[Ab]

Nearly half of my colleagues studied politics, we’re in the book world because we enjoy discussing ideas, and we’re low-wage earners – of course we have views, not only about the world, but about the books we sell. On occasion, that’s led to some perhaps less-than-ethical behaviour.

Jordan Peterson’s self-help book ​12 (not 20) Rules for Life​ is a good example. After becoming well-known for his views on ​free speech and gender-neutral pronouns​, Peterson was adopted as a mascot of the alt-right. Boxes upon boxes of his books arrived in our shop, and most staff weren’t thrilled.

So after selling dozens of copies to both Peterson fans and people simply intrigued by the title, a few of my colleagues had had enough and ended up hiding Peterson’s books in a cupboard behind the till. “We’ll sell them if someone asks,” they said, “but we’re not going to advertise them on the shop floor.”