The nearly monopolistic Canadian bookseller is not pretending that it serves the same institutional role that it did two decades ago. And we no longer care.
"Nobody goes to Chapters/Indigo because they want to buy books. They go because they want to be the sort of people who spend time in Chapters/Indigo. Regardless of whether or not the books they buy are actually read, you better damn well bet they are going to be displayed. "
One of the best things I have read recently. Thank you.
Every institution in the country (media, courts, academia, military, government, civil service, ... - the list goes on) has decided to go all in on censorship and control of discourse to conform to the rulers' narrative. Since Canada was always governed by a cozy Laurentian elite, this doesn't take any kind of conspiracy, just natural dislike of outsiders without any countervailing sense of noblesse oblige. As you say, Indigo at least has the profit motive as a kind of justification for dropping any claim to institutional status.
The only answer is top to bottom restructuring of all the institutions, including eliminating and rebuilding from scratch wherever possible.
During the convoy, Justin Ling was basically a propagandist for the view that the convoy was an evil Nazi horde. Not a journalist imo but someone desperate to get invited to the good parties.
I go there to buy books. Or, wait, have I missed something? Might I have caught my reflection in a window, discovered that I was posing, one hand thoughtfully on chin, the other prominently holding up the Penguin for Suetonius' "The Twelve Caesars" for all to see? And looked around the store to see we were all posing for each other, Performing Smartness and Sophistication?
Don't be silly, Jen, that's the goofiest thing I've ever read from you, pathetically easy to disprove. Nearly everybody there is buying what's always popular: crime and spy and action novels, self-help and wellness.
Also, I can't think of a single friend who "displays" their books on coffee tables or living-room walls to show off their au-courant braininess. Except me, with Mike Myer's "Canada" on the table, if that counts. And the atlases are there because I still haul them out when the TV show goes to weird places. My library mainly reveals my weakness for SF and fantasy.
Nope: why would you go to a bookstore to look smart and get smart decor, when you can just Perform Smartness on Twitter? Journalists are addicted to it for precisely that reason: a Twitter bon mot can boost a career.
And how about a TheLine shout-out to Justin Ling for a fair and civil interview with Lawson, from a journo on the other side of the conversation?
You nailed it..."the convoy itself remain[s] a common shibboleth within the established cultural milieu".
How DARE the riff-raff create a populist and globally visible symbol of discontent with the way we run things? Why, it's just off-putting and undignified is what.
Used to be a big fan of Chapters, then it became Indigo. It got a bit pretentious since then. I go to a book store to see books, not be part of a 'brand'. (now I just browse online stores and download to an ereader)
OTOH, USED bookstores are still a little shop of wonders. If I buy a physical book, its from here. I can waste a tremendous amount of time in one of these.
My take (if I'm reading this correctly) is that as 'mainstream culture' (whatever that is) has broadened, the former arbitrators of what is meaningful in that culture have become less relvant. It isn't that Indigo has changed -- it's that Canada has changed.
But, isn't this a good thing? It means that a LOT of voices that wouldn't have been heard twenty years ago have a voice. It means that the public discourse is broader and more varied. While that means cranks going on about chips in vaccines have a voice, so do Indigenous Leaders to cite one example. We're in the middle of having a Pope apologize for the Church's role in Residential Schools, which seems to be a great example of a narrative that existed for a *long* time that only recently has pierced the public consciousness.
The challenge, I think, it we haven't figured out how to have a constructive public discourse with such a broad array of opinions and viewpoints. We're at the 'shouting at each other and stomping off' phase, which obviously isn't working very well. Ideally, we can find a way past this and have a discourse that actually helps us find ways to balance personal and public good.
Just because it seems like a mess now, doesn't necessarily mean it can't get better (I hope!)
I would have thought as a book store, your goal is to sell as many books as possible. So I really don't understand why they would censor what they sell online. They're only hurting their own sales. And when you're watching books being banned in the US, one would think that would motivate them to rise above that and show an openness to the written word...even ones they don't agree with.
Chapters used to be a great store...Indigo I'm not so big on. Access to knowledge used to be important. Access to unfounded opinion seems to matter more now...to our detriment.
"Nobody goes to Chapters/Indigo because they want to buy books. They go because they want to be the sort of people who spend time in Chapters/Indigo. Regardless of whether or not the books they buy are actually read, you better damn well bet they are going to be displayed. "
I fail to see the point of this article. An author would like his book in a particular store -instead they sell it online where majority of books are sold. Has the book been banned? No. Is the book unavailable? No - actually on best seller list - so must be widely available. July - traditional month of non-stories.
Love this article. You won’t find this sort of commentary in the Globe! My favourite Line piece to date. A couple of comments:
1. This should be your new Twitter bio: “I am 100 per cent Chapters/Indigo's basic bitch consumer.”
2. I used to work for E-Z Rock a million years ago and we did have a composite target audience member, exactly like you describe. Her name was Brenda.
3. Indigo is nowhere near a monopoly. The criticisms about what/how they make books available are the arguments for why public libraries are so important.
Since this site is heavy on the idea of freedom of expression, and, I suppose, action, I cannot help but be puzzled why what a business decides to put on its shelves should be of interest to anyone other than that owner, and should excite the hysteria seen below. I doubt the decision has a hidden meaning.
Each square metre, in retail, has to earn its keep. Stock in a physical store is meant to do that. I understand that this store has an apparently emotional place in the minds of some Canadians, but you give it too much cred. It’s a store. It’s in the business of making a profit. Shoppers vote with their feet all the time. So vote with your feet and shop elsewhere.
My granddaughter asked me why the Nazis murdered the jews. So I downloaded Mein Kampf and re-read it because he is so clear on why. Historical documents are great for getting a clear understanding of issues. I thought at the time Indigo didn't understand why it was useful. But it seems there were other reasons. in the last 10 years I see media and book stores pushing agendas that they think we need rather than being a book seller. They also censor what they don't like. You article is right on.
Have you people never heard of independent small business owned bookstores? Why would anyone would buy books from Indigo or Amazon or Costco when a small business can be supported? These businesses, like any small business contribute to the cultural vitality of a business district. I am certain you can even find a small business purveyor of bogy (or whatever the hell they are called) candles somewhere else. Or, buy your candles, Jen, as I do, from dead people’s estate sales…
That was great Jen. I especially liked this:
"Nobody goes to Chapters/Indigo because they want to buy books. They go because they want to be the sort of people who spend time in Chapters/Indigo. Regardless of whether or not the books they buy are actually read, you better damn well bet they are going to be displayed. "
One of the best things I have read recently. Thank you.
Every institution in the country (media, courts, academia, military, government, civil service, ... - the list goes on) has decided to go all in on censorship and control of discourse to conform to the rulers' narrative. Since Canada was always governed by a cozy Laurentian elite, this doesn't take any kind of conspiracy, just natural dislike of outsiders without any countervailing sense of noblesse oblige. As you say, Indigo at least has the profit motive as a kind of justification for dropping any claim to institutional status.
The only answer is top to bottom restructuring of all the institutions, including eliminating and rebuilding from scratch wherever possible.
During the convoy, Justin Ling was basically a propagandist for the view that the convoy was an evil Nazi horde. Not a journalist imo but someone desperate to get invited to the good parties.
I go there to buy books. Or, wait, have I missed something? Might I have caught my reflection in a window, discovered that I was posing, one hand thoughtfully on chin, the other prominently holding up the Penguin for Suetonius' "The Twelve Caesars" for all to see? And looked around the store to see we were all posing for each other, Performing Smartness and Sophistication?
Don't be silly, Jen, that's the goofiest thing I've ever read from you, pathetically easy to disprove. Nearly everybody there is buying what's always popular: crime and spy and action novels, self-help and wellness.
Also, I can't think of a single friend who "displays" their books on coffee tables or living-room walls to show off their au-courant braininess. Except me, with Mike Myer's "Canada" on the table, if that counts. And the atlases are there because I still haul them out when the TV show goes to weird places. My library mainly reveals my weakness for SF and fantasy.
Nope: why would you go to a bookstore to look smart and get smart decor, when you can just Perform Smartness on Twitter? Journalists are addicted to it for precisely that reason: a Twitter bon mot can boost a career.
And how about a TheLine shout-out to Justin Ling for a fair and civil interview with Lawson, from a journo on the other side of the conversation?
https://www.bugeyedandshameless.com/p/the-freedom-convoy
You nailed it..."the convoy itself remain[s] a common shibboleth within the established cultural milieu".
How DARE the riff-raff create a populist and globally visible symbol of discontent with the way we run things? Why, it's just off-putting and undignified is what.
Used to be a big fan of Chapters, then it became Indigo. It got a bit pretentious since then. I go to a book store to see books, not be part of a 'brand'. (now I just browse online stores and download to an ereader)
OTOH, USED bookstores are still a little shop of wonders. If I buy a physical book, its from here. I can waste a tremendous amount of time in one of these.
My take (if I'm reading this correctly) is that as 'mainstream culture' (whatever that is) has broadened, the former arbitrators of what is meaningful in that culture have become less relvant. It isn't that Indigo has changed -- it's that Canada has changed.
But, isn't this a good thing? It means that a LOT of voices that wouldn't have been heard twenty years ago have a voice. It means that the public discourse is broader and more varied. While that means cranks going on about chips in vaccines have a voice, so do Indigenous Leaders to cite one example. We're in the middle of having a Pope apologize for the Church's role in Residential Schools, which seems to be a great example of a narrative that existed for a *long* time that only recently has pierced the public consciousness.
The challenge, I think, it we haven't figured out how to have a constructive public discourse with such a broad array of opinions and viewpoints. We're at the 'shouting at each other and stomping off' phase, which obviously isn't working very well. Ideally, we can find a way past this and have a discourse that actually helps us find ways to balance personal and public good.
Just because it seems like a mess now, doesn't necessarily mean it can't get better (I hope!)
If I have to order it online I will go to Amazon and avoid Indigo entirely.
I would have thought as a book store, your goal is to sell as many books as possible. So I really don't understand why they would censor what they sell online. They're only hurting their own sales. And when you're watching books being banned in the US, one would think that would motivate them to rise above that and show an openness to the written word...even ones they don't agree with.
Chapters used to be a great store...Indigo I'm not so big on. Access to knowledge used to be important. Access to unfounded opinion seems to matter more now...to our detriment.
"Nobody goes to Chapters/Indigo because they want to buy books. They go because they want to be the sort of people who spend time in Chapters/Indigo. Regardless of whether or not the books they buy are actually read, you better damn well bet they are going to be displayed. "
Ridiculous remark.
I fail to see the point of this article. An author would like his book in a particular store -instead they sell it online where majority of books are sold. Has the book been banned? No. Is the book unavailable? No - actually on best seller list - so must be widely available. July - traditional month of non-stories.
Love this article. You won’t find this sort of commentary in the Globe! My favourite Line piece to date. A couple of comments:
1. This should be your new Twitter bio: “I am 100 per cent Chapters/Indigo's basic bitch consumer.”
2. I used to work for E-Z Rock a million years ago and we did have a composite target audience member, exactly like you describe. Her name was Brenda.
3. Indigo is nowhere near a monopoly. The criticisms about what/how they make books available are the arguments for why public libraries are so important.
Many of the citizen’s of Ottawa seem quite willing to trade the freedom to protest for relief from honking horns and the smell of diesel.
What a noble stance - how representative of the character of those who inhabit our National Capitol.
Since this site is heavy on the idea of freedom of expression, and, I suppose, action, I cannot help but be puzzled why what a business decides to put on its shelves should be of interest to anyone other than that owner, and should excite the hysteria seen below. I doubt the decision has a hidden meaning.
Each square metre, in retail, has to earn its keep. Stock in a physical store is meant to do that. I understand that this store has an apparently emotional place in the minds of some Canadians, but you give it too much cred. It’s a store. It’s in the business of making a profit. Shoppers vote with their feet all the time. So vote with your feet and shop elsewhere.
My granddaughter asked me why the Nazis murdered the jews. So I downloaded Mein Kampf and re-read it because he is so clear on why. Historical documents are great for getting a clear understanding of issues. I thought at the time Indigo didn't understand why it was useful. But it seems there were other reasons. in the last 10 years I see media and book stores pushing agendas that they think we need rather than being a book seller. They also censor what they don't like. You article is right on.
Have you people never heard of independent small business owned bookstores? Why would anyone would buy books from Indigo or Amazon or Costco when a small business can be supported? These businesses, like any small business contribute to the cultural vitality of a business district. I am certain you can even find a small business purveyor of bogy (or whatever the hell they are called) candles somewhere else. Or, buy your candles, Jen, as I do, from dead people’s estate sales…