Actually romantic (Anthropic and Barnes & Noble version)
I disappear for a few weeks and the news gets weird.
Hi all,
Ever get the sense you’re being followed?
I do.
Specifically, I emerged from my book writing hole to find two news stories waiting in my inbox.
The first is that Anthropic is apparently recruiting religious leaders to help train its chatbot, Claude, to be more ethical.
This, as regular readers will know, is EXACTLY the origin story of LLIAM, the AI bot in The Confessions, whose religious upbringing almost causes the end of the world.
Just a casual glance towards Washington DC should tell you why converting to religion later in life doesn’t necessarily make you a moral being. In fact, this shiny new religious certainty is too often used to give cover to unpardonable sins. Lookin’ at you, JD!
Still, I suppose it’s good news for sales of THE CONFESSIONS which comes out in paperback in the US next week, with this fantastic new cover…
A NATIONAL BESTSELLER, INDEED!
As with the hardcover release, first week sales count for a lot so if you haven’t read The Confessions yet, I’d be forever in your debt if you pre-order a copy here. And of course I’ll sign it for you before shipping it out.
…
The second story: Barnes and Noble is reportedly considering opening a rival store right by The Best Bookstore in Union Square.
You might remember they threatened to pull the exact same stunt soon after we opened our store in Palm Springs. On that occasional they apparently blithely told people that they’d just buy out our store to avoid being in direct competition with a successful indy. When we made clear that we weren’t for sale at any price, they bailed.
Maybe they’ll do the same in Union Square. Or maybe we’ll finally get to play out our real-life version of You’ve Got Mail.
In any case, this weird habit of James Daunt (lookin’ at you, other JD!) waiting until we prove a local market before ploughing in with his private equity money is - in the words of Taylor Swift - actually romantic.
Ok, that’s all for now. I’m off to Palm Springs to cover for Nancy and Lexie so they can go to Coachella weekend #2. Come see me at the PS store this weekend!
Paul