The Daily Beast looked at the Top 10 bestselling fiction and non-fiction books in 17 American cities.  For most, the #1 non-fiction book was 'Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man' by Steve Harvey.  Interestingly enough, in Cleveland (the only Ohio city measured), 'Going Rogue' by Sarah Palin came in at #1 and even Glen Beck's 'Arguing With Idiots' book came in above Harvey's title.

 

Full story:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-02-24/the-bestselling-books-in-your-city

 

Cleveland's page:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-02-24/the-bestselling-books-in-your-city#gallery=1357;page=11

It looks like most of those cities only vary in what places the top ten books come in.  The lists are largely the same.  Cleveland is interesting for having two local success story's books in the top ten- Lebron James, and Michael Symon.  Most of the other cities don't seem to have any local interest books in their's.

That's true.  Any speculation as to why so many of the cities have these hyper-conservative books in the Top 10?

That's true. Any speculation as to why so many of the cities have these hyper-conservative books in the Top 10?

 

Because people who buy those books probably only buy one book a year. If that.

I would guess it probably has to do with the cult of personality that surrounds the strong voices of that movement.

That's true. Any speculation as to why so many of the cities have these hyper-conservative books in the Top 10?

 

Because people who buy those books probably only buy one book a year. If that.

 

What does that have to do with the number of books sold?  Are you saying that because they only buy one book a year (which is a ridiculous assumption) they all buy the same book?  Yet someone that buys multiple books a year is less likely to purchase a book about conservative politics?  That makes no sense to me.

That's true. Any speculation as to why so many of the cities have these hyper-conservative books in the Top 10?

Probably the same reason ABC and CBS are cutting jobs while Fox News continues to dominate the ratings: supply and demand.  There's a high demand for non-liberal ideas and short supply.  Most "conservative" reading is pretty dense and Palin/Beck stuff is easily digestible and heavily promoted by two well known people.

 

Also, Palin's book tour took her to second and third tier cities since that's where her support mostly resides.

^Yeah, she only goes to see "real Americans".  :roll:

That's true. Any speculation as to why so many of the cities have these hyper-conservative books in the Top 10?

Probably the same reason ABC and CBS are cutting jobs while Fox News continues to dominate the ratings: supply and demand. There's a high demand for non-liberal ideas and short supply. Most "conservative" reading is pretty dense and Palin/Beck stuff is easily digestible and heavily promoted by two well known people.

 

Also, Palin's book tour took her to second and third tier cities since that's where her support mostly resides.

I think it's also important to note age demographics here. Most people who would buy Palin/Beck's books are older and more likely to exclusively consume printed media. Younger people may not be buying many books, with all the electronic literature out there nowadays.

 

Or perhaps it's because the only people with the intellectual and cultural wherewithal to read sophisticated literature necessarily hold views similar to Beck's and Palin's.

Is there a mirror image stable of Liberal commentators writing generalized political screeds?  The closest were Franken and Moore, and neither of them have written a book in quite some time.

Just a purely anecdotal comment, I agree with the post that older people make up the larger percentage of those still buying books.  I can tell you first hand that the copies of "Going Rouge" are not being bought by the college students.

I can tell you first hand that the copies of "Going Rouge" are not being bought by the college students.

Tell that to the CPACers.  :evil:

 

Also, it's the political climate.  When Bush was in power, liberals like Franken and Moore were publishing books that were doing well.

Just because "a" book sells well, doesn't mean that its ideologies are the most popular at any given time. People say "Oh, Nickelback does really well; therefore Nickelback is the most popular form of music out there" even though the amount of non-Nickelback music sold (and that of its mainstream clones) dwarfs the amount of Nickelback sold

Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark R. Levin is still very high in a lot of cities.  It's been out for months.

Nice skyline shot of Cleveland!  :-D

That's true.  Any speculation as to why so many of the cities have these hyper-conservative books in the Top 10?

Conservatives have finally figured out that the library is socialist, and started buying books instead of getting them for free from a government operated facility?  :-D

sigh -- anyone old enough to remember when the plain dealer and press were leading book review newspapers? their blurbs were on every fiction and non-fiction bestseller! it's a shame the peedee dropped off the map for that -- you never see a pd blurb on a book anymore.

Am I the only one who finds Dan Brown's books boring? I couldn't read The Davinci Code without falling asleep. The movies are alright but I think he does a lot of damage with these books that give out fictitious information, for example claiming that the Freemasons were instituted by the Knights Templar. The tale of the Freemasons is actually a pretty boring one; they're essentially a glamourized trade union who were actually quite passive and appeased the clergy, even as they burned people alive. The Illuminati was much more radical and interesting. He likes to link all of these secret societies together and it's funny how one person can have such a huge effect on the masses. Youtube videos and non-credible books are popping up everywhere, attacking these groups. It has to be because people don't engage in civic life much, anymore. We have a hard time imagining that groups like those could exist without having ill-intent and aspiring for global domination, New World Order, etc. His books fuel the Paranoid-Schizophenic in all of us.