/lit/ - Literature

>>10406713
broke hipsters with noserings steal... big surprise

>“Probably Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem, though [Patti Smith’s] Just Kids, all the Bukowski (of course), a lot of Italo Calvino, Roberto Bolano, and believe it or not Sontag’s On Photography are also in the running. I have basically had to stop carrying NYRB titles because they walk out the door. Melville House novellas are nearly as bad.

>We’ve also lost a lot of Wimpy Kid at book fairs over the years, but that’s not the same kind of issue.

>HThe conclusion we’ve come to is that people steal books that they think will make them seem smart but perhaps have no intention of reading (and hence don’t want to pay for?). The link seems to be a sense of pretentiousness, looking at the specific books that walk.”—Lexi Beach, Owner

>>10406713
>stollen books
sounds tasty

>>10406713
Books you'd expext to see on an ANTIFA's bookshelf. Degenerate criminal scum need to be removed from the gene pool so we can enter the galactic space colony age.

>the works of two authors

I'm not buying it

>>10406713
perhaps theyre books popular with teenagers with no disposable income?

>>10406762
then just steal it

>>10406762
>“In the past couple decades, we had a long-standing rule of keeping Charles Bukowski behind the register—his books seem to be stolen more than most other authors. (I’ve heard this is the case for other stores too.) But, within the past couple years we have returned him to the shelf with the rest of the literature or poetry, and so far it seems to be going well.

>>10406786

>>10406786

>>10406786

>>10406762
>“We keep all of our Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Kerouac, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Paulo Coelho, and Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita behind the counter. Books from our philosophy and metaphysics sections also often get stolen, as well as DVDs and of course, expensive coffee table books.”

>“Without question, Bukowski is our single-most stolen author. For reasons that are probably obvious. A Google search for the phrase “lowlife literature” brings up the headline, “Bukowski: The Godfather of Lowlife Literature” as its first result. Of course, I don’t mean this to denigrate Bukowski’s merit as an author. But his misfit aesthetic definitely appeals to the sort of non-conformist character who believes that stealing their books is appropriate and/or exhilarating. I can’t hate them for it, but I do wish they wouldn’t steal from small, pop-and-pop bookstores with rent and utility bills to pay. Also: (Paulo Coelho’s) The Alchemist. Frequently lifted. Here, I will be snotty and say that there’s connection between cheap, pseudo-spiritual novels and moral unscrupulousness.

>>10406786
kek

Tao I know your browsing /lit/ to see if we are talking about you. Post some of your stories of stealing books.

>>10406845
>people steal Coelho
that probably goes against everything his works stand for

>>10406858
if you want it enough, the whole world has a way of conspiring together to get you a free book

>>10406855
no just post your feet again

I work at a bookstore. We don't keep books behind the counter, but we do have a "cool books section" which is right in front of the register and we always keep a direct eye on it.

>>10407221
>Cool books
Dare I ask?

>go to big chain bookstore with cafe
>Some cunt always leaves a half empty coffee on the shelf

Pisses me right off

>>10407221
We also have two tables in front of the register to keep an eye on em. Stealing has been really really bad in the past so where we did just have a table with some kids goodies on it, we now have a table filled with shit by the beats and bukowski etc.
Just Kids has probably been the most stolen book I've seen and I've been working there for about eighteen years. Also Infinite Jest and it's harder to hide.

>this isn't one of them

>>10407268
>walk into B&N with large sizes hot coffee, just bought it
>smile at the security guard as I walk in, he smiles back
>in the fiction section, back of the store
>dozens of copies of a new book are lined up on the floor, spine in so i can't see what book it is
>bend over to pick one up
>as I bend over my coffee spills all over about a dozen of the books, basically ruining them, I estimate $250-$300 in damages
>I look up for a security camera to make sure they didn't get my face but when I see one I freeze and stare at it for 10 seconds like a fucking deer in the headlights
>I place my coffee cup on a shelf and casually walk out
>I hear an employee in the back of the store yell "jesus fucking christ!"
>security guard smiles at me as I leave, I smile back
>tfw the coffee cup i left had my easily searchable unique first name and last initial on it

>>10407244
Answear this

>>10406786

>>10407312
>drinking coffee from Starbucks
Disgusting

>>10407298
So Bukowski gets stolen at your joint too?
To what do you attribute this to?

>>10407490
the homeless need toilet paper

>>10406851
Based book shop owner bringing the bants

>>10406713
When I was in highschool 20 years ago the public library had a similar display, I remember becuase it had half of David Edding's Belgariad series (which is just finished reading) on it, a Dragonlance novel of short stories (kender, gully dwarves and gnomes?) And a few 'lone wolf' choose your own adventure books

Literally all fantasy novels.

It's amazing how culture has changed, and everyone is desperate to be a psued now.

>>10406845
>stealing
as a middle class moralfag i will never ever understand why people do this

>>10408442
Poorfag here. Most of us are low IQ baboons, hence why we're poor in the first place.

>>10408455
you should seize the means of production and not some pleb pulp lit

>>10406786

>>10406786
ba dum tiss

back when i was a dope addict i would regularly steal bestsellers from supermarkets that had little or no security and then return them to barnes and noble and borders for store credit. then i would either sell the gift cards at around 60% of their value or buy blu-rays/DVDs and sell those for around the same price.

after like a year of doing this both borders and barnes and noble both changed their national policy and stopped accepting book returns without a receipt. i feel i had some small part in this.

>>10409964
youve really left your mark on the world of literature

>>10409964
Great going, OP. You fucked us all.

>>10406831
>>10406835
>>10406853
>>10407358
>>10408491
>>10406840
>samefagging this hard

>>10408442
>waaah leave my big Corp daddy alone

Bootlickers should be gassed

>>10410447
fag

>>10406713

>Donald Morrison of U.S. news magazine TIME referred to him as "one of the most famous, oft-banned and widely pirated of all Chinese writers
>not featured in OP's pic

Mo Yan BTFO

>>10410451
yes please

>>10407302
This book any good?

>thief's have shit taste

This is kinda disappointing

>>10406713
Lol, ive stolen bukowski before.

>>10407244
>>10407325

It's just shit like Bukowski and Kerouac. We also have a lot of Philip Roth there I don't know if he's stolen a lot or not but that's wehre we put the Roth.

>>10408442
because they can
same reason people steal 3D glasses at the movies

poor people actually work hard towards getting what they want, although they might just download an ebook

actual robbers don't steal mundane shit and just pay for it with crime money instead

>>10408442
For me it's a 70 : 30 of excitement and greed. It sounds extremely dumb but stealing is an amazing rush and there's some skill involved too. Also bookstores are not very risky targets; no electronic safety measures, no security guards, employees are mostly middle-aged women who won't try to physically stop you.

>>10408487
I'm perfectly content with occasionally seizing the products of production, thank you.

>>10410447
>mad he didn't say it first

>>10410487
I dunno

>>10410487
>>10411301
that marketing is working on me, im interested

>>10410693
>because they can
don't other people have that little voice inside their head telling them what's right and wrong? am i just schizo or something?

>>10412426
some people just don't listen

>>10406786

>>10406755
I came here to post this

>>10406786
*claps*

>>10406713

Lel.

In my home country, they did a somewhat informal survey of booksellers recently, but interestingly enough they were unanimous in experiencing that Nietzsche books were the ones most often stolen.

>>10412573
*steals Twilight of The Idols under trenchcoat from behind you*
pshh nothin' personnell kid

>>10406713
So is this shelf like a challenge or what?
Book stores don't have security

>>10406755
>>10412566
german bros, get out!

>>10406713
It's logical. Who would spend money in that shit? Just steal it.

>>10406851
I had a friend who was a huge Bukowski fan. She was also a compulsive shoplifter. So there may be some truth to that about lowlives.

>“Historically, the number one title stolen is Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. I have no idea what that says about the thieves.

This is one of the seminal identity politics books so I suspect people are curious about the hype but don't want their money going to support it in any way. Me, I'd just browse a few pages at the public library.

>>10411086
>no electronic safety measures, no security guards, employees are mostly middle-aged women who won't try to physically stop you.
I want to believe

Book thief here. Between 2014 and 2015 I stole about 2000 USD worth of books. Lately I had to quit for a number of reasons, ranging from space to a recession hitting my country and more security being present in stores. It's really fucking easy, specially if you look like a student and walk around with a bunch of books in your backpack. Stick to chain stores, not only for ethical reasons but because employees are paid shit and likely won't care if they suspect you stole something but is too far away.

I work in a big book chain retailer. I can never fucking find last copies of Bukowski and i'm sure they're being stolen by the kind of intellectually immature cunts that would think Bukowski is worth stealing.

>>10406845
why is the metaphysics section separate from the philosophy section?

I wish I could steal but whenever I go into stores people always watch me.

>>10413930
I'm seriously thinking about doing this

>>10406713
Heres the full image btw

>>10411086
You could just pirate it through bok or something. Otherwise you ought to congratulate yourself on routinely helping print literature die.

>>10406786

>>10406713
>stollen books

They are doing some really top-notch stuff with frosting these days as we can see here

>>10406729
>Calvino
Ermes Marana!!!!!!

>>10406762
>>10406786
I see what you guys did there

>>10406786

>>10415920
I do pirate. I steal exclusively comics and manga. I still buy print books occasionally, especially as presents.

>>10410499
There he is, the genius with impeccable taste that can't even type thieves properly

>>10417720
read it with the possessive apostrophe, its actually quite surreall desu