'Je Suis Charlie'

Shelf Awareness

Book Culture on Manhattan's Upper West Side was one of the few stores in the U.S. to obtain early copies of the current issue of Charlie Hebdo. 
Through Uni-Presse, which markets French magazines and newspapers, the store received two copies on Friday; it framed one and allowed customers to browse through the other. On Sunday afternoon, the store announced on Twitter: "We just got 100 copies of#CharlieHebdo in at #BookCultureonColumbus--come pick up your copy pronto!" Two and a half hours later: "And that's a wrap! We are SOLD OUT!"

On the store's blog, owner Chris Doeblin (pictured above) wrote, "In answer to why we have put the posters in our window with Je Suis Charlie.... Je suis Charlie means we believe in democracy, human rights, the right to dialogue and the power of ideas and writing over violence and coercion. Je suis Charlie means that we will not review the content of our book shops to ensure we are not offending someone.
Je suis Charlie means that as coworkers in the business of publishing and books we support, above the ideas themselves, the right of those ideas to be published. Je suis Charlie means that we're booksellers and it's a badge of honor."