Waterstones and JKR new book

[AllosaurusAlliteration]

An exciting day for fans of Strike & Robin!

Despite having a pre-ordered Kindle and Audible version auto sent to me today, I decided to pop into the large city centre Waterstones I was passing on my lunch break from work to see what they were doing for publication day of the Hall Marked Man.

There was nothing in the window, no posters, no signs, no copies displayed. So I popped inside.

There were tables out with "new fiction" hardbacks but it wasn't there, not on its own table like a few others, and not with others in a shared display. So I went to the "new fiction" section for the shelves and searched under G - nothing there either.

I wandered about a bit, assuming I'd made some sort of mistake, before asking a member of staff whether I had got the day wrong. I was assured they did have copies and they could get me one from behind the desk. I asked why they weren't out and was told that they were, so I explained that I couldn't see or find them, and the member of staff just sort of laughed in response.

It was seriously weird.

I have been left feeling really quite uneasy. Why does such a large bookseller want to make customers ask for a book? Seriously thought this shit was blowing over!

Has anyone had a better experience?

Isn’t this what TwiX is for?

That’s so strange. Which branch?

Isn’t what what Twix is for?

I

What does this mean?

i would email Waterstones head office with the details of the visit and lack of advertising for the book. I very much doubt this is a corporate initiative and, if alerted, they can do something about correcting the situation at this particular store.

Twitter / X

It has become a part time hobby of mine to tramp three floors up to the dusty annuls of Waterstones Cambridge in order to source (horrific) diatribes written by awful intellectuals who have no place in common parlance.

It is the greatest of my pleasures to present my desired purchase to the spotty big eared fuck wit on the till, who averts their gaze and suppresses horror whilst processing said purchase.

I could of course source my unacceptable books on line but

i prefer the alternative.

I did wonder about this and want to do so.

But it's also made me feel mildly threatened. By making me ask for it and hiding it behind the counter, they clearly have some issue with it and by extension the people wanting to read it. This makes me feel uncomfortable about raising the issue. Weird all round.

I was genuinely excited to see the new copies and hoped for a bit of hype. This has given a very different vibe.

Strange. I went in a branch of Waterstones the other day and there was a whole section dedicated to and labelled Harry Potter.

That’s what I was trying to ask that poster!😂

Ah, I don't really use it!

Glad it wasn't just me!

The book has top front page spot on their website so it must be some twit in that branch - I'd contact head office to let them know.

That seems a more normal commercial decision!

You'd think that books that sell quickly and in large volume would get more shelf and display space and be easily available to paying customers, wouldn't you?

Having perused X/Twitter, I would suggest this is very much a local branch issue as people have posted photos of displays at their local Waterstones.

This is why I was expecting a bit of a display and launch celebration.

They're offering it at a great price (cheaper than Kindle) and have been taking pre orders for ages. I assumed that there was some sort of partnership with the publisher or something for them to be such a highlighted retailer of the new book. Hence my confusion to not even be able to find it on publication day!

That makes me feel a lot better (if childishly cheated).

My local branch in Woke Central City has a range of JKR books on display.

Sounds like an individual branch/staff thing. Waterstones isn't a franchise, so there should at least be consistency.

Be interested to know if they reply!

It was seriously weird.

I have been left feeling really quite uneasy.

Really? This seems incredibly over the top.

Do tell Head office. This is likely rogue local activist staff doing this. Tell them how uncomfortable it made you feel. Head Office won't be pleased.

You sound pleasant.

Waterstones have previously stood up to TRAs on Twitter on I emailed them to thank them and got a nice reply so I’d be surprised if it was a Waterstones decision, that’s why I buy all my books from them. I’m off there today to get my copy.

There’s definitely a lot of woke individuals who work at branch level. One had a TikTok account where she was ripping JKR books up, think she might have got sacked though.

If you so much as hover by the crime section in our Waterstones you get swooped on by a guy who works there gushing about an author who is clearly his mate (although he doesn't say that) and wholeheartedly recommending his awful books. I told him, truly, that the book I read is genuinely the worst book I've ever read, and he was very flouncy. I actually avoid that branch now even though it's a handy cut through to the high street 😀

Sorry, just how I was left feeling.

It was a v odd interaction, at odds with what I expected and left me feeling uncomfortable and a bit confused.

I didn't show any outward reaction, behaved politely in the shop and haven't discussed it irl. Just left with a general weird feeling about the whole thing.

I don't think I've over reacted on any measurable way.

And I guess if I feel like this, others may too and again, it seems odd for a commercial outfit to make paying customers feel like this. Even if you think the paying customer is wrong and over the top.

I'm generally a mainstream sort of person so I do find these moments where I'm made out to be involved in some sort of fringe activity or niche interest unsettling.