I see a bad moon rising

[truepenny]

This is appalling. And infuriating. And Not Okay.

(My books have not been stripped of their sales rankings--I just went and looked. But clearly they should be.)

ETA: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books FTW: Amazon Rank.

ETA2: Nicola Griffith, who is seriously one of the most awesome sf writers I've ever had the chance to fangirl in person, is among the authors affected. If there was anything needed to make me angrier (which there wasn't), this would have been it.

Comments

[michaeldthomas.livejournal.com]

Grr...
Not cool. rarelylynne and I both have flames poring out of our heads. As if they would consider stripping sales rankings from het romance novels. I hope they get knocked over from the backlash.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

And yet Judy Blume's Forever and Wifey, two of the most explicit non-fanfic stories I have ever read in my life--with less literary merit than a lot of the fanfic out there--are at 25,000 and 100,000 respectively.

[callunav.livejournal.com]

I'm almost sorry I already refuse to use Amazon, because now I can't refuse to use them. And I'm sorry I don't read enough mainstream literature with het bedroom scenes comparable to those being targeted to write to them and point out the outrageous inconsistency.

Jesus, that is stupid and nasty. Anything with queer sexuality is "adult" = "porn" now? Awesome. Just awesome.

[tomonwheels.livejournal.com]

This is completely wrong and I'm royally irritated by it.

[sarahtales.livejournal.com]

*head explodes*

[toneils.livejournal.com]

This is appalling. I suggest you guys write to Amazon and let them know they're losing their costumers -- I'm doing that, and encouraging my friends and family to shop elsewhere until the rankings are reinstated and an apology is issued.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

Or, call them! http://rydra-wong.livejournal.com/174995.html

[starlady38.livejournal.com]

This post has links to the appropriate place to complain at Amazon's site, as well as a link to an online petition protesting its decision: http://copperbadge.livejournal.com/2742329.html

[alamaris.livejournal.com]

I am justifiably disgusted. I've done what I can -- sent a message to Amazon, blogged about it, boycotted, shared with friends -- so lets hope lots of us doing the same thing will have an impact.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[saoba.livejournal.com]

In the letter to Amazon I am presently honing I am giving high visibility to two things I intend to do to register my disapproval.

1) Shop online for books elsewhere and name the store.

2) Specifically declare my intention to drop the Kindle from my current pre-purchase research for an e-book reader and urge my friends and relations to do the same.

[ktsparrow.livejournal.com]

Queerness equals porn. That's how I'm reading this. Ugh.

[heresluck]

Thank goodness for Powells.com. I'm just sayin'.

[(Anonymous)]

YES! Powells is wonderful, and the first time I found their Burnside store I thought my head was going to explode. From the amazing-ness.

- Chief

[toneils.livejournal.com]

I've done some further reading on this, and it seems a lot of feminist and controversial books that have gained literary recognition over decades have also been de-ranked by Amazon, among them D.H. Lawrence. Wtf?

http://www.edrants.com/amazonfail-a-call-to-boycott-amazon/

Additionally, while the books have been removed from search engines and best seller lists, all their KINDLE versions remain. Clearly Amazon is trying to still make money off of them.

[oceruleanskies.livejournal.com]

This is indeed Not Okay, this is disgusting. What they´re practically are saying is that homosexuality equals ´adult´ material? So what about the MILLION-LIMBED LEGION-ARMY that is heterosexual literature, from the recently discussed Georgette Heyer to anyone else? This calls for action, bitterly I would even suggest they make a ´G&L-Amazon´ page, but that´s exactly the tag underneath your post ´have you met my species?´.
This makes my skin crawl.

[nymeria87.livejournal.com]

This is just disgusting. And just one more reason not to use amazon anymore. Makes you wonder if they have entered the 21st century yet...

[cassandraterra.livejournal.com]

Those fucking hypocrites! That's just outrageous! I'm sickened! I'm so sorry!

[rarelylynne.livejournal.com]

SO NOT COOL.

I have registered my protest. What little I can, anyhow, on both my LJ and my professional blog. http://niurarebooks.blogspot.com/2009/04/amazon-censors-glbt-literature.html

FLAMES ON THE SIDES OF MY FACE

[clhollandwriter]

Grrrr. I guess that's me not using Amazon any more, then.

[veronamay.livejournal.com]

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books is trying to get a Google bombing off the ground, here (http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/amazon-rank/). Link early, link often.

(Edited to fix HTML fail.)

[shoganrea.livejournal.com]

I just signed the petition. This is simply outrageous and a discrimination.

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

*insert quip about your books stripping*

Boycott time!

[jaeled.livejournal.com]

It's not just fiction--history books, nonfiction help guides, biographies and even children's picture books have been stripped as well. I wrote up some notes detailing my own findings while navigating the site (http://jaeled.livejournal.com/6411.html), and have a link to the petition at the bottom of the entry.

[214314.livejournal.com]

I have signed the petition, and posted relevant information on the Chinese equivalent of facebook and a reading group website. Hope it helps.

[yukis-kirausagi.livejournal.com]

That is horrible and monstrously absurd. I have signed the petition and am going to post links I found on here from you and others' comments on my own lj and myspace and anywhere else I can think of.

[girlpunksamurai.livejournal.com]

Any place, be it website or actual bookstore, that degrades, looks down upon, or intentionally leaves off the shelf, any kind of book genre' ought to be shunned out of business

We're back in the stuffy 1800's again? Really? Well then c'mon and join my religion-GFY (Go F*** Yourself) >.<

I love it when people that are heads of their own company/industry use their wealth and influence to show, in many petty ways, this being one of them, just how butthurt backwards they are. I find what they find to be 'controversial' to be good writing done by good writers. How about the fact that conservatives are still whining that same old song as they were in the Great Depression, and had they gotten their way then, would have worsened it's effects on the country dramatically-yet they're still saying the same old crap. Why isn't that controversial?

Why aren't places like Amazon getting all butthurt over what is outrageous ignorance of history on the part of senators, congress, conservatives in particular who supposedly got themselves a college degree or is in fact deliberately omitted by them because there are plenty of people in this country who couldn't afford college and therefore don't know these precedents exist?

Don't Buy Thai was a spearhead movement that eventually gained enough influence to change Taiwan laws in regards to 'child prostitution' into stricter penalties if abused. Yet in many states, the incest loophole keeps the 'father' of his child victim out of jail/ How come there aren't any companies considering that 'controversial'? The only thing true, is what you do. And these spineless, dithering, prejudiced wet brains just flashed us nastily with what's true to them I say we do our level best, drive them out of business and show them just how much art can imitate life.