I’ve got bad news for Christopher Hitchens
It’s long been known by booksellers and publishers that the New York Times weekly ‘list’ has never really been a very accurate tally of what indeed is selling in the U.S. I recommend every once in a while taking a look at USA Today’s more accurate listing. It’s not encouraging.
For the last week on record (4/19/2009), for example, we can note that there is not one science book on the list. Out of 150. On the other hand, it looks like books for Young Readers are pretty much dominating sales everywhere, so we know the younger generation likes to read. (This would be even more encouraging if there were fewer vampire novels–but on the other hand, who am I to complain? I started out sucking down every Star Trek adaptation in print in the 1970s.)
That said, I think the world can do without the cynical new craze of Jane Austen novels being re-fitted to accommodate zombies. (I did enjoy the Zombie Survival Guide. That kind of parody I think is completely legit.)
Christopher Hitchens may want to rethink boasting about his place on the current New York Times bestseller list. On USA Today, God is Not Great doesn’t even rate.
Which may be a sign that even ‘new’ atheism is getting old.