Are you making a run to Costco today? Need 36 rolls of toilet paper or printer cartridges or a 6 pack of antiperspirant? If you are headed there, would you do me (and all progressives) a favor and check out the books they have for sale and then do one more thing.
I was at my neighborhood Costco yesterday—where my husband had a Jim Plunkett sighting which was a real thrill for him— and went to the book section and found prominently displayed books by Michael Savage, Bill O’Reilly, Dinesh D'souza and Bob Woodward. Curiously, I did not find Markos’ book, did not find Ed Schultz’s book, did not find any of Thom Hartmann’s books, not even Arianna Huffington’s latest or Jon Stewart’s Earth was present. This was both maddening and frustrating to me.
Why should I or you care about what books Costco sells? Well, Costco is a serious bookseller. According to Wikipedia, they are the third largest retailer in the US. In 2008, The New York Times, in an article titled, Book Lovers Ask, What’s Seattle’s Secret? it was noted that:
For its part, Costco offers a relatively small, hand-picked selection to its millions of cardholders. On the book tables in the middle of its 383 warehouses nationwide are just 250 titles. When a title makes it to Costco, however, it generally sells in vast quantities.
Jeff Rogart calls on Costco’s headquarters outside Seattle four times a year for HarperCollins. "Costco’s visibility in publishing has risen to the level of Barnes & Noble’s and the other big chains,’ " he said, adding that much of that climb could be credited to Pennie Clark Ianniciello.
Costco’s book buyer since 1994, Ms. Clark Ianniciello stocks the latest best sellers but also "has an uncanny knack for leading customers to buy books, for molding their taste," Mr. Rogart said. "She seems to know what they’ll enjoy discovering."
So, we have a blue business that is "leading customers to buy books, for molding their tastes"—and they are being lead to the likes of Savage, O’Reilly and D’Souza.
I think this is problematic for us as progressives. How do we create the change we want if Middle America is reading this kind of liberals are not American, anti-progressive, Obama is the boogey-man kind of cr*p.
I ask for you to review the titles that are at your local Costco and then please write a nice letter or email to the headquarters of Costco asking for books that support the ideals and values that make us progressives, perhaps even give a few suggestions to them. If we are going to get the kind of America we want, we can leave no stone unturned. Costco’s book department seems like a place that needs to be turned.
The Costco book buyer is: Pennie Clark Ianniciello.
Costco’s headquarter address is: PO Box 34331 Seattle, WA 98124
So perhaps we can get some help create a bit of change and reduce the audience of buyers for the likes of Savage and O'Reilly.
I know many here aren't fans of big box stores, but Costco has been known for being a "Blue Business"—businesses that lean Democratic or that treat their employees well.
The Costco I was in was in Redwood City CA, middle of the SF Peninsula, in a blue city, blue county (San Mateo) so I don't think the buying reflects the community surrounding the Costco.