LIBERAL authors TRIUMPHANT as US bookshelves lean left: Sales list bucks right-wing trend

Boston Globe ^ | , 9/14/2003 | Peter S. Canellos and Anne E. Kornblut

[rface]

WASHINGTON -- In a sales surge that surprised politicians and booksellers alike, five liberal books will be among The New York Times's top 15 hard-cover nonfiction bestsellers on today's list, mounting what some sales specialists see as a left-wing assault on the conservatives' decade-long hold on popular culture.

[rface]

I did a search - didn't find this article ...........

[wideawake]

Anecdote:

Two weeks ago I was standing in line at Barnes and Noble and heard high-pitched giggles behind me.

I assumed it was a teenage girl.

I turned around and saw a guy in his late fifties clutching a copy of Franken's book and giggling as he read it.

It was a sad sight to behold.

[50sDad]

...on the conservatives' decade-long hold on popular culture.

What kind of dope are they smoking down at the Boston Globe?

[Steve_Seattle]

" . . . mounting what some sales specialists see as a left-wing assault on the conservatives' decade-long hold on popular culture."

Conservatives have been dominating popular culture? On what planet? MTV, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, NPR, Rolling Stone, The West Wing, Oprah, rap, hip-hop, Katie Couric - but I guess none of these are really liberal, so the argument goes.

[Steve_Seattle]

I forgot to include Time, Newsweek, and virtually every women's and teen magazine on the market. Conservatives, not.

[TheBigB]

What did you search for?

See: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/983427/posts

But anyway, it's a good article.

[T'wit]

It's one thing to buy the liberal books, it's quite another to try to read one. Al Franken thinks insults and name-calling are humor. He isn't scoring any points with people who are able to think. Other liberal writers give off such geysers of noxious gases that one worries about global warming. I expect we'll see scads of these "books" show up in the Salvation Army second-hand book bins soon.

Passing note: I happened to see the Amazon Top 100 Sellers list a day or two ago. Hillary's book was #94. Whatever monster advance her publishers paid her was a political contribution, not a business deal.

[Cicero]

Obviously it helps to have the major media desperately plugging your books. Still, I'm surprised that these books continue to sell. I can see wanting to read Franken's book, maybe, but why would you want to OWN one? I only buy books I want to keep for the long term. But I suppose you're talking about a fair number of people who see them as another disposable commodity.

[Prodigal Son]

"a brief political tome by people who are well known through TV journalism"

In other words a rant with covers by a celebrity jackass, $5.95.

[rface]

I checked under the term "authors", but I must have spelt it rong, cuse I didn't sea that it was alredy posted.

[longshot1980]

This whole article is built on the assumption that MTV-watching mushhead liberals can actually read.... :-)

I've checked out from the library and read two of the five books listed (Moore's and Hitlery's). "Stupid White Men" is a slightly more challenging read than the Dr. Seuss classic "Go Dog Go", which is why it appeals to libs. They can read softball "everyone is evil except you, dear leader" dreck and feel like they've accomplished something significant when it's all said and done.

I had to check "Living Rewriting History" out twice, on account of I could hardly get through more than three pages without falling asleep. For $4.99, you can purchase either of the two copies currently sitting on the bookshelf at the Goodwill on Hollywood Blvd. in L.A.. I think one of them has been there twice, actually.

I needed a long, hot shower to wash the filth after completing each book, but never let it be said that I don't take in ideas from both sides. I'm probably going to have to read Franken's book, which wouldn't even be in the top 100 if it weren't for the FNC lawsuit. Help me be strong, friends... I'm gonna need it to finish this one without going on an insane rampage.

[longshot1980]

Urrr... the line in the second paragraph should read "They can read softball "everyone is evil except you, dear READER" dreck and feel like they've accomplished something"... not "leader". If there's a way to edit these posts, I haven't found it.

[Doug Loss]

One thing that's seldom noted is what it takes to get a book on the best-seller list. It has nothing to do with how many books are actually bought by readers; rather, it's determined by how many books are shipped by book distributors. That's how many big publishers can buy their way onto the list--you never know how many of those books are returned unsold.

[white trash redneck]

Just two points here...

First, why is Ann Coulter labeled as an "agitator" while Franken is not? A little authorial bias, perhaps?

Second, doesn't the "dominance" of conservative themed books put the lie to the slander that conservatives are stupid and anti-intellectual? Or maybe the lefties think that conservatives are buying Ann Coulter's book to color it in.

[reformed_democrat]

maybe the lefties think that conservatives are buying Ann Coulter's book to color it in.

Classic case of Transference.

I'm incapable of providing for myself at any stage of my life.
I believe I have a right to go through life unharmed by anything, including, but not limited to, those things I inflict upon myself like drugs, bad relationship choices, and McDonald's Quarterpounders.
I'm not sure I believe in a Higher Power, but if I do, I'm sure she's already forgiven me for whatever I've done that might be construed as "wrong," although I do take exception to having my choices and beliefs judged by someone other than myself.

All these things are true of me, so they must be true of you, too.

You really ARE stupid, aren't you!
And you read Ann Coulter.

Therefore, you are stupid and I am not.

Psychology 101 goes a long way toward explaining lib-speak.