32 Comments
Sep 21, 2021Liked by Graham Linehan

I went to Waterstones in Hove to buy Trans for a friend’s birthday. No sign of it on display so I asked at the til and the young women had to go into the backroom to find it. I’ve never seen any other Sunday Times bestsellers kept out of sight.

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Mmm and I noticed this week there is a very prejudiced review of Helen Joyce’s book in the new statesman where it is compared with Shona Fayes book even though a full single gushing review of Shona fayes book was reviewed on sep 9 th. The main criticisms of Helen Joyce’s book was though the facts were right the tone was wrong. Incredible

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Mm.... I went in to Waterstones in Chiswick where they found a copy. It wasn't on the correct shelf but it was "found" somewhere else, and I bought it,

I also bought Prof Kathleen Stock's "Material Girls" there earlier in the year. I have made clear to the staff in this shop that I will be ordering gender critical titles each and every time from my local Waterstones store. Eventually the penny might drop that there is an affluent market for GC feminist books in Chiswick. There is!

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My local Waterstones had a single copy of Trans correctly located in the new non-fiction section near the front of the store. Only the spine was showing, so I swapped it with another book so you could see the front cover.

Slightly related, I was in my local WH Smith where a table display of LGBTQ paperbacks happened to be alongside a table of new paperbacks. The remaining copy of JK Rowling's latest took a short trip over to the LGBTQ table...

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Sep 21, 2021Liked by Graham Linehan

Good Reads has a poll up on their twitter feed, asking what your favorite best seller of 2021 is (or something like that)

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If you go to www.sex-matters.org you can donate a copy of Helen Joyce's book to an MP to read, so try and censor it all they want, it's getting out there! :D

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I was in a large Waterstones in York at the weekend. Shon Faye’s Transgender Issue was the only facing forwards book in the highly prominent ‘new titles’ by the door. You absolutely couldn’t miss it. Face height for pretty much everyone. I stopped to look for Helen’s book. It was there very very high up in the left hand corner. Just one copy. Like it was shameful. I’ve worked in bookshops. This spot is where you place ‘no hopers’

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“Blue-haired lunatics” - 😆

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I know this is not the point but if I’m honest promoting Shon Faye’s book is quite helpful as the reviews I’ve read were hilarious (obvs from GC Twitter legends)… but if you do want a copy of Helens fab book I recommend www.newsfromnowhere.org.uk tag line ‘shop with the real amazons’

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I wouldn’t have Shon Faye’s book as a gift unless I needed loo paper. I did buy two copies of Trans.

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I was recently in Brick Lane Bookshop where Shon Faye's book was on display in the front window. No copies of Helen Joyce's book to be found, even with the other gender studies books inside the shop.

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Waterstones also included shon fayes book in their national email newsletter where they recommend the latest best reads. I could be wrong but I don’t recall seeing Helen Joyce’s book similarly promoted.

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I have no intention of buying Shon Faye’s book but I did listen to the recent podcast of Owen Jones interviewing Shon in which he says (around 49 mins in) that most trans people are bisexual. I’d have had a lot of questions in response to that statement.

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I just went to Amazon and there are 488 reviews with 4.5 stars (our of 5). I couldn't write a review as you have to buy books through Amazon (boo, sucks!) But I did leave a review on "Goodreads". And I must tackle a "Google review". I believe in getting my opinion of excellent books out there.

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Waterstones and other booksellers need to review their policies. No point in saying support your local bookseller when they're allowing their retail staff to make political choices on our behalf.

Retrain their staff or Fk 'em, just buy off amazon.

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For any others from NZ following this, the online booksellers, Fishpond, are selling ‘Trans’ by Helen Joyce. To date, Fishpond have not joined the book banning brigade. There’s also some (horrible) pro-trans shite on there as well, but that’s the price we pay for for free speech.

https://www.fishpond.co.nz/c/Books/q/Trans

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