USA Today‘s “Book Buzz” column indicates that the two big political titles that debuted last week, Woodward’s final volume in his series on the Bush administration and Tom Friedman’s book on the need for a “green revolution” are running neck and neck on their bestseller list. Friedman is at #6 and Woodward is at #7 (both are kept out of the top five by the Twilight series and the Shack).

However, both Amazon and library hold patterns show a different story, with Friedman pulling ahead of Woodward. Hot, Flat and Crowded has even managed to break through the Twilight log jam on Amazon a few times (USA Today‘s list represents sales through last Sunday; Amazon’s list is updated hourly, so it’s more recent). As we noted last week, library reserves on the Friedman have been running double the number on the Woodward.

At least one bookseller has seen an even starker difference in sales of the two titles. Arsen Kashkashian, buyer for Boulder (CO) Bookstore says his stack of Friedman books is shrinking, while the Woodward is staying about the same. In fact, he says, “if Woodward’s book doesn’t turn around it will be one of the worst single buys in my 11 years as a front-list buyer.”

Buyers take note; readers may be turning away from assessing the past and towards trying to figure out the future.

Below is a roundup of titles new to the USA Today list:

#6 Hot, Flat, and Crowded, Thomas Friedman, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

#7 The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008, Bob Woodward,  Simon & Schuster

#16 The 39 Clues: The Maze Of Bones, Rick Riordan,  Scholastic Press

#20 Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness, Suzanne Somers,  Crown

#25 Big Words for Little People, Jamie Lee Curtis, Laura Cornell,  Joanna Cotler

#26 Anathem, Neal Stephenson,  William, Morrow

#36 Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment Upside Down, Kaylene Johnson,  Epicenter Press

#50 The Keepsake, Tess Gerritsen,  Ballantine

The movies continue to sell books:

#8 Nights in Rodanthe, Nicholas Sparks,  Warner Vision

#54 The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd,  Penguin

#116 The Duchess, Amanda Foreman,  Random House

#139 The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread, Kate DiCamillo,  Candlewick

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 18th, 2008 at 7:43 pm and is filed under Bestsellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.