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OneLongjumping4022 t1_j9e4nr9 wrote

I've thrown out bad books rather than donate them. Usually they have to be both badly written and unethical, but in the last few years, a new category had shown up, the amateur and completely unedited novel. They're even showing up in the library! Misspellings on every page, an author with no ability or knowledge of language, poorly printed, and a complete lack of editorial handling.

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Buttercup23nz t1_j9e5kqw wrote

I held onto an awful book for years because I couldn't bring myself to burn it but it was so bad I didn't want anyone else to pick it up and mistakenly think it was going to be an OK read. Eventually I threw it in the rubbish.

There're been a few I considered writing on the front page 'this book was one of the most boeing/annoying/shallow... things I've ever read hut I can't bring myself to throw it out, so here it is, still existing. I suggest you don't read it.'

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OneLongjumping4022 t1_j9e7z1j wrote

In hotel rooms, these books could replace the Gideon bible, which doesn't have the manners to come with that warning.

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Buttercup23nz t1_j9e8tmq wrote

Ah, but I don't mind the Bible, at all.

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OneLongjumping4022 t1_j9eedgl wrote

That's nice. I read Pratchett and Heinlein to review my ethical guidelines.

Wonder which of us read and consider our touchstone literature more often.

add: Poor Sir Terry

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Buttercup23nz t1_j9ehtge wrote

Personally, daily. But this is not a competition, nor a combat. You do what works for you, which is what I do.

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OneLongjumping4022 t1_j9g2cql wrote

U can only admire those who raise warriors for Christ, we got us a world to conquer!

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justmehere_andnow t1_j9fhs8i wrote

I work in a bookstore and can tell you this has been infuriating the last few years. Quality control in printing has just dropped to near zero in some cases. I think this is definitely a multi-sided issue, but largely comes from a massive rise in self publishing. Lots of vanity presses let you print whatever with minimal work put into it. I’ve seen people mistakenly order $30 books that are entirely made of copy-pasted Wikipedia articles. Accidentally ordering a series that has the same name as the one they’re reading, but is clearly a ripoff. People copying-pasting entire books and making unofficial listings for them on Amazon/etc. It’s gone so out of control that at my store we can’t even accept local author’s works because we don’t know what their quality will be since it varies so much. Don’t get me wrong, some of my favorite books have been self published. But the industry is definitely taking over with a “print whatever you want, don’t bother editing” system.

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ActonofMAM t1_j9f79xy wrote

Sometimes they do have good passages, which turn out to be plagiarized from much better novels by other people. Nora Roberts sued hell out of such an author some years ago, and donated the proceeds to some literary charity or other.

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Aggressive_Towels t1_j9f1dsr wrote

What's an unethical book to you?

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OneLongjumping4022 t1_j9gzr3t wrote

James Frey's work, a lot of the conservative political screeds you find clogging shelves in Goodwill, etc

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Nasaboy1987 t1_j9gfo94 wrote

Self publishing on Amazon has brought about so many people that have never even heard of an editor to paperback. Amazon should as least start a service where they can pay to have an editor review the books and recommend changes without taking a part of the copyright.

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