A Waterstones in west London has sparked a gender row after claiming male customers regularly refuse to read books by women.
The Uxbridge branch accused men of being “ridiculous creatures” in a series of tweets, adding that the customers in question are always “of a certain age”.
The original post read: “I've worked here for... well... a very long time. In all that time, never has a woman said to me, ‘I don't read books written by men’.
“However, at least once or twice a month, a man will say that he'll not read a book by a female author. Men are ridiculous creatures.”
The tweet has received more than 10,000 likes and has been shared more than 3,000 times.
“Naturally, we booksellers see this as our chance to suggest as many fantastic female authors as we can think they'd actually enjoy,” it continued. “Most times, they do consider it. Which is nice.”
The store’s tweeter later added: “Of course, I apologise - not ALL men are 'ridiculous creatures'. Hope that helps clear things up.”
Some commenters quickly accused Waterstones of a “big PR fail” and an “own goal”.
Simon Haban wrote: “Do @Waterstones have anyone officially monitoring social media or do they just allow individuals to churn out this garbage as and when they see fit?”
“Unnecessary male bashing helps no-one,” added another.
However, the overwhelming response to the tweets was positive.
Author Melinda Salisbury wrote: “Almost 10k of likes and over 2k of retweets doesn't strike me as bad PR. Quite the opposite, in fact... “
“Just tell em Frankenstein was written by a woman-watch their faces melt,” added another person.
The Standard has contacted Waterstones for comment.
