“Gee, what a mystery. You’re of course free to spin conspiracy theories to explain all this. But did you ever think of the more obvious possibilities such as these: that a book with such a stupid title, written by an “author” without much name recognition among the great mass of serious readers isn’t real high on the list for booksellers to think about when it comes time to ordering books that will move off the shelves.”

Nice. The conspiracy explains itself with an argument that refutes itself. Simply, my theory is that the purchasing agent(s) for B&N thinks like Mr. Ettore (if indeed Mr. Ettore isn’t the purchasing agent), and continues to think like him even when reality smacks him in the face. No elaborate theory is necessary.