There are literally hundreds of comments left by people criticizing Barnes & Noble, many promising to boycott the company, and from what we can tell, none have been deleted.

Arguments have broken out among the commenters, resulting in impassioned debates on topics including animal rights, the banning of books, prisoner reform, corporate ethics, and the correlation between animal abuse and sociopathy. There is name-calling, emotional bonding, and a whole mess of spelling errors. In short, it’s a free-for-all, and has been for nearly a week.

Whoever runs the Barnes & Noble Facebook page is either a passionate supporter of open debate, or falling asleep on the job.

Here’s hoping they never wake up.

Previously on FishbowlLA:
Publisher Says Threats of Violence Behind Cancellation of Michael Vick Book Tour
Michael Vick Book Signings Spark Barnes & Noble Boycott
Michael Vick’s Appearances at Barnes & Noble Stores Cancelled

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But this was not a case of a corporation finding their conscience. On Monday afternoon, Vick’s publisher released a statement that the book tour had been cancelled by Worthy Publishing “after credible threats of personal harm and property damage were received by Barnes & Noble Booksellers and distinguished independent bookstore Books & Greetings in Northvale, New Jersey.”

With one press release, the story had changed. Both Barnes & Noble and Michael Vick had become sympathetic characters, their detractors potentially violent criminals. The author, publisher, and book sellers were able to back out of a book tour that had become a public relations nightmare, all without ceding any ground to the protestors.

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Animal lovers began an online petition late last week demanding Barnes & Noble cancel Vick’s in-store appearances. The bookseller’s Facebook page quickly filled up with comments from customers angry that B&N was hosting an event with a convicted animal abuser and killer.

Protestors got their way, but if the B&N website is to be believed, it is Worthy Publishing, the publisher of Vick’s book Finally Free: An Autobiography, that cancelled the events. Whether the cancellations were a reaction to customer protests remains unclear. Neither Barnes & Noble nor Worthy Publishing have commented the issue. We’ve reached out to both companies, but have yet to hear back.

Previously on FishbowLA: Michael Vick Book Signings Spark Barnes & Noble Boycott

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A petition was started last week asking Barnes & Noble to cancel the signings, and the bookseller’s Facebook page has since been flooded with comments from angry customers. Many readers are vowing that they will never shop at B&N again if the company doesn’t cancel Vick’s scheduled appearances, and several have called for B&N to stop selling the book altogether.

While we at FishbowlLA aren’t generally in favor of boycotting bookstores, it’s hard to see gruesome photographs of the victims of dogfighting and remain impartial.

We’ve reached out to Barnes & Noble for their reaction to the controversy, and will let you know if we hear back.

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This book is not for everyone. It’s dark and twisted, and frankly, it gave me nightmares. But if you’ve the stomach for that sort of thing, you should head over to Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena on Saturday, where author Sandi Tan will be discussing her new work. I will probably see you there, because after reading her book, I have a mad girl-crush on Ms. Tan and want her to be my new best friend. Also, they sometimes have snacks at these things.

Saturday the 11th, 4 pm, Vroman’s, 695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, 626-449-5320.

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We’re not alone. Steve Kovach of Business Insider is live tweeting Fox News Magazine as we speak. Jezebel did a round-up of the site’s 5 stupidest articles. The Atlantic Wire calls it “Listicles about fat and sex.” Mother Jones asks, “Um, Fox News lifestyles magazine? For women circa 1955?” Mike Madden tweeted that this week’s Washington City Paper “will be delayed while I spend the rest of the day being amazed by the Fox News lifestyle magazine.” Meanwhile, we all keep giving it page hits because we just can’t seem to help ourselves.

The article most deserving of those page hits has to be “10 Pranks That Will Spice Up Your Relationship,” a list of recommended grade-school tricks like gluing a coin to the ground that will supposedly lead to hot sex. And be sure to read the comments before they all get deleted.

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The blogging culminated Thursday with an account of the birth of his daughter, as gritty and raw as you’d expect from the author of Permanent Midnight. Fans of the junkie memoir will recall that when Stahl’s first child was born, he was high on black tar heroin. But two decades of clean living later, Stahl is sober enough to observe every excruciating moment of his girlfriend’s labor:

I’m at my post, by the head of the bed, mopping E’s brow with a weirdly scrapey washrag. The doctor glances up at me. “HERE SHE COMES! Come on Daddy, do you want to see?”

And without thinking, I leave the head of the bed and stagger to the foot, where, before I can blink, I see some kind of long black probe protruding from E’s savaged vagina. “Jesus fuck! What is that? An antenna!?”

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This is heartbreaking news to those of us nostalgic for the pre-Wikipedia era, and likely meaningless to the average high school student. But it shouldn’t be surprising. The book sets may be what most people think of when they hear the company name, but sales of the print edition account for less than 1% of Britannica’s sales. Digital is much more profitable for the company these days.

That means the 2010 encyclopedia set will be the final print edition. And it can be yours for just $1,395!

Alternately, an annual subscription to Britannica Online costs just 70 bucks, and you’ll have money left over for a trip to Cancun. Nostalgia solved.

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The L.A. Zine Fest takes place this Sunday at the downtown Spring Arts Tower, in The Last Bookstore and on the floor above. The event will feature panel discussions, workshops, even a conversation between Henry Rollins and the legendary V. Vale of RE/Search Publications. L.A. Record will host an afterparty in the bookstore, with KXLU DJs spinning.

A pre-fest Comix & Zine Reading is planned for Saturday evening at the art gallery Home Room. Over a dozen local artists are participating, including the creators of FishbowlLA’s beloved comic Henry & Glenn Forever.

All events are free.

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• TVNewser: Nancy Grace defends her Whitney Houston comments on Good Morning America.
• FishbowlNY: XXL staffers suspended over posting of pro-rape video.
• MedianewsDaily: Jobless claims break 350k barrier.
• TVSpy: Car crashes behind FOX reporter during live report on Whitney Houston’s funeral.
• UnBeige: Dr. Timothy Potts named new director of J. Paul Getty Museum.

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Point is, he’s mouthy, he came out with a book, and he’s in town to sign it. Where to find him:

* Thursday, 2/9, 7:00 pm
Revolution Books
5726 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles

* Monday, 2/13, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
In conversation Robert Scheer, author of Playing President. Presented by the Center for the Study of Political Graphics.
West Hollywood Library
625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood

* Tuesday, 2/14, 7:00pm
Vroman’s
695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena

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Some jerk sent us two boxes of this awful book (SPOILER ALERT: George Washington – Patriot; George Soros – Pinhead) instead of anything soldiers at a remote outpost in Afghanistan might need, like, say, food or soap. Just burned the whole lot of them on my Commander’s orders.

The post quickly went viral, and the soldier, who does not blog under his real name, felt the need to respond to some of the reactions. He clarified that while he understood the issues surrounding the burning of books, these were torched for practical reasons. At his remote location there is no way to return the books, and extra space is at a minimum. All unwanted items are disposed of, mostly by burning.

He added, “I won’t say I didn’t take pleasure in removing a few copies of this bigoted twerp’s writings from circulation, but the reason for doing so was military necessity.”

If you’d like to send the troops things they actually need, you can do so via Operation Shoebox.

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• We always knew when you were intently reading Better Homes and Gardens, it was really a hidden Playboy.
• It confused us when we were asked where the non-fiction section is.
• Most of the time when you returned books you read them already — and we were onto you.
• We were never a daycare. Letting your children run free and destroy our section destroyed a piece of our souls.

Via our sister blog Galleycat.

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The first book on the roster is Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion, which Silverblatt describes as “perhaps the most dazzling and dissolute Los Angeles novel, a good way to talk about how style can become content. Since Ms. Didion has a new book coming out soon (I’ve read it, it’s amazing), it would be a good way to begin a broader discussion of her work.”

Anyone interested in joining the book club should request membership via Facebook.

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“So which side are you on,” the agent asked, “far-right or far-left?” Winkler explained that neither he nor his book came down hard on either side of the gun debate, to which the agent replied incredulously, “Have you ever seen a TV news show?” Nuance, it seems, doesn’t get booked on FOX or MSNBC. So without an extremist stance, Winkler’s career as a talking head was over before it began.

This anecdote was shared with guests by the author at his book party in Beverly Hills Thursday night, held at the home of his parents, Irwin and Margo Winkler, and co-hosted by Arianna Huffington and Ron and Kelly Meyer. But the history of guns in America, Winkler explained, doesn’t correspond neatly with extreme ideologies.

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