What we're reading buying, ostensibly to read
I imagine that if there were any great truths to be gleaned from The New York Times' lists of bestselling books, we'd have learned them by now. So what follows is (much) less cultural observation than random weirdness.
A lot of political books line the lists, but the top seller appears to be the 9/11 Commission's report; two editions can be found in the Top 10 paperback nonfiction list, one of them at No. 1. This is kind of surprising to the extent that 1) the book came out weeks ago and 2) you can download it for free, in your choice of *.pdf or *.html formats, here. Perhaps the upcoming third anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is sparking renewed interest.
One nonpolitical book that stands out from the others is "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star," by porn star Jenna Jameson, currently No. 6 on the hardback nonfiction list. I suppose some people will take this as a sign that the end times are near. But I suspect some of those people were standing in line in Dallas to pay $7.50 to see "Deep Throat" back in the day -- what was it, 1972? -- when $7.50 was real money. Like it or not, the adult-video industry is huge business, bigger than "legitimate" cinema. It can't be just a few isolated perverts paying this kind of money. If you're not already familiar with Ms. Jameson's oeuvre, then some of your relatives, friends or neighbors probably are. And unlike such other bestsellers as, say, Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time," I'm pretty sure that a significant percentage of people who buy the Jameson book really will read it. Cover to cover.
Comments (3)
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I often accuse Mr. Wonderful of not paying attention. He does. Selectively. One day I came home and he said, "There's something for you in the kitchen." Roses! I thought. Or daisies. Either way. It was a tub of Oxyclean. Apparently once, when a commercial for Oxyclean was on TV I said, "I wonder if that works?"
Then, one day, he calls me from work. "I was at the CVS and I got you that razor thing you said you wanted." Apparently I saw the Intuition t razor with the cream strip attached and said, "that's a good idea."
So, Sunday morning I'm reading the book section of the N&R and said, "Oh, guess what book is on the best seller list, 'How to Make Love Like a Porn Star.'"
Guess who hit Barnes and Noble's the moment they opened?
Posted on September 9, 2004 7:47 PM
I'm goin' nowhere near that except to say that we've used Oxyclean, it does work on some stains, and no one is paying me anything to say that.
Posted on September 9, 2004 10:16 PM
So, since you've used Oxyclean, and it DOES work, and I've used the razor, and it IS convenient, can we then draw the conclusion that if I read Jenna Jameson's book, I'll....well YOU know. (I think perhaps that was Mr. Wonderful's conclusion. Or at least hope!)
Posted on September 10, 2004 10:03 AM