Friday, January 27, 2006

Who gives a fuck?

Jesus Christ, I can't believe that this is such a big fucking issue. The author was srong to present his book as fact if it was made up or even partially made up, but who really cares whether some guy lied in his memoir? Don't like it? Don't fucking buy it, that's how simple it is. Sure the guy should be forced to tell the truth, but he shouldn't be treated like he's some sort of fucking criminal. I'll tell you what, if I could write a book, pass it off as fact and sell as many as he has, I'd do it in a second. And I wouldn't feel all that guilty about it. If you found the story inspirational and it helped you in some way, or you just found it entertaining, then none of that should change just because it's not true. Shut the fuck up about it, already. It's hardly something we should devote this much attention to.

And as great as I think it is that Oprah gets more people to read, I also am a little sad everytime I see that a lot of people only seem to read or care about what Oprah tells them to read. There are a whole lot of books out there, and I bet even Oprah hasn't read them all. Find some for yourself, you might find that you like your taste even better than Oprah's.

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11 comments:

somewaterytart said...

I second all that. I was reading Anna Karenina in the airport, and the women next to me said, Oh, are you in an Oprah book club? I mean, it's cool that people are reading, but it's also nice to make one's own decisions.

John Howard said...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure books have been around longer than Oprah's book club.

Fixer said...

I wish folks would show as much outrage about being lied to by their President.

saraeanderson said...

I think the problem with this particular book is that it claims to debunk commonly-held ideas about how to get over addiction, but whatever you feel about 12-step programs and such, you can't fight truth with myth or myth with myth. It's like handing out Horatio Alger novels at the welfare office.

Scott G said...

I hat Oprah's book club. You should need a license to buy books or get them from the library. The test would check to see if you could think for yourself. If not, why bother reading the book.

John Howard said...

I like to swear, but at home I can't do it as freely, so it's no fun.

Now, though Shelby tells me she and her friends read this at school, so now I'm going to think about that everytime I type fuck.

John Howard said...

I agree Fixer that people have their priorities all screwed up, especailly when the circumstances are similar in that both people are lying to them.

And sara, I understand the point, and I definitely don't think the author should be able to present his fiction as truth and go unchallenged. But I also think it's not that big a deal, and definitely not to the extent of the coverage it's getting, and I also don't think he should be treated as badly as he has been.

And Me4Pres, I really do think Oprah's book club is a good thing in that it encourages people to read. But I really wonder about why people would need someone to tell them what to read, or prod them to read in the first place.

John Howard said...

I agree Fixer that people have their priorities all screwed up, especailly when the circumstances are similar in that both people are lying to them.

And sara, I understand the point, and I definitely don't think the author should be able to present his fiction as truth and go unchallenged. But I also think it's not that big a deal, and definitely not to the extent of the coverage it's getting, and I also don't think he should be treated as badly as he has been.

And Me4Pres, I really do think Oprah's book club is a good thing in that it encourages people to read. But I really wonder about why people would need someone to tell them what to read, or prod them to read in the first place.

Anonymous said...

Oprah, like it or not, is a powerful cultural influence. I found it deeply disturbing when she called Larry King and essentially said, "truth doesn't matter." It matters very much, and Oprah prides herself on the fact that her celebrity allows her to do good in the world. She sent the wrong message by defending this author, and she was vilified for it. Now she has used her public position to say, "I should not have said that truth doesn't matter. It matters very much."

Too bad our leaders aren't listening.

Anonymous said...

I thought Oprah took things to the extreme .... I bet if she was getting a cut of the sales she would have been fine with what ever he had to say ;)

John Howard said...

I think she was wrong to stand by the guy in the beginning, but now she's gone too far the other direction. Leave it alone, already. The guy is exposed, it's not like he's a criminal.