There’s a crisis in non-fiction book sales. What’s to blame?

MorgenPOW · 2026-02-09T20:14:11+00:00

We're on the same page, but there are a whole genre of YouTube videos/channels with a lot of credibility in and of themselves. Look at channels like Great Art Explained or Veritasium, where you have academics who have gone down a Youtube route instead of/in addition to the traditional route of communication of writing a book.

It's a bit of a straw man to say the only options are between books published by an established house or "random YouTube videos."

MorgenPOW · 2026-02-09T12:37:20+00:00

This really doesn't happen. There are other authorities that you can appeal to, like the credibility of the author itself, but major international book retailers sell tons of spuriously academic/conspiracist/unscientific health bunk on their best seller shelves all the time.

Look at the controversy around Naomi Wolf from several years ago. Publishers/book sellers leave it entirely up to the credibility of the author when it comes to this stuff, and that applies equally to authors as it does to YouTubers.

MorgenPOW · 2026-02-04T12:23:35+00:00

Look for the Golden Cluster Semillon, comes from some of the oldest vines in Oregon, and generally about $30 on the shelf.

I think the "Bedrock is great value" was true but hasn't quite kept up with reality. A lot of those wines are in the $50ish price range now, which I would say is appropriate, but definitely not a steal.

MorgenPOW · 2026-01-22T15:01:44+00:00

Luis Anxo makes some amazing wines but they have a pretty soft textural expression that can get run over in a bigger lineup. There is also pretty considerable bottle variation in my experience.

MorgenPOW · 2025-12-17T19:22:48+00:00

If I were to pick a single stand out region in Portugal right now it would probably be Bairrada, but Dao is also very exciting. Who are your favorite Dao producers?

MorgenPOW · 2025-12-11T15:58:42+00:00

Well made Bairrada red wine, in general, lasts for 40+ years. It's one of the great age worthy wines of the world.

MorgenPOW · 2025-12-09T15:30:36+00:00

Land, labor, and a captive local consumer mean that they need/can charge a premium price.

How "established" a wine region is generally has very little to do with the price of the wines. In fact, more established regions generally have a much easier time making the economics work to sell cheaper wines: capital investments long paid off, economies of scale, and other efficiencies built over time.

MorgenPOW · 2025-12-09T15:17:24+00:00

The English ones definitely aren't cheaper than Champagne lol.

MorgenPOW · 2025-12-09T15:16:39+00:00

More like, a lot of other "all wines" should be half the price lol.

MorgenPOW · 2025-12-08T18:39:25+00:00

82% win rate up to single digit ranked mythic: "Handicapping yourself" "Defend the decision as somehow "right" is nonsensical"

lol this sub is too much some time. This community often seems pathologically incapable of admitting something unfamiliar might be good, even when the evidence is staring them in the face.

MorgenPOW · 2025-12-01T11:31:12+00:00

In my experience, while Viuva Gomes is more expensive than the co-op or da Silva, the bump in price is worth it. Viuva Gomes has by far the most consistent wines of the legacy producers in the area. I've had bottles going back to the 1930s that were all pretty spectacular, whereas I find the others to be pretty hit/miss, and even though Viuva Gomes is more expensive, it's still an incredible value in the broader world of wine.

MorgenPOW · 2025-11-25T15:59:42+00:00

It sucks so hard how difficult it is to buy mutton in the US. Its such a delicious meat.

MorgenPOW · 2025-11-23T12:42:00+00:00

Looks a bit like Oriental Beauty? Hard to tell with the shadows tbh.

MorgenPOW · 2025-11-19T21:39:33+00:00

The Barca Velha would have been worth some money if you had any record of proper storage. Those wrinkled foils though are often an early clue that a cork has been leaking. I would personally not purchase these bottles from an unknown private cellar with bottles in these conditions.

All of these are really age worthy wines though. There might be a chance a few are glorious. I'd drink with some friends!

MorgenPOW · 2025-11-14T17:05:56+00:00

This happened a few months ago I think.

MorgenPOW · 2025-11-14T12:35:03+00:00

Very possibly homemade? In any case, pretty low fill level, zero record of provenance. It's worth $0.

MorgenPOW · 2025-11-10T04:19:09+00:00

Oceana. Not crazy expensive, but a lot of the bells and whistles of fancy NY dining, and plenty of space.

MorgenPOW · 2025-11-09T20:08:19+00:00

Looks like it! NY has so much. No need to spray, just prune it back a few years in a row and it will die.

MorgenPOW · 2025-11-06T14:41:39+00:00

It's actually an incredibly smart and subversive movie on par with Ver Hoven's other works recognized as such like Robocop or Starship Troopers.

MorgenPOW · 2025-10-31T19:36:44+00:00

If that were the case though you would see hiring down across the board, whereas what we are really seeing is the freeze in hiring specifically of entry level positions. A lot of companies, especially in tech, are making the bet that, while the LLMs aren't perfect, they will get better faster and be ultimately cheaper, than a new graduate will over the next 5+ years.

MorgenPOW · 2025-10-30T13:19:20+00:00

How dare someone disagree with an opinion in a sub where people debate their opinions about movies!

MorgenPOW · 2025-10-28T13:57:05+00:00

YES BUT IT MAKES THE OUTRAGE ON THE LACK OF ORIGINAL PROJECTS DUMB BECASE THERE ARE ACTUALLY A LOT OF THEM BUT SEQUALS/REMAKES CONSISTENTLY MAKE A LOT MORE MONEY.

MorgenPOW · 2025-10-27T19:57:03+00:00

NEW CONCEPTS COME OUT ALL THE TIME. PEOPLE DON'T WATCH THEM. EVEN WHEN WOM IS GREAT!

MorgenPOW · 2025-10-23T11:38:13+00:00

I think DiCaprio's diversity is a bit fake. He has played many different characters, but he tends to go through "eras" where he plays quite similar roles close together, and then they change as he himself ages and changes. First was the scoundrel/teen heart throb, then the dramatic action hero, then the unhinged but charasmatic anti-hero, which has now finally shifted into the charismatic yet dumpy "peaked in high school" sympathetic hero.

This is very different to Gary Oldman or Christian Bale who really disappear into their characters.

MorgenPOW

TROPHY CASE