The Hannah Barnes book

I do think a fair defence is "we didn't anticipate it would sell this well," which is basically their stance. They've ordered more, so the book can continue up the charts.

I think it's the institutional bias of Waterstones, thinking Munroe's book will me much sought after and Hannah Barnes's book won't. Yhey got their asses handed to them by Time To Think selling out and the other one sitting in unregarded piles on a display table.

In the meantime Waterstones lose out as we buy from other sources. As serves them right.

Good. Now if they can train their staff to remove their pursed lips and disapproving stares when customers ask for and purchase the book, they'll have rejoined our democratic society. That'll be nice 😊

What keeps occuring to me as I read 'Time to Think' how the 'trans child' has been constructed and presented as an unassailable fact. Even Hannah Barnes is still cautious enough to pay respect to the concept of the 'genuine' trans child. I know people do this so as not to appear insensitive to the distress of children and young people, even as they question the lack of psychotherapeutic counselling involved in the affirmative model.

it is going to take quite some time to deconstruct the whole concept and that will probably have to happen via a 'one step at a time' approach, though it will most likely unravel itself to some extent once the weak links have been exposed.

Waterstones have responded about claims about Time to Think and Hags:

Waterstones says ‘no truth’ in claims it refuses to sell books on gender and feminism

Good heavens Grauniad, I nearly fell off my chair. I could feel the grind of gritted teeth in that review:

"Barnes contacted almost 60 former Gids clinicians, and, of those willing to be interviewed, most leaned to the latter position; they tend to argue that trans children certainly exist, but probably in smaller numbers than those referred, and that the clinic became over-reliant on blockers at the expense of more difficult, lengthy exploration of what exactly was going on."

• such a perfunctory way of describing giving experimental treatments to young people, of whom only a few would actually benefit from them!

Very late, defensive and grudging review from the Graun there, when the Observer reviewed it before the book was published on 23/2/23. But it does have a link to buying it at the Guardian bookshop, and that’s where I bought mine, thought it appropriate.

Actually reviewed in the Guardian today - wonders will never cease! www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/10/time-to-think-by-hannah-barnes-review-inside-britains-only-clinic-for-trans-children

I went to my (small, independent) bookshop on Monday to see if I could find a copy of Hags. They said they had stock but had sold out, so I asked them to order a copy from the wholesalers. It arrived on Tuesday.

Oooh sounds a good listen

Also Featured
Dr. Anna Hutchinson, clinical psychologist based in London who was part of the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) senior team from 2013 to 2017.
Dr. Marci Bowers, OB/GYN who specializes in gender affirming surgical care. President of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)
Jamie Reed, former case manager at The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Fab, thanks

A link to the NPR podcast with a transcript:

www.wbur.org/onpoint/2023/03/09/the-inside-story-of-the-collapse-of-the-tavistock-gender-service-for-children

This looks really interesting

Interview with Hannah and also Jamie Reed? I'm half asleep and not fully investigated so just parking here!

twitter.com/leorsapir/status/1633877866026008576?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

www.newsfromnowhere.co.uk/page.php?pid=index

Can I suggest the above bookshop as an alternative when ordering on-line.
It is a long standing women's collective that has been in operation since the 1970's and is situated in Liverpool. They can order almost any book in print, and most often can get hold of it long before any other supplier. They post all over the world.

I did the same.

Foyles has been owned by Waterstones since 2018.

Zeugma, you can request your library to buy a copy.
My library has copies ordered, not arrived yet.

That's a good idea, I might buy the audio book to listen to during the day and then go back and find references in the book when I need to.

Feel I need to know this one inside out

I listened to the first 4.5-5 hours of Hannah’s book on Audible today as I had a long journey (hard copy also arrived today 🥳). It was riveting listening and well constructed and paced. The section about the rapid expansion of GIDS, the recruitment of newly qualified staff on the promise of “on the job training” against the reality of full clinical caseloads and no training whatsoever was horrifying. Even more so when set against the increasing complexity and comorbidity in the adolescents referred. It’s just awful. This cohort of children have been utterly failed by institutions with a responsibility to safeguard them.

@Rubidium and to add insult to injury Time to Think is listed on the Blackwells website as a "Blackwells Bestseller".

"Hags" is listed on Blackwell's "most anticipated Books of 2023", but it is only stocked in-store in Cambridge and Edinburgh. At least it's available to be dispatched next day unlike Waterstones which says 3-4 week lead time.

It's really making me furious. Time to Think was 8th on the Sunday Times Bestseller list last weekend - imagine where it would have been if bookstores like Waterstones and Blackwells were actually stocking them in-store where people could browse and come across them by chance, instead of intentionally searching them out online ("on display" in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard.” etc etc)

I bought my copy from the Guardian bookshop, just to rub it in.

Although you can order Time to Think online from Blackwells, according to their website they only have in-store copies in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and London Holborn.

I’ll be very interested to see whether my local library, which has a notably enormous and ever-growing selection of LGBTQ+ books (with the emphasis very much on the TQ+), and relentlessly promotes every rainbow-themed month/day/hour going - however tangential - decides to offer the Barnes book.

No sign of it yet despite many other 'hot new picks' being added fairly soon after publication.

I ordered online from Foyles and they will be getting my money in future

Still cannot click and collect from any of the three Waterstones I frequently pass and also can't C&C either Material Girls or Hags from any of them either. They say 3-4 week delivery for Hags from the publisher yet Amazon has it next day delivery.

Both Hags and Time to Think are on their best new non-fiction list on the Waterstones website and yet I cannot actually buy either one from them!!!

I would understand if there was such a rush they all sold out but why won't they order in!?

Someone at the bottom of that says

"I picked up my pre-ordered copy today from Waterstone's. None on the shelves as the publisher has sold out. Was told that another print run is being done now."

Can't wait to go into the Victoria Waterstones again tomorrow and ask for the top of their best new non-fiction list. Because for some weird reason I just can't find it on the shelves.

Or maybe it will finally be in stock!