An open letter to would-be book burners

[Mythsaje]

Okay--I think I've figured out the key to success as an author. I have to annoy some book-burning wingnut just enough to throw a nice public tantrum.

Hear that, wingnut?

I personally think book-burners are a perfect example of the worst segment of the population--people driven by ignorance and fear of knowledge.

Yeah, there's magic in my books. And vampires and lycanthropes as heroes! And book-burning type wingnuts as villains! Or, rather, deluded superstitious assholes being manipulated by a race of carnivorous aliens intent on destroying the civilizations of Earth in order to feed their voracious appetite for technology and human flesh.

You all catch that? You book-burning wingnuts are being USED by a bunch of evil aliens.

So, please, feel free to buy and burn as many copies of my book as you want, you poor deluded bastards.

[Canadian Socialist]

1. Or, even better, annoy the government...

Second printing ordered for Ottawa scientist's 'Hotter Than Hell'
Last Updated Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:01:42 EDT
CBC News

A small New Brunswick publishing house has a bestseller on its hands after the author was discouraged from attending a promotional event by the federal government.

Demand for Hotter Than Hell, the obscure debut novel from Ottawa scientist Mark Tushingham, has forced DreamCatcher Publishing of Saint John, N.B., to order a second printing of the book.

"Things have just gone crazy," publisher Elizabeth Margaris told CBC News. "I guess you could say they're hotter than hell."

Late last year, Margaris published Tushingham's book, set in the not-so-distant future and dealing with the effects of global warming and a Canada-U.S. battle over fresh water.

The title had received little notice and minor sales until an incident in Ottawa earlier this month.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/24/scientist-book060424.html">Seems our BushLite is reading from Rove's playbook

[shain from kane]

3. 3 Days of the Condor. n/t

[Sinti]

2. Don't encourage them. No-like-no-read-no-problem. n/t

[Mythsaje]

4. Are you kidding?

I WANT to encourage them. Only a small percentage of the American public is in with the whole book-burning thing...and when these people start throwing a fit, people take notice. And buy the book(s) in question.

I don't care if they READ them...I'll settle for buying them in order to set them aflame. I've got low expectations of these types.

[Sinti]

5. On the other hand, maybe you should encourage them

Then the curious and anti-establishment types will buy it up -- good point.

Burning books is blasphemy where I come from -- hell, bending books is blasphemous :P

[teknomanzer]

6. Any publicity is good publicity eh?

I have to admit any time a book is burned or banned... I want to read it just to see what the controversy is. Usually, its nothing that I would find to be controversial, but hey I took one for the team for free speech.

[niyad]

7. I try to go and get a copy of whatever they are foaming at the mouth

about, even if I have no intention of ever reading it. and every september, I proudly wear my "I read banned books" button, and write thank-you notes to the little fundie groups for so handily providing me with a list of really interesting reading.

I bought Salmon Rushdie's book during that whole hysterical controversy, and can only say, yeck. I actually tried to read it, but could barely slog my way through the first chapter. but I refuse to allow anyone to tell me what I may or may not read (even when I was in grade school)

My favourite thing to ask the book-banners and burners is, in which language do they propose to ban my reading material, as I read in several languages, most of which I am pretty sure none of these people read or speak (actually, I am not absolutely certain they read english, either, witness *) then I point out that I was reading books in the second grade that they would probably have trouble comprehending. then I walk away.

[Mythsaje]

8. I read LOTR in 3rd Grade

And had read Heinlein's Stranger in A Strange Land by 6th, and Dune for the first time in 7th. I'm pretty sure at least the last two would be WAY over their heads.

[niyad]

10. I didn't get to LOTR until college, read Stranger when I was 15, but read

"tropic of cancer" and "triumph" when I was 12. read just about everything I could get my hands on, since my teachers left me alone, and gave me the run of the libraries.

[Mythsaje]

9. You betcha...

This is a basic fact, especially in the literary world. Controversy sells books.

[BlueAlert]

11. What's the point of sending a open letter to a book burner?

Wouldn't they just burn it?