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Unpublished J. D. Salinger Stories Leaked On Bittorrent Site

Posted by Soulskill on from the secrecy-is-like-something-out-of-a-novel dept.

192_kbps writes "Catcher in the Rye author J. D. Salinger wrote the short story The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls and left depository copies with a few academic libraries with the understanding that the work would not see mass distribution until the mid-21st century. The only authorized place to read the story is in a special reading room at Princeton where electronics are not allowed and a librarian continuously babysits the reader. A PDF of the story, as well as two other unpublished stories, appeared on private bittorrent site what.cd where a huge bounty had been placed for the work. Incredibly, the uploader (or someone connected to the uploader) bought an unauthorized copy on eBay for a pittance. The file, Three Stories, is making the bittorrent rounds but can also be read on mediafire."

18 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. That's terrible... Salinger won't write any more! by magic+maverick+ · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is a great example of where copyright helps to encourage authors to write more. The fact that this copy has been leaked, and pirated massively means that Salinger has no incentive to write any more! We need to punish the perpetrators thoroughly.

    --
    HELP MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED BY AN ILLIBERAL ART STUDENT SET TO DESTROY THE INTERWEBZ!
  2. Links by cffrost · · Score: 5, Informative

    https://kickass.to/three-stories-j-d-salinger-pdf-t8257205.html

    https://torcache.net/torrent/ED8F9DE4B9151B3B0E5B998CAF7A124E9E7B0E17.torrent?title=%5Bkickass.to%5Dthree.stories.j.d.salinger.pdf

    magnet:?xt=urn:btih:ED8F9DE4B9151B3B0E5B998CAF7A124E9E7B0E17&dn=three+stories+j+d+salinger+pdf&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.istole.it%3A80%2Fannounce&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Fopen.demonii.com%3A1337

    Slashdot fucks up magnet links, but the hash is right there: ED8F9DE4B9151B3B0E5B998CAF7A124E9E7B0E17

    --
    Thank you, Edward Snowden.

    "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
  3. Thank Goodness... by DexterIsADog · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...we wouldn't want to respect the wishes of an author so widely admired. He put words on paper, so fuck him. They stopped belonging to him when they saw the light of day.

    I love this socialist half-paradise, where Wall Street profits are privatized, gigantic losses from gambling with people's deposits are publicly insured, and intellectual works are treated like a turkey thrown into a pit filled with hyenas.

    1. Re:Thank Goodness... by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Informative

      No, his heirs do, for a time at least. See also: Christopher Tolkein.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    2. Re:Thank Goodness... by TheP4st · · Score: 4, Funny

      I summoned Walt Disney to ask him about his opinion on the matter but we got into a dispute on whom that would own the rights to the recording I were making of our session and before I could ask him he the question he flipped me off and vanished.

      --
      "I have downloaded hundreds and hundreds of records, why would I care if somebody downloads ours?" Robin Pecknold
    3. Re:Thank Goodness... by alexander_686 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I would say yes – if I a person does not want their work to be published and I will stand on this issue on principle.

      The man did not want his works to be published at this time. I can think of other cases where diarist who things that they did not to be released until ALL affected parties were dead which may not be until decades after the person has died. If a person does not want their work published now it should not be forced. It is the right thing to do.

      Now if we are talking about copyright and compensation issues - that’s a different ball of wax. I would have to say no to that.

  4. Whoooo.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    .....oooooosh.

  5. Overrated by dargaud · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As a foreigner, I'd never heard of Salinger or Catcher in the Rye. When I first made it to the US, my friend gave me the book: "You HAVE to read that". I was underwhelmed and to this day still do not understand what all the fuss is about. A story about a whiney teenager with too much money for his own good ? This describe America pretty well to me !!!

    --
    Non-Linux Penguins ?
    1. Re:Overrated by Quimo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Read some other novels from the 1950's and you will see how different it is from other books of the time. Yes compared to current novels it is somewhat underwhelming but compared to its contemporaries it is something completely new.

    2. Re:Overrated by jonadab · · Score: 3, Insightful

      > As a foreigner, I'd never heard of Salinger or Catcher in the Rye.

      Yeah, as an American, I've heard about it all my life. However...

      > I was underwhelmed and to this day still do not understand what all the fuss is about.

      Yeah, I think this is how most Americans who have actually attempted
      to read the book feel about it. It's one of those works that gets by
      on pure reputation: people don't want to publicly admit that they
      didn't like it, because then they would not seem intellectual, because
      everyone knows intellectuals all like the book. (Of Mice and Men has
      almost exactly the same reputation and is even more poorly written.
      The Scarlet Letter isn't very much better, and lest I pick exclusively
      on American authors, I'll throw War and Peace into the mix as well,
      though I suppose maybe it's better in the original Russian; I've only
      attempted to wade through it in English.)

      We need somebody famous but with no pretensions (someone like
      a Letterman or a Foxworthy) to speak out in a voice that will be
      heard and tell everyone the obvious: the emperor is butt nekkid.

      Please don't mistake me for saying that classic literature isn't
      good. There are a lot of classics that I really like. In fact, most
      of my favorite books are classics. Hamlet deserves its reputation.
      So does Tom Sawyer. To Kill a Mockingbird is pretty decent even
      just viewed as fiction and furthermore can contribute significantly
      to understanding certain historical social issues. A Tale of Two
      Cities is if anything underrated. The Bible is grossly underrated.
      I'm not saying that classic literature in general isn't good. I'm
      only saying that certain specific works traditionally listed among
      the greats don't actually deserve to be included.

      --
      Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
    3. Re:Overrated by cffrost · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As a foreigner, I'd never heard of Salinger or Catcher in the Rye. When I first made it to the US, my friend gave me the book: "You HAVE to read that". I was underwhelmed and to this day still do not understand what all the fuss is about. A story about a whiney teenager with too much money for his own good ? This describe America pretty well to me !!!

      No way, god damn it. I think "The Catcher in the goddamn Rye" is one of the best goddamn books there is. Hell, I think it even won a few o' them fancy goddamn awards, but I can't remember their goddamn names.

      --
      Thank you, Edward Snowden.

      "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
    4. Re:Overrated by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Personally, I think Salinger's best, and most accessible, work is "Nine Stories". Have a go at that, if you are interested. How can you resist such titles as, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and "For Esmé – with Love and Squalor" . . . ?

      A story about a whiney teenager with too much money for his own good ?

      A lot of famous literary works can be summed up in simple sentences:

      • "Romeo and Juliet" - Kids from the wrong families want to get married, and things go terribly wrong.
      • "The Da Vinci Code" - People solve puzzles and find stuff.
      • "Crime and Punishment" - Guy kills a loan shark, and worries about it later.
      • "The Metamorphis" - Dude turns into a cockroach, and his family freaks out.
      • "Jane Eyre" - Poor chick grows up, and gets married.
      • "Goethe's Faust" - Guy cuts a bad deal with the Devil.
      • "The Bible" - God creates humans, and claims to be good and loving, but spends most of his time making life miserable for humans.
      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    5. Re:Overrated by H0p313ss · · Score: 4

      As a foreigner, I'd never heard of Salinger or Catcher in the Rye. When I first made it to the US, my friend gave me the book: "You HAVE to read that". I was underwhelmed and to this day still do not understand what all the fuss is about. A story about a whiney teenager with too much money for his own good ? This describe America pretty well to me !!!

      The secret to Catcher in the Rye is reading it when you are a whiny teenager full of your own angst and immaturity and bursting with ego.

      The message is:

      1) You are not the only one
      2) Don't do this

      --
      XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
  6. So where did the eBay copy come from? by Wootery · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Incredibly, the uploader (or someone connected to the uploader) bought an unauthorized copy on eBay for a pittance

    One presumes then that although this stuff is now kept under lock and key, it wasn't always so carefully protected?

  7. The mystery of how the story got out by KBehemoth · · Score: 5, Funny

    Slightly overweight visitor: "Ok, Glass..."
    Heavily-Armed Librarian Guardian: "What did you say?"
    Slightly overweight visitor: "Uh, I said... looking classy... Looking classy, Mr. Salinger!"
    Heavily-Armed Librarian Guardian: "Shh."

    [ later that day ]

    Heavily-Armed Librarian Guardian: "I wonder why that guy was wearing a Guy Fawkes mask."

  8. Re:That's terrible... Salinger won't write any mor by westlake · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is a great example of where copyright helps to encourage authors to write more. The fact that this copy has been leaked, and pirated massively means that Salinger has no incentive to write any more! We need to punish the perpetrators thoroughly.

    It is a disincentive to trust your unpublished manuscripts, papers and memoirs to Princeton --- it is easier to speak candidly if no one living will have to bear the consequences.

  9. Re:That's terrible... Salinger won't write any mor by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Nobody understands copyright law.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  10. Re:That's terrible... Salinger won't write any mor by VortexCortex · · Score: 4, Funny

    That is why Nobody is highly regarded as an expert witness in copyright cases.