Well, apparently, it's selling. And while I did admit that I expected significant sales outside of so-called liberal bastions like New York City, apparently it's also selling well in cities like New York. And, as usual, I have a couple of theories as to why.
• I massively underestimated the number of curious independents—and even liberals—willing to shell out to read about Sarah Palin. Whether they're just angling for her side of the story or looking for a (relatively) inexpensive way to feel better about themselves, people are picking up her memoir.
• There's more controversy surrounding the book than even I expected, and I expected a fair amount. I figured, however, that Mrs. Palin wouldn't want to write anything that might endanger a potential presidential bid in 2012, so the book itself would be fairly boring and drama-free. Not so! Palin takes shots at McCain staffers, apparently stretches the truth, and may well still be gunning for the presidency. Quel fromage.
• Both Amazon and Walmart.com are selling the book for just $14.50. Sure, it's not the low, low price of $9.99 we've been hearing about, but it's still relatively inexpensive, especially if it's being bought as a gift. Books are the new gift, people! Write that down.
So, yes, I did ask this in my last Palin Post™, but it bears asking again (especially since I get the feeling opinions may have changed): are you going to buy Going Rogue? If you answered last time and are changing your mind this time around, why? Have you been surprised by friends' or family members' requests for the book for Christmas? Hanukkah? Kwanzaa? Festivus?
No, I'm not going to buy it. As an Alaskan, I deeply resent what that woman has done to Alaska's national image, and she's not getting any money from me.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't want to read it because I hate the sound of her voice. Or even her ghostwriter's voice.
Gah, no! And still no.
ReplyDeleteHell No!
ReplyDeleteNo no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no...
ReplyDeleteNo. I wouldn't even get it at the library. And I'm a conservative. But she bugs. I can't believe it's selling, either.
ReplyDeleteI might, but just for the guilty pleasure aspect. It can be fun to watch people make a fool of themselves. I watch The Bachelor from time to time too (cringe).
ReplyDeleteHonestly, regardless of the political ground one stands on, most pundits (whether self proclaimed or labeled) are trying to stay on top of things. This book is just another source of input to add to the barrage of information which will help fuel their blog topics, literary journals, columns and discussion in general. In other words, I think it's selling, not because people give a crap, but rather because people just want to keep informed. That's my opinion anyway.
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. I watched her on Oprah to see if she'd say anything interesting that might make me want to buy the book. Nope. I feel I already know what will be in the book and am not intrigued at all.
ReplyDeleteMemoirs generally aren't my thing-- a person would have to reveal that they were secretly a superhero to get me to buy it (although, I might have bought a memoir written by Steve Irwin). And even if Palin had superpowers, I think I'd still skip it, because I can not stand politics.
ReplyDeleteI'm not buying it OR reading it. I couldn't stomach "They're out to get me, it's not my fault, you betcha!" for an entire &%$&ing book.
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ReplyDeleteMemoirs just don't interest me. I think it's a little bit narcissistic to write a memoir before turning 60-70 years of age; she's not lived that much more life than me, and until recently it wasn't that interesting. I even *kind of* like her but I'm still not interested in her book.
ReplyDeleteBooks are the new gift? Wow, I'm actually ahead of my time, for once. Barnes and Noble is one-stop-shopping for my Christmas list!
ReplyDeleteNo.
ReplyDeleteNo way. Lots of followers and lots of the curious add up to huge sales. Not surprised at the controversy because I think that's half of her schtick. (The other half is pretending that it's not.)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I admit to a ghoulish fascination with her senseless comments and her absurd behavior, I'll pass.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous in Alaska - she hasn't tarnished my view of Alaska, we all have our village idiots.
Hey, I like her use of "bass-ackwards". My mom used it all the time. It made me feel nostalgic.
ReplyDeleteI must confess I sometimes agree with her topic sentence ... but what she considers "dreck" is probably the opposite of what I think.
Why would I waste my money on the book when the media (including Fox) are telling me all I want to know.
Not buying it, not even as a gift, and no plans to read it. I might glance through it if I got one as a gift, purely because I do try and keep tabs on what's selling, but I seriously doubt that the writing has anything to do with the sales for this one.
ReplyDeleteI am kinda hoping she'll end up on the Daily Show or the Colbert Report to push her book. Hehehehehehe...
Heck no and though I have family members who would LOVE it as a holiday gift, there's no way one cent of my money is going to her. However, my fingers are crossed that she'll be the next GOP nominee for President - you won't be able to buy entertainment like that.
ReplyDeleteNo. And I'm tired of seeing her face every time I step into a bookstore. Enough said.
ReplyDeleteFestivus. For the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteThanks CathrynGrant. That's good to hear :o).
ReplyDeleteA lot of pundits and bloggers are less discerning than you are, and assume that all Alaskans are vain, ignorant, insular and shallow. It got pretty tiresome last year, I can tell you.
I think it's sort of like an accident. A lot of people can't help but look.
ReplyDeleteNo one I know though.
No. If it were given to me, I wouldn't take the time to read it either. That would distract me from time needed to sit quietly in the corner and pray that she just goes away.
ReplyDeleteNo. And not even in a bookstore, just out of curiosity. I just refuse to touch that book with a ten-foot pole. It wouldn't even give me entertainment value, because she only makes me mad. I don't like to suffer self-induced heartburn.
ReplyDeleteNo. And my parents are aging hippie liberals, so no for them, too.
ReplyDeleteI've been impressed by the media blitz, though. It's been the Sarah Palin Show on CNN pretty much nonstop for days (What's in the book? Will she run in 2012?)
If you don't read this book, you're not an American. I don't mean that in the sense that you're a godless liberal commie and hate freedom (but this is a BLOG about PUBLISHING, so you all probably are); what I mean is you don't appreciate the things that make American culture entertaining. Do not, however, confuse entertainment with greatness. The pleasure from reading this book clearly doesn't come from the writing style or the plot. It is the equivalent of James Ballard getting turned on by car crashes. It is exciting to watch horrific events unfold, and with no shortage of folksy phrases and anecdotes, this book is surely going to be horrific. Unlike the rest of you elitists I'm going to relish in reading this book for the same reason I enjoy giving singing bass wall hangings as Christmas gifts and why the short lived Kid Nation (look it up, it's fantastic) might have been my favorite TV show ever. America is a fucked up country and we're not going to save it. We've watched too many hours of Home Improvement and eaten too many triple Whoppers to undo the damage now. So you only have a few options left opposed to throwing in the towel, buying a motorized scooter and watching Larry King while eating microwaved dinners. You can go all Sylvia Plath and put your head in the oven, isolate yourself in some hipster burrow(or just move to France), or cultivate a healthy sense of irony and start laughing. Don't give up entirely. You can still keep your black rimmed glasses and listen to David Sedaris on NPR, but if you try to only subsist on quality culture, you're going to starve.
ReplyDeleteI'm more likely to buy "Going Rouge: Sarah Palin – An American Nightmare," than I am "Going Rogue." And if my friends or family request it for a holiday gift, I'll slowly cut them out of my life. (Just kidding.)
ReplyDeleteI have no intention of buying or reading that book.
ReplyDeleteA small part of me thinks it would make a good gag gift for a friend of mine (she gave my copy of Clinton's with the instruction to use it as a paperweight), but that would involve actually buying Palin's book, the thought of which kills me.
That you and so many others here don't know anyone who would buy and read this book says a lot about you.
ReplyDeleteClose-mindedness of liberals doesn't surprise me but to see this much close-mindedness in the writing community makes me sick.
Nope. I think these self-serving political memoirs are a big bore, and it's not just because I don't agree (at all) with her politics.
ReplyDeleteNo, but she's coming to my home here at the Mall of America on December 7th and I plan on going to see: 1) the buzz, and 2) if I can keep my lunch down.
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ReplyDeleteDo you ask ridiculous questions like this one about Palin's book or about a book-loving readership's propensity to purchase an e-reader just to raise the number of outraged comments?
ReplyDeleteYou gotta love how brutally honest people can be... posting as anonymous.
ReplyDeleteI have no interest in reading Going Rouge, though I did look up detailed outlines and such so that I would know the message of it. I had no problem seeing the success of this book early on. Look at the book tour they planned, or the television appearances lined up. Palin is very good at staying in the spotlight.
Buy it? I can get cheap TP at Costco, why bother?
ReplyDeleteWe will be much too busy burning the American flag, making out with homosexuals, and embracing our Fearless Leader Stalin Marx-Castro to have time to read this fine, fine piece of literature.
ReplyDeleteCould some of you be closet readers...not buying Going Rogue - the book is titled Going Rouge isn't it? - but somehow sneaking a copy to read when nobody is looking? :)
ReplyDeleteWe all know that Palin did not write this book. A slew of editors and a ghost writer or two compiled her notes and bolstered its importance.
Generally speaking, ignorance breeds ignorance, and after listening to Palin speak in mundane clichés, idiotic hyperboles and stupid metaphors, its quite possible that fresh and inventive figurative language is beyond her grasp.
If you don't want to or swear not to read the Palin book, go ahead anyway, you might get a great belly-laugh or become more politically enlightened to never trust or ignore anybody that dabbles in politics.
I will but only if it features naked pictures of Levi.
ReplyDeleteActually, Amazon charged me $9.00 for the book, (no shipping with Prime):
ReplyDelete"Greetings from Amazon.com.
You saved $6.65 with Amazon.com's Pre-order Price Guarantee!
The price of the item(s) decreased after you ordered them, and we gave you the lowest price.
The following title(s) decreased in price:
Going Rogue: An American Life
Price on order date: $15.65
Price charged at shipping: $9.00
Lowest price before release date: $9.00
Quantity: 1
Total Savings: $6.65
$6.65 is your total savings under our Pre-order Price Guarantee."
Yes, I bought it and am halfway through it.
It constantly amazes me that people will trash and heap on a book without reading it first. What do you think is in the book? You don't have to think, you can just put your name on a list at the local library and eventually read the thing.
I'll tell you my initial impressions: It's somewhat dryer then I expected (which is disappointing), but in places it's sweet.
And, as expected, much of her ire is directed at people in the Republican Party. These passages are pure delicious dirt goodness, both enlightening and entertaining.
There are a lot of intellectually lazy people today, as evident by the vitriol over an unread book right here in PMN Land. I personally appreciate the good book rant, but only if you have read the thing first. This leads to why people are buying the book. It's not rocket science. There are people who want to know what she has to say.
There are rational and irrational ways to approach any controversy. Sinking to backroom gossip might be fun, as long as we all understand it's just a cheap thrill.
No, If she had anything really good to say, she would have said it already. I don't need to hear her ridiculous version of the same campaign stories. If I hear Drill, Baby Drill..... AHHH!
ReplyDeleteShe does offer me hope, I guess, if she can get published then so can I.
People love a freak show. Sad but true. Look how many books O.J. sold. Even though he was guilty as hell and an arrogant shit-heel to boot. (hahaha...I slay me)
ReplyDeleteIt kind of blows me away that people, especially these days, are spending hard earned (or not) money on the book.
Let's see: a book about a hypocritical beauty queen about why she's so wonderful.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me while I vomit somewhere, please.
The only use I'd have for that book is kindling.
Anthony,
ReplyDeleteIt does not necessarily follow that someone is lazy if s/he chooses not to read a book about a subject matter s/he loathes. Your logic is a bit faulty here.
No. But I confess I'm tempted. It drives me so completely bananas that anyone takes her seriously, that I'm tempted to read the book just so I can argue with them about it. However, I have a life.
ReplyDeleteI think many people may be buying Palin's book for the same reason people watched her, enthralled, during the campaign. Political campaigns are so controlled, planned, strait-jacketed these days that politicians tend to be the most boring of our paid entertainers. Palin is a loose cannon who added spice (tasteless though it was) to the 2008 campaign because no one could predict when or how she'd go off and say something startlingly stupid or wickedly mean. I suspect people are reading that book in the hopes of witnessing more wild cannon-shots that they can laugh, scream, or cry at -- or, in the case of some, I guess, applaud. It's all about bread and circuses.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your question, I will NOT be buying or reading her book.
No. Most definitely,not buying, not reading. I can't stand the woman. There! I said it!
ReplyDeletehahahaha. Previous word Verification: pestsog. So timely!
ReplyDeleteThe answer's still yes. I'm not going to pass up the chance to purchase my mother a book she'll enjoy. It's about compromise, love and gratitude in my case. And keeping her happy over the holidays.
ReplyDeleteNot reading it. Too much stuff that matters to me to read first.
ReplyDeleteI heard the advance for GR was $1.25 million, but no one knows for sure? I am amazed it went that cheap. HarperC should clean up big time on this one.
I'd rather have a sexual interlude with a cheese-grater than read or hear anything from SP.
ReplyDeleteJon Stewart says it all!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/19/jon-stewart-explains-to-c_n_363387.html
Nope.
ReplyDeleteEEEEWWWWW...no way! I'm a born and raised proud New Jersey liberal (retired and living in Florida because the DH and I hate the winter) and I'd have to wash my brain out with Clorox and get two eye transplants if I read that swill. Wasting money on that crap would mean I couldn't buy two real books.
ReplyDelete