By Barnes & Noble
Political books have seen a 57% sales jump compared to last year.
The data also shows that three states that voted blue in 2016 have trended toward books that are positive to President Trump, while two states that voted red lean toward buying books critical of him.
Meanwhile, the states that were most likely to buy books supporting Trump were: Texas, Florida and North Carolina. The states that were most likely to buy books critical of the president were: New York, California and Massachusetts.
“U.S. politics has been red-hot in 2018 as readers have flocked to analyses and insider accounts of the White House and the U.S. political scene,” said Liz Harwell, senior director of Merchandising, Trade Books. “One of the hottest political books of 2018, Fear, was the fastest-selling title for the company in over three years, with our stores selling more than a book every second on the first day. From October through the holidays, we have a variety of big books from across the political spectrum, with authors ranging from Tucker Carlson to Bernie Sanders.”
Barnes & Noble’s Top 10 Political Bestsellers in 2018
1. Fear: Trump in the White House, Bob Woodward
2. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, Michael Wolff
3. Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, James Comey
4. The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump, Gregg Jarrett
5. Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, Michael Isikoff and David Corn
6. The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations, John McCain
7. Liars, Leakers, and Liberals: The Case Against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy, Jeanine Pirro
8. Killing the Deep State: The Fight to Save President Trump, Jerome R. Corsi
9. Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends, Peter Schweizer
10. Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House, Omarosa Manigault Newman
Red and Blue States: By the Book
To get a regional view of political book-buying, we looked at which states are more likely to buy books that support Trump, and which states lean toward titles critical of the White House. We also compared our results of book-buying to the 2016 electoral map, which showed five states whose book-buying trends went counter to the election results.
Three states that voted Democratic in 2016 but were more likely to buy books positive toward Trump: Nevada, New Hampshire, and Colorado. Two states that voted Republican but tended to buy books critical of Trump: Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
In the map below, red states lean more toward books that are positive toward the President. Blue states lean more toward titles that are critical of him. Those that ran counter to the 2016 electoral map are marked with a star.
Political Books to Watch
Recent and forthcoming political books that span the political spectrum:
* Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution, Tucker Carlson, released Oct. 2 by Simon & Schuster
* Full Disclosure, Stormy Daniels, released Oct. 2 by St. Martin’s Press
* Why We Fight: Defeating America’s Enemies – With No Apologies, Sebastian Gorka, released Oct. 9 by Regnery Publishing
* The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism, Steve Kornacki, released Oct. 2 by HarperCollins
* Trump’s Enemies: How the Deep State Is Undermining the Presidency, Corey R. Lewandowski and David N. Bossie, releasing Nov. 27 by Center Street
* The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy, Michael Lewis, released Oct. 2 by Norton, W.W. & Company
* The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump, Andrew G. McCabe, releasing Dec. 4 by St. Martin’s Press
* The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy, Greg Miller, released Oct. 2 by HarperCollins
* Where We Go From Here: Two Years in the Resistance, Bernie Sanders, releasing November 27 by St. Martin’s Press
* Them: Why We Hate Each Other – and How to Heal, Ben Sasse, releasing Oct. 16 by St. Martin’s Press
* Trump, the Blue-Collar President, Anthony Scaramucci, releasing Oct. 23 by Center Street
* Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents, Pete Souza, releasing Oct. 16 by Little, Brown and Company
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Posted on October 11, 2018