or french fire if you choose.

[LTR]

23. Shock of all shocks!

I actually saw Michael Moore's book at Wal-Mart here in Wisconsin.

No, really!

Maybe it depends on the location. Wal-Mart tends to skew their assortment toward the local market.

The rest of the book and magazine selection was a little weak. Very heavy on NASCAR.

[Sting]

24. I too looked at the reading section at Wal-Mar this weekend...

and noticed the Holy Bible was placed under the "fiction" section of the book shelves, on purpose! They didn't have any liberal books to read. (Go figure.) I did, however, buy The Stone Cold Truth. It's a great read. Other than that, those magazines you mentioned above were there and some Christian books. That was it.

[AlFrankenFan]

25. Kind of the same thing at Target

Until just recently they had not any good political books (at least the one near my home). No Franken, no Michael Moore, no Molly, no nothing. But, like you said, there were Coulter, O'Reilly (all his books), Goldberg, and even Hannity books aplenty. Until last Saturday did I ever see Franken's book.

[underpants]

26. Really at Target? Oh and Welcome to DU

The Target I frequent in Richmond would seem like the perfect place for Franken, Moore, etc. lots of "limousine liberals" around that part of town but then there is a Barnes&Noble in the same mini-mall. :shrug: