that clinking clanking sound

Came across the blog of a bookseller in Boulder. Back in December he had a post about trying to cut his orders by 20%. Wrote:

The very first book on the order was the paperback of Scott Spencer's Willing. Boy, this was going to be easier then I thought. Willing is hands down the single worst novel that I have managed to finish this decade. Spencer, who made his reputation writing Endless Love, manages to offend everyone with his idiotic plot of a freelance writer going on a high-end traveling sex tour. I drew a quick yellow line through the title despite the fact we sold four copies of the book in hardback.

Which is presumably why it's harder to be a Houellebecq in America. The thing that's so startling to an American reader, reading French writers, is the freedom from the anxiety to please.