Telegraph ex-pat book club
‘Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper’ has been chosen as the first book featured by the international ex-pat wing of the Daily Telegraph’s website. This is great, except that the discussion so far has been hijacked by people who haven’t read the book, but accuse me of promoting the consumption of shark’s fin!
If they did read the book, of course, they’d discover that there’s a whole chapter about the damage caused by the consumption of bits of endangered species, including shark’s fin.
It’s very weird – the very mention of shark’s fin seems to be a kind of trigger for outrage. This has happened to me before online, and I do wonder if some people do a kind of websearch for the term ‘shark’s fin’, and then automatically post furious messages, without troubling themselves to find out what is actually being said.
Hmm.
4 Responses to “Telegraph ex-pat book club”
Welcome to the internet! I wouldn’t let it bother you.
That is what most of the comments on some of those newspaper sites are like. The Times is similar.
There’s a weblog called spEak You’re bRanes that has stupid comments as its subject:
http://ifyoulikeitsomuchwhydontyougolivethere.com/?p=3598
Same think happened when I posted about your book on my blog – but months after the post. I’m all for justified outrage, but if you start trawling the internet looking for places to vent it I think you’re in trouble. An opportunity usually presents itself soon enough.
Hi Fuchsia,
I wouldn’t worry about what they’re saying.
Many people have read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it (including myself) and their views are definetely in the minority.