Comments on: I totally just touched my book

By: Lemonade Lily

Lemonade Lily — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:58:27 +0000

I just totally touched up your book. Almost had an orgasm when I found it on the door mat on return from my hols. Sod unpacking – I put my feet up and devoured it voraciously – loved it, laughed out loud, read bits out to my increasingly annoyed husband and generally had fun! Intellectual ambrosia. Yum indeed! God I feel enthused and my BS detector is now set at DefCon2. I am now looking forward to a new semester at wooniversity for all the wrong reasons! As (ehmmmm) an annoying scientist doing a second BSc in a CAM subject (sympathy please – it is bloody hard to stay sane) I am going to recommend my university (sic) library import a box of your book.
And that it is added to the essential reading list of all core modules…well I can dream! Thank you Ben!

By: Nicola Slade

Nicola Slade — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:07:30 +0000

You really don’t need to have a blockbuster, Ben, to get an audiobook deal. My first novel, Scuba Dancing (pub.Transita) was a romantic comedy and went into both audio and large print. Have just heard that my latest book, Murder Most Welcome, a Victorian mystery, is to go into audio and large print too. Both published by small independent publishers and as for blockbusters… I wish!

By: Getonyerbike

Getonyerbike — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:57:38 +0000

you’re forgiven (about the index) Same thing happened to my wife’s book. I think its a first book thing.

By: Jane Smith

Jane Smith — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:00:55 +0000

I’ve just stuck a review up on Amazon, but mine doesn’t begin to approach the poetry of Mr Coqhill’s who is to be commended for his fabulous piece of what ever it was.

Ben, audiobooks aren’t restricted to big blockbuster novels: just to books that might have a market in that area. Get your agent onto the job.

By: Robert Carnegie

Robert Carnegie — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:55:38 +0000

“A gross oversight in this day and age” – Amazon review by Z. Carey. Meaning the index. “2 of 2 people found this review helpful” – so far.

Ah well – when does Google Books get it?

By: Ben Goldacre

Ben Goldacre — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:19:07 +0000

yeah i was annoyd about that, communication breakdown. they told me i would pay for the index to be made, 300 quid, i raised my eyebrows in “arent you all skanky” surprise, but didnt say, like, “no” (although i might have said “you skanky fuckers”). then it was all a bit rushed getting it to the printers on time what with things like BULLYING MORONS trying to sue me for daring to question their ideas (they may regret this, as you and they may come to see in the next few days i think) and i only noticed they’d not done one at the last minute, they said they thought i didnt want one, that it didnt need one, and it was too late. so soz about that. i did want one. annoying. maybe i should make a “print out ‘n’ keep” one now on the web?

By: Getonyerbike

Getonyerbike — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 08:01:12 +0000

INDEX!!!

YOU FORGOT THE INDEX!!

I’m sending my FOUR copies back and i’m going to wait for the second edition.

By: westendwookie

westendwookie — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:19:46 +0000

I’m totally expecting my copy to be at home when I get back from work. Looking forward to reading it especially as I’ll be seeing my credulous in-laws tomorrow.

By: plastictastic

plastictastic — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:50:54 +0000

Order from Amazon.co.uk thumped onto my desk this morning – marvellous.

By: Wonk411

Wonk411 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:24:24 +0000

From the US, go to Amazon UK and place your order. It has shipped:

Greetings from Amazon.co.uk,

We thought you would like to know that the following item has been sent
to:

[Name]
[Address]
San Francisco, CA

using Royal Mail.

For more information about delivery estimates and any open orders, please
visit:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/your-account

Your order #026-2969807-[XXXXXXX] (received August 25,2008)
————————————————————————-
Ordered Title Price Dispatched Subtotal
———————————————————————
Amazon.co.uk items (Sold by Amazon EU S.a.r.L.):

1 Bad Science £6.49 1 £6.49

Shipped via Royal Mail

————————————————————————-
Subtotal: £6.49
Delivery Charge: £6.98
EB Pre-order Guarantee £0.00

Total: £13.47

Our Pre-order Price Guarantee covers one or more item(s) in this order.
If the Amazon.co.uk price decreases between the time you place your order
and the release date, you will pay the lowest price. Terms and conditions
apply.

This completes your order.

By: Jammydodger

Jammydodger — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:52:24 +0000

Checked my order status (on Play.com), and it won’t be despatched until 10th September! I pre-ordered back in March!

REFEREE!!!!

To be fair they have dropped the price… Selling yourself short there again Ben?

And I so wanted to read it all first before I ordered a copy to my lovely sister for her Birthday… after she raved to me at length about the benefits of the Vacunaut weight loss system she was using (for money that could have bought her a nice holiday!)

When I laughed at her, she dismissed my scepticicsm, with the really sciencey stuff they put on their website…

Now as a scientist with a little limited knowledge of metabolism, fat storage etc. I would be hard placed to disprove conclusively the claims made (and the effects paid for) by this system in an instant. Who knows – it might actually work (I seriously doubt it!). But as an objective Scientist, I can say that nothing they have shown has demonstrated that the system works with any statistical degree of significance.
Lots of syllogistic leaps (My dog has legs, a cat has 4 legs, so my dog is a cat etc.)

Are the proponents of the system (a) well intentioned misguided zealots (b) crooks and sophists or (c) …er actually right i.e. pioneers!
Well.. I don’t know & don’t care.
But I do know they will charge alot of money for it without
sufficient proof of beneficial outcome. And relatively Intelligent people are taken in.

Scarily… My sister is a Secondary school teacher… charged with shaping the minds of successive generations.

Why can’t we have “healthy scepticism” as a curriculum subject…?

Now that would be cool… teaching sarcasm to 14 year olds??? Money for old rope… man …I have found my new vocation!

Anyhow – Could someone tell me while I’m waiting.. in the interests of health and safety… how much does the book actually weigh, and are there any sharp edges?

(I was wondering about the projectile behaviour .. I may need to conduct a risk assessment at some point, since I suspect that sooner or later the urge to smack someone in the forehead with a copy may well become overwhelming!)

By: WoollyMindedLiberal

WoollyMindedLiberal — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:19:21 +0000

That isn’t Ben Goldacre in the photo – that’s a character from Lab Rats!

By: sandy t

sandy t — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:05:42 +0000

Sadly, the book isn’t available in Canada, or even the U.S., yet. I’ll have to try and scrounge one from British relations.
Or perhaps some of you nice British folks could E-Bay a copy or two?

By: WoollyMindedLiberal

WoollyMindedLiberal — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:39:50 +0000

Mr Coghill (PhD not even failed), what was your “normal” or “average” distance to a mast and how did you calculate it?

Sorry, sorry, force of habit. Will buy the book obviously but seriously Ben what were you thinking when you strolled up to the Grauniad blog and told them that Science News and reporting was wrong? I like the style, I like the courage, but that went down like a cobra in a lucky dip!

Maybe you could use Coghill’s review for the second edition?

By: Dudley

Dudley — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:35:15 +0000

It would be very childish if everyone were to give Ben’s book tags such as “Gillian McKeith”, thus making Amazon recommend it to the dung lady’s hordes…

By: ashley

ashley — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:13:33 +0000

Is there no hardback?

This makes me very sad.

By: Dudley

Dudley — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:44:45 +0000

Mine says:

“Customers With Similar Searches Purchased That’s Bollocks! by Albert Jack”

By: csrster

csrster — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:29:55 +0000

My front-page on amazon.co.uk now says

“Customers With Similar Searches Purchased
The Healing Energies of Magnets Paperback by Roger Coghill”

By: Mungus

Mungus — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:42:09 +0000

Amazon may say sale rank 11, but they also say that the book is only available for pre-order. I want mine!

By: Mojo

Mojo — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:20:39 +0000

“i’d imagine publishers only do it for blockbuster type sellers, which i can’t believe i’m likely to be.”

Well, the amazon.co.uk page for the book currently says:

“Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 11 in Books”

Just above The Secret.