General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsConservative books sell better than liberal books. Why?
Posted by Ezra Klein on August 22, 2012 at 3:47 pm
The fine folks at Amazon have constructed a heat map showing the kinds of political books that people are buying across the country. The more conservative a states literary tastes, the more red it appears on the map. The more liberal the reading habits, the bluer the state gets. Heres the result:
Conservative authors are selling more books. Thats true in Mississippi, but its also true in Connecticut. And it looks like Amazons methodology is, if anything, understating matters. They count Jonathan Haidts The Righteous Mind as a blue book. Ive read The Righteous Mind, and it is, if anything, a scolding of liberals. They also count Globalization: A Very Short Introduction and Robert Caros most recenet biography of LBJ as blue books, which seems odd. None of the top 20 red books struck me as similarly misplaced. So if you correct for the outliers, the map would be even redder.
Some possible explanations:
1. Conservatives are more likely to read political books than liberals are.
2. Conservatives are more likely to read partisan political books than liberals are.
3. Conservatives are better at writing political books that people want to read than liberals are.
<snip>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/22/conservative-books-sell-better-than-liberal-books-why/
According to the map there are only 3 states where "blue" reading outpaces "red" reading- plus D.C. And only one state is deep blue- and D.C.
DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)Deep13
(39,154 posts)I was going say that they are easier to read.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)Which is why the NYT best-sellers often have that tell-tale "*" next to the conservative books
DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,018 posts)This is exactly what they do.
What a lot of people don't know is that the best seller lists are compiled from the number of books sold by the publisher, not the retailer. If the Heritage Foundation buys the bulk of one of Sean Hannity's screeds, he instantly becomes a best seller whether or not Barne's & Noble sells even one copy. If you go to a lot of these right wing think tank's websites, you will see offers for those books to be had for a generous discount and often free for donating to them or other just as a gift for requesting a copy.
Here's an example: http://www.askheritage.org/become-a-member/
I suppose what's left over makes a nice fire in the hearth at winter.
Johonny
(20,851 posts)instead of going by these best seller lists. I go into stores and see piles of the latest conservative crap not sold on the shelves listed in the order they were bought in bulk. You'd think box book stores would know their internal market better. Or maybe they do. I guess that's the question; do retail book dealers go by books sold by publisher or by their real in store sales when deciding to buy and market books? Because going by publisher numbers seems crazy, although I think they have less to lose since they can sell them back to the publisher. Still why waste shelf space on things no one wants in their store?
Cleita
(75,480 posts)and why the conservative books are often in abundant supply and so cheap. I would really like to see one of our liberal think tanks compile lists of books actually sold at the retail level, when a book is first printed and released from the publisher, to get a better picture of exactly what the man on the street is buying in the stores and over the internet on an individual basis.
avebury
(10,952 posts)Also, I would like to see the stats on how many of them end up on the discount table (remember Palin's book?).
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)chknltl
(10,558 posts)librechik
(30,674 posts)you can tell by the little dagger next to the title in the list--that means bulk buys
GoCubsGo
(32,084 posts)Because, that's exactly what is going on. If it's not some organization buying large numbers of them to give out with new memberships, etc., it's individuals purchasing several of them to give as gifts to all of their friends and relatives, because they think the recipient "needs" to read it. And, I have seen far more of those "conservative" best-sellers on shelf at the Dollar Tree than I have seen lefty books. Somebody here on DU mentioned seeing a bunch of Sarah Palin's book in the 3/$1 pile at their local dollar store, and they were off to be pulped, because nobody would buy them.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)When retail stores can't sell the books, they have a window of opportunity to return the books to the publishers, who then dump them on the remainder market for mostly the cost of the paper they were printed on. Then they are bought by discounters like the Dollar Stores. The fact that there are more conservative books than lefty books tells the story that those were the books, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and et al couldn't sell and had to return.
NuttyFluffers
(6,811 posts)i really respect sam. he's a fantastic interviewer and quite genuine about his thoughts. but if you've listened for a while you know how he 'doesn't always see eye to eye' with ezra klein. his polite silences with klein lately are rather... telling. and more tellingly, klein is just a bad interview on average. his thinking is very lazy and fixated on a DC bubble perspective. sure he's intelligent, but he's totally coasting and sometimes he leaves you guessing whether he's being disingenuous or not.
too often i read/hear total 3rd way nonsense fair from him, i'm afraid.
Zalatix
(8,994 posts)southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)Chiyo-chichi
(3,580 posts)If you go to the map on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/election-heatmap) and click around, you'll see that very often the same book is in the top 5 in a given state in both hardcover and Kindle edition. And on many of the state lists, 3 out of the top 5 sellers on the liberal or conservative list are Kindle editions.
I think the reason must be a combination of bulk sales and promotion on conservative talk radio, as someone says down-thread.
On another note: the Kindle anniversary edition of Atlas Shrugged is on the conservative Top 5 seller list in just about every state? I find that surprising and a bit hard to believe.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)edition sales can be funded by the same think tanks who fund the paper versions. I have a feeling that free apps like the following have a lot to do with it:
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/08/23/introducing-the-all-new-heritage-mobile-app/
JHB
(37,160 posts)The bulk sales are part of that system, where numerous RWers have enough income that they can write more frequently, hire ghost writers to carry some of the load, and spend time promoting each other.
They also rely more on assertions, "facts" generated by spin tanks, and outright bullshit. Ann Coulter isn't exactly a stickler for accuracy, even in her endnotes.
It also helps that they are trying to rile and stampede people rather than persuade rationally.
still_one
(92,190 posts)LaydeeBug
(10,291 posts)RC
(25,592 posts)CabCurious
(954 posts)HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)Also shouldn't that be reach not reached? Unless you meant reached fencing. Just sayin'.
RC
(25,592 posts)CabCurious
(954 posts)cthulu2016
(10,960 posts)A lot of homes have ten books in them, five by Bill O'Reily.
IrishEyes
(3,275 posts)I have hundreds of books in my home. I spend a lot of money on books on many different subjects. I can't afford to buy all of the books I want. I also get a lot of political books from the library.
Liberal In Texas
(13,553 posts)DefenseLawyer
(11,101 posts)I know a lot of those "best selling" right wing authors have Richard Mellon Scaife or the Heritage Foundation or some other rich right wing source buy the crap in bulk to make it a best seller.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)and are more likely to Subscribe to others. D.C. is an ambiguous bubble and should be considered nowhere.
cdb120
(32 posts)I'm guessing the vast AM network of moronic pot-stirrers has a lot to do with it. They interview the authors, they plug the books, the publishers pay for advertising- the audience is an easy - and captive demographic. And if some AM hate dj recommends a book, the mindless listeners all march out in lock step to buy it.
Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)Political radio is largely a conservative (and older person) demographic. It's also a perfect marketing platform for these books. It all adds up to big sales.
There is no equivalent left-wing marketing platform for left-leaning political books. Most of our political conversations occur online, and people expect to be able to simply click a hyperlink to additional political commentary and analysis.
RKP5637
(67,108 posts)LeftofObama
(4,243 posts)Conservatives have the best advertising in the world. If progressives owned even a fraction of the media market that conservatives do, we'd be selling one hell of a lot of books.
jsr
(7,712 posts)hedgehog
(36,286 posts)RedStateLiberal
(1,374 posts)Conservatives need constant reinforcement of their irrational views.
Liberals need only look to reality to get support for our opinions.
WhollyHeretic
(4,074 posts)Demagoguery has always sold.
Curtland1015
(4,404 posts)arcane1
(38,613 posts)I don't really buy books written by or about politicians, for example. Though I do try to always buy new books rather than used ones. Am I being counted?
4. Conservatives require more self-affirmation than liberals, so they buy this pap.
5. Liberals know where the intertubes are.
Remember, fooling yourself consistently is a full-time job.
Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)DonRedwood
(4,359 posts)mfcorey1
(11,001 posts)surrealAmerican
(11,361 posts)... of people who buy books. They are likely to be older, less urban, and somewhat more affluent than people who get most of their reading matter from public libraries for instance.
CabCurious
(954 posts)ipfilter
(1,287 posts)MadrasT
(7,237 posts)Liberals figure it out without receiving marching orders.
2pooped2pop
(5,420 posts)They send them all to the top sellers list, but it's not necessarily full price or even a book the buyer would have chosen.
Alduin
(501 posts)CabCurious
(954 posts)renie408
(9,854 posts)CabCurious
(954 posts)So they read political books to make themselves feel smart.
Liberals read... good books.
We don't need anyone else to tell us our values and beliefs are valid. We just know.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)If he had he would have known exactly how best seller lists are compiled. They do nothing to reflect what the real sales were at the retail level to individuals who bought the books when they were first published.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for Ezra's views and his research, but he dropped the ball on this one.
Ezlivin
(8,153 posts)And red-state churches will use the pulpit to "inform" laypeople about conservative books.
loyalsister
(13,390 posts)We have a sick curiosity about what they have to say. We are also smart enough to see through the BS and consider the value of knowing what makes conservatives tick.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)I tend to read stuff I don't agree with, the challenge my opinions.
What's the point of reading something with which you already agree?
So, yes, the market for liberal books is liberals. The market for conservative books is conservatives and liberals.
formercia
(18,479 posts)They shouldn't be called books. Hard-copy Propaganda is a better term.
Please don't insult real books.
I have to admit that my Library includes one political tome:
Better than Sex by Hunter Thomson.
mfcorey1
(11,001 posts)liberal N proud
(60,334 posts)Liberals rely on facts and the books that are being counted are not factual.
no_hypocrisy
(46,114 posts)Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)Yes, I know that polling indicates that a majority of Americans agree with many liberal and progressive opinions on any number of issues. But that's besides the point. That is not ideological in the vast majority of cases. There simply are a lot more self-identified - consciously committed right-wing ideologues than there are self-identified consciously committed liberal/left-wing ideologues - a lot more. If you don't believe me get away from the cafes and art cinemas and restaurants that serve whole wheat pancakes and spend sometime sitting at the bar where "ordinary folks" go or have lunch at the counter of your nearest Denny's and just listen to what people have to say. In terms of true believers - we are way outnumbered.
orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)The world is not your hometown. Elections around here do not indicate that right wingers 'way out number us' nor do national elections indicate that.
Perhaps your observations are true there in PA, but if they 'way out numbered us' McCain would be the President, don't you think? How could we win when 'way outnumbered'?
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)The Democratic Party is NOT an explicitly liberal or left-wing party and never has been. It does have a base of grassroots supporters that lean in the liberal/left direction. They are operating in a very different frame of thinking than the elected wing and the professional class of the Party. There is no question that when framed issue by issue - many possibly even most Americans will support a liberal or left leaning position most of the time when it gets down to actual specifics. This hs nothing to do with ideology. But there is no question that in the U.S. that there are a lot more right-wing ideologies then liberal or left-wing ideologues. Any cursory view of polling will verify that. Any simple observation of America will verify that. They are the people more inclined to buy ideologically driven publishing or listen to ideologically driven radio or watch ideologically driven news channels which is far, far larger than the liberal/left equivalent for an obvious reason. There are a LOT more of them.
fleur-de-lisa
(14,624 posts)We think for ourselves.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)and "offer" them for sale at their multiple "meetings" they all have .
Many publishing houses are also right-wing-owned, so it;s just a big loop..
Publishers "hire" "writers" to write the drivel
The propaganda arm "buys" the books
CSpan /Fox promotes the writers/books
Heritage/Cato/ et al sells them or offers them free as a gift
6 months later Big Lots & Dollar General get them for their $1 bins
Everyone along the way gets to write off the losses on their taxes
Orsino
(37,428 posts)...being based more solidly in fact, requiring reasoning of the reader, and presumably using more and tougher words.
Conservative readers read conservative books to have their prejudices confirmed, a more popular pastime than learning.
glacierbay
(2,477 posts)Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)orpupilofnature57
(15,472 posts)kimbutgar
(21,153 posts)of charge while some other companies will make them pay up front and they can't return for money back. He told me that Rachel Maddow's book Drift was requested and they sold them all out and made money on them. I buy a lot a books at the Flea Market and never find liberal books but a lot of duplicate copies of conservative ones. Once I picked up a conservative book to peruse and the seller told me I could have it "free as he had it for six months and was sick of looking of the authors face". I told him "no thank you I would probably use the pages to line my bird cage". He said then "it would be put to good use then". We both had a good chuckle on that one.
KurtNYC
(14,549 posts)conservatives who buy books are older and more monied than liberals.
frylock
(34,825 posts)Evasporque
(2,133 posts)That is why they are conservative.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)or all books sold or what, exactly? Also, how exactly do they arrive at how sales of copies equals reading of those copies?
Of course, in general right wingers hate fiction it is part of their need for control and all, so they read political commentary and sports stuff almost exclusively, plus religious crap of course.
NuttyFluffers
(6,811 posts)he, along with others who flipped, spells out how this game works. basically large 'donors' buy these books en masse to appease the publisher -- and forcibly game the NYT bestseller list and the like -- and then hand them out like confetti. that's why they litter dollar stores and goodwills across the nation.
... or ezra could keep contemplating his navel while others are trying to tell him the truth.
obamanut2012
(26,076 posts)Putting titles on the list via a dagger symbol, but then they stopped. This was most of the conservative titles, Scientology titles, etc.
JI7
(89,250 posts)even based on DU there are many who don't watch or listen to "liberal" media.
but if you go on something like freerepublic it seems like every member there listens and watches all the rush, fox news and other crap.
i prefer to read a good story in itself than some book telling me how bad conservatives are. there are some like krugman i like to read because i learn more about the subject itself.
but someone bought me some Bush bashing book once which i never read just because i already know how bad he is. there are other things i prefer to read.
also what is considered liberal ? i liked nickel and dimed by ehrenreich . i guess i prefer political books of that type.
many books i like have a political message to it but they are probably not considered political .