The used bookstore on Edward Street turned down my copy of The Cult of the Amateur: How today’s internet is killing our culture. (While looking up the link for the book, I found that it has now been released in paperback with a slightly altered subtitle: “How blogs, MySpace, YouTube, and the rest of today’s user-generated media are destroying our economy, our culture, and our values.” Don’t hold back, Andrew. Tell us how you really feel.) I believe the clerk’s exact words were “I’m going to pass on this.” Seconds later, he offered me $5 for a book whose subtitle includes the word “destructive.” Seeing as how the latter doesn’t blame the internet for the imminent fall of civilization, I can’t say I blame him.
I’m now left with a vegan cookbook I may end up keeping (but substituting all the organic ingredients I’ve never heard of with their dairy- and meat-filled equivalents) and a book that essentially heralds the end of the world at the hands of web 2.0. But at least I have the version with the tame subtitle. Apparently the internet was not killing the economy and our “values” back then. Thank goodness for that.
I spent the $5 on lunch and lamented not telling the guy that he could have had the internet book for free.
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