Sarah Vowell, who I happen to like and whose The Wordy Shipmates I just finished reading, is scheduled to appear at the Englert Theatre tonight as part of "Live at Prairie Lights" on WSUI.
It's a ticketed event, which isn't unusual for popular authors at the Englert, but this one has a catch. One can only acquire tickets by purchasing a copy of The Wordy Shipmates at Prairie Lights; two tickets are included in the purchase.
Now, I like Sarah Vowell, but that policy is utter crap and I'm pretty sure it's not her fault. I know people who come to "Live at Prairie Lights" events from other towns and a number of times have already acquired the book (because they wanted to read it) at whatever bookstore they choose to patronize. I don't know what Prairie Lights wants to prove but I'm pretty sure requiring attendees to purchase the book at that establishment will drive some patrons away.
Like me - I've never been to a signing anywhere that didn't let you bring your own copy along with to be signed.
What's their return policy again? Because, I can imagine, they're going to seeing a lot of those books coming back to them.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember correctly, PL is evil enough to pretty much only allow returns for store credit (Russ and I found a receipt in a book returned to us - it turns out they just won't give you your money back at all).
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