UK bestseller list is almost all male authors, for starters

[Martin]

I'm beginning to realize that one can do a kind of "bestseller sociology" to get an indication of what mental climate prevails amongst various reading publics.

 

I noticed an odd thing, just comparing the all-books bestseller lists of US and UK amazon.

(this is all-books, not down in some category like "science" or "general physics"---so it is the most massive gauge of the mass market)

 

the US list has a substantial minority of women authors. Less so the Brit list. The FIRST 25 of the brit list, the first page in other words, has only ONE woman-author book (#12 a cooker by Tana Ramsay) unless you count #17

"The Official Keeley Calendar for 2007" and Keeley is the winsome bunny of that book, not its author. Even their topselling COOKBOOK is by a guy! BTW everybody should know that Lemony Snicket is a a man, just so there's no confusion.

 

===brit list===

e most popular items on Amazon.co.uk. Updated hourly.

1. The God Delusion

by Richard Dawkins

 

2. Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook

by Jamie Oliver

 

3. The Sound of Laughter

by Peter Kay

 

4. Wintersmith

by Terry Pratchett

 

5. The World of Karl Pilkington

by Karl Pilkington

 

6. The Dangerous Book for Boys

by Conn Iggulden

 

7. The Afghan

by Frederick Forsyth

 

8. The End (Series of Unfortunate Events)

by Lemony Snicket

 

9. Humble Pie

by Gordon Ramsay

 

10. The Gospel According to Chris Moyles: The Story of a Man and His Mouth

by Chris Moyles

 

11. Lend Me Your Ears: All You Need to Know About Making Speeches and Presentations

by Max Atkinson

 

12. Tana Ramsay's Family Kitchen: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Every Family

by Tana Ramsay

 

13. Imperium

by Robert Harris

 

14. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

by Bill Bryson

 

15. In the Line of Fire

by Pervez Musharraf

 

16. Gerrard: My Autobiography

by Steven Gerrard

 

17. Official Keeley Calendar 2007

 

and so on.

===end===

 

For comparison, the US amazon list first page, the first 25, has SEVEN by women

#2, #11, #14, #15, #21, #22, #25

It goes like this:

===US bestsellers===

1. State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III

by Bob Woodward

 

2. Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again

by Ina Garten

 

3. The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina

by Frank Rich

 

4. The Fat Smash Diet: The Last Diet You'll ever need

by Ian K. Smith

 

5. Letter to a Christian Nation

by Sam Harris

 

6. The God Delusion

by Richard Dawkins

 

7. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq

by Thomas E. Ricks

 

8. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town

by John Grisham

 

9. For One More Day

by Mitch Albom

 

10. The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 13)

by Lemony Snicket

 

11. The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children

by Wendy Mogel

 

12. The Road

by Cormac Mccarthy

 

13. Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance (The American Empire Project)

by Noam Chomsky

 

14. Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers

by Elizabeth Edwards

 

15. The Memory Keeper's Daughter

by Kim Edwards

 

...and so on

=======

Personally I don't say this is good or bad. Nor do I know the variance---perhaps the contrast is only temporary.

But it surprised me. At least for the moment, comparing the current lists, the ratio is SEVEN TO ONE. The reading public's mental climate is, in a curious sense, more "male" in the UK than it is in the US. Anybody want to clarify or dispute?

 

there are also other differences between the lists (US more nonfiction, UK more novels) if you want to take a closer look and do your own counts.

[Martin]

Another thing that catches my interest is the US "SCIENCE" bestseller list.

Here is how it was at 8 AM pacific time this morning (Monday 2 October).

BTW a lot of what is included in "science" is oriented towards self-help.

 

I noticed that Smolin's book, "The Trouble with Physics", had beaten out "Guns, Germs, and Steel", which seemed remarkable given the importance and wide interest of Jared Diamond's message.

 

===this morning's amazon "science" bestsellers===

 

1. YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger

by Michael F. Roizen

 

2. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

by Malcolm Gladwell

 

3. Omnivore's Dilemma

by Michael Pollan

 

4. An Inconvenient Truth

by Al Gore

 

5. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition

by American Psychological Association

 

6. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief

by Francis S. Collins

 

7. The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition

by Roger Angell

 

8. The Female Brain

by Louann Brizendine, MD

 

9. The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next

by Lee Smolin

 

10. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

by Jared M. Diamond

...

and so on

======

[Bluenoise]

Martin I think we should maybe open an new amazon Bestseller list analysis section for you.

 

 

But yeah I don't really think I have any one comment on this. Hmm except maybe it's occuring because women read more novels and men tend to focus on the big popular non-fiction works. Thus you'd expect women to write more novels and men to write more non-fiction works. Now the novels would have the audience much more fragmented than the current big group of non-fiction works.

For various reasons. Novels don't get outdated to the same degree, and poeple have much more individual preferences, etc...

 

In other words you have a large group of men focusing on a small amount of books writen by men. And you have a larger group of women deviding their attention between a large group of books mostly writen by women.

 

Thus that may likely explain the observence

 

uhh maybe I did have a comment on this.

[Martin]

In other words you have a large group of men focusing on a small amount of books writen by men. And you have a larger group of women deviding their attention between a large group of books mostly writen by women.

...

 

Thanks for offering a possible explanation!

I have no idea if it is a real effect or something that would wash out over time (like today is a random fluctuation)

 

As a wild guess alternative explanation it could indicate to me that UK has a more traditional male-dominated society. (! )

 

the UK list is full of NOVELS that look like they are written for women to read and they are all by MEN authors. Ye gods, this would never be allowed in the US (ask Pangloss, he may have an opinion)

 

As a wild guess alternative explanation, women in US are more careerist and driven and aggressive than they are in UK, where they are maybe more content to be homebodies and lower echelon office workers.

 

Who knows? I dont have an informed opinion, but there is the observed difference.

 

Heh heh. Now maybe we will hear from some UK women about this:D

[bascule]

So what you're saying is men are more focused?

[mike90]

Their are plenty of male authors writing books mainly for a female audience in the U.S.