A Fine Book Review from a Respected Source

[TrueTomHarley]

I worried some at first that opposers might latch onto Tom Irregardless and Me and try to sink it with bad reviews simply because they hate JWs - not sure if they would do that or not, for not all are intellectually dishonest. But now that I have a number of positive reviews, even if they wrote bad ones, I would play the contrast, writing something like: '8 positive reviews and then the apostates discovered it - that says it all.' It could be put in the book's metadata, which one sees before any reviews. If anything, it would help the book, which does not treat anyone, least of all opposers, in a hateful way.

 

I received a very kind and lengthy review of Tom Irregardless and Me from Ivor E. Tower. Authors are grateful for a review of one or two lines. Mr. Tower goes several paragraphs and illuminates some of the ‘Tom Irregardless and Me’ characters. He is a non-Witness scholar who has written extensively about Jehovah’s Witnesses and his real name is recognizable to studious readers of Watchtower material:

“Tom Harley’s Tom Irregardless and Me has been described as “a romping and riotous defense of Jehovah's Witnesses and their place in today’s world.” This really sums up the book, which is a light-hearted look at numerous aspects of the Watch Tower Society from the perspective of a practicing Jehovah’s Witness in the US.

“To the outsider, Jehovah’s Witnesses may seem deadly serious and preoccupied exclusively with their religion and the Society’s own publications. Harley dispels this stereotype. The book is about real people and issues, although the author has changed the names of rank-and-file members to preserve name anonymity. Tom Irregardless is an elder who uses the spurious word “irregardless” liberally in his Bible talks. Other characters include John Wheatnweeds, who hinders members from their house-to-house ministry by spending inordinate amounts of time expounding the text of the day before they set out. Then there is posh brandy-sipping Bernard Strawman, who receives frequent visits from the publishers, but continues to raise facile objections to their faith. Vic Vomidog, an apostate, repeatedly seeks to hamper their work. Other chapters are about real JW celebrities such as Prince, who is the subject of an entire chapter.

“Despite being light-hearted throughout, Tom Harley raises serious issues such as flag salutes, Darwinism and creationism, theocratic government, the paedophile scandals and the dangers of online grooming of minors, and the accuracy of the New World Translation of the Bible. Tom shows a remarkable breadth of knowledge and reading too – he has by no means exclusively studied Watch Tower publications.

“My favourite part of the book was the parody of Mickey Spillane near the end, where Tom Harley envisages a house-to-house publisher acting like one of Spillane’s macho characters. For those who don’t know, Spillane was a novelist whose books were renowned for their sex and violence, until Spillane converted to become a Jehovah’s Witness in 1951 – a decision that drastically changed his writing style.

“Tom Harley states that he hopes Tom Irregardless is “entertaining but serious at heart”. This sums up the book well. It’s a good read, while providing valuable insights into life as a JW.”

I’m very grateful to Mr. Tower. They line up around the block for a recognized name like John Grisham or Stephen King, but it is extraordinarily difficult for a new writer to break into the ranks. ‘Recall how many books you have purchased in the past year from a totally unknown writer,” one source advises. “Now you know why you should not become an author."

 

[The Librarian]

I think we have allowed you sufficient self promotion of your book without banning you as a spammer. Don't you agree?

[TrueTomHarley]

No. But I will do whatever I do in accord with your rules. It is for you to tell me what they

[TrueTomHarley]

I've tried to take the post down. Please remove it.

[TrueTomHarley]

Imagine – threatening to ban a brother after correctly perceiving he has sometimes used your forum to plug his pro-JW book.

It’s a reasonable policy. Nobody has any issue with it once they understand what it is. Why should your forum become a bookstore? I don’t allow it on my own blog, either.

But when a brother is threatened with banishment for plugging his pro-JW book AND the same forum lays down the Welcome Mat for apostates – well, perhaps there are some who would have an issue with that. Don’t you agree? It isn’t hard to screen for apostates if one has that desire.

[TrueTomHarley]

It is the age-old dilemma: You desperately want to misbehave in the library, but how do you do it with the Librarian watching you like a hawk? She's just as mean as she was in grade school. One must be as resourceful as we used to be in grade school. After all, she is sometimes on the phone or doing her nails.

As Sherlock says, it Game On!

[JW Insider]

11 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

But when a brother is threatened with banishment for plugging his pro-JW book AND the same forum lays down the Welcome Mat for apostates – well, perhaps there are some who would have an issue with that. Don’t you agree? It isn’t hard to screen for apostates if one has that desire.

I thought it just sounded like a reminder about the etiquette of book promotion through forums. I don't think anyone here was too worried about the chance to learn about your book. I liked what I read and I will very likely buy one or both. But once a place becomes known for promotion of books or JW.ORG pins or Sophia book-bags, etc, then the audience here for discussion of issues drops.

[TrueTomHarley]

16 hours ago, JW Insider said:

I thought it just sounded like a reminder about the etiquette of book promotion through forums. I don't think anyone here was too worried about the chance to learn about your book. I liked what I read and I will very likely buy one or both. But once a place becomes known for promotion of books or JW.ORG pins or Sophia book-bags, etc, then the audience here for discussion of issues drops.

Thanks, JWI. It makes perfect sense. But it's still Game On. Hopefully, I will not get tossed out on my rear end if I can manage to use discretion. Perhaps the trick is to be considerate of readers and always give value-added contact. Whatever you ask about the book, do it off-grid through the Message feature. There it will be like whispering in the library. After all, I once successfully set up an after-school necking session with SuzieQ through whispering in the library, all the time with the librarian imagining she had everything under control.