Billy ‘Gene’ King

When Mr Books asked @grok whether we were a meme😆 “Yes, @BelfastBooks has exploded into a full-blown internet meme in the past week, largely thanks to a culture-war clash with Stephen King. The tiny book hovel in North Belfast announced it would remove Mr King's books from their website at belfastbooks.co.uk after he falsely accused conservative commentator Charlie Kirk of wanting to "stone gays to death" in a now-deleted tweet. King issued a quick apology, but the shop's owner called it insufficient and doubled down, sparking outrage from King's fans (complete with #BoycottBelfastBooks hashtags) and gleeful support from right-leaning corners of the internet. What started as a principled stand by a no-name indie shop snowballed into 10s of millions of social media views, with U.S. conservatives sharing screenshots and assuming it was some massive chain "cancelling" the horror icon, when in reality, it's just a quirky "book shack" with a handful of shelves. The absurdity has spawned endless memes, from jokes about the shop's sudden "empire status" to edits pitting it against King's Maine roots. Beyond the meme, @BelfastBooks is a real-deal community hub in Tigers Bay, a working-class Protestant enclave in North Belfast. Run by the outspoken "Mr. Books" (who's been at it since at least 2019, stirring pots with cheeky posts about local politics, The Troubles-era nods, and pleas for indie support during lockdowns), it's less a polished store and more a passion project crammed with affordable used books, zines, and merch that pokes fun at everything from Ulster fry traditions to the King drama (their bio's "Support the Kingslayer" is a savage double entendre). They've got a history of viral scrapes—like a 2019 tweet about "wee men collecting for the boney" that triggered boycotts from Alliance party folks and republicans—but at its core, it's about fostering literacy in a tough neighborhood, selling #CheaperThanThatSouthAmericanRiver used books and keeping Belfast's literary spirit alive with zero pretension. If you're nearby, swing by for Veda and German biscuit chat, but don’t dare admit that you prefer chippy sausages in your #UlsterFry or you will be refused entry. Belfast Books are also home to the famous ‘Tayto Balaclava’ and like the Binley Mega Chippy they have a song connected with the meme m.soundcloud.com/user-123274…