// Index
All the Misery in the World
Standing in WH Smith’s Queue of Eternity on Saturday (loading up with envelopes and Torchwood magazine – I’m still cut up about Tosh) the flatmate and I were stunned to realise that the Non Fiction section we were standing next to featured not one, not two, but seven true-life stories of child-abuse in the top ten.
I mean… seven! All of which had a picture of a child and a sort of handwriting-ey-esque font on the cover and titles like “Please Don’t Tell Mummy”, “Our Little Secret”, “A Broken Child” and so on.
So, please tell me, British book-buying public… what the hell is the matter with you? How much of other people’s misery do you feel the need to consume? Is this something you have to do to make your own lives seem better or are you just deeply morbidly inclined?
Thankfully Bill Bryson’s entertaining dissection of the life of Shakespeare was number one so I guess there’s hope yet, but honestly…
Posted on April 23, 2008 | Filed Under The World we Live In
Comments
Response left by emma on April 28th, 2008
Yeah, I must jot down my notes on Torchwood – but it was certainly a damn sight better than last year!
Doctor Who I’m loving, though. For me it’s like they’re really hitting the right notes more often than not. (That said I felt that way about season three and that went horribly wrong on a few points for me – somehow this just feels bigger though.)
Response left by Rob on April 28th, 2008
I’m sorry but haven’t you noticed the rise of these soul expunging literary works with titles like ?¢‚Ǩ?ìDaddy, No!?¢‚Ǩ¬ù and ?¢‚Ǩ?ìMummy didn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t buy me the Barbie I wanted.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù
They all, as you say have the titles in a handwritten font and a picture of a child in sepia/pastel tones giving the impression that the contents are set in some mythical golden age of childhood. I have no doubt that some, if not all, of these stories were tragic and difficult for the writers to live through but I cannot imagine the drive of the buying public to buy these.
And possibly more surprising the fact that in my WHSmiths we have no dedicated sections in the fiction area of the store ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú everything is alphabetically ordered ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú however right in the middle of it a whole shelving display is titled ?¢‚Ǩ?ìTragic, True-life Stories?¢‚Ǩ¬ù. A whole display! There are good books they don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t stock because someone buys this excrement!
Response left by Pandemonia on May 11th, 2008
Got something to say?
There’s some sick puppies out there tis true.
And Torchwood finale, I must admit I knew what was coming as far as Owen was concerned and although Tosh was a bit of a shock I had an inkling….also I was just pleased it was Ianto
Top second season I thought….haven’t been that impressed with Doctor Who in comparison….just seems a bit too ‘family’….any thoughts?