Greater New Orleans Market Bestseller List Debuts Today!

Hello, all, I am writing to you from the position of homeowner, a status my wife and I have attained for the first time in our lives. It's a heady proposition, and my muscles are rather sore from books over there, but I am nevertheless taking some time out to communicate a few nuggets of wit and wisdom.

As I write, the Freret Market is four weeks away, which, for this bookseller, means the kickoff of market season. I know a few brave souls hawk their wares even in the depths of the New Orleans summer, but early June was my cutoff, and I am anxious to get back to it, especially given that 2009 will be my first full calendar year selling in this area, and I am getting better at it as the months go by.

Those of you who know me well know that my mind tends toward statistical analysis and categorization, and market bookselling in greater New Orleans is no different. I keep meticulous records of what books I sell, and those records guide me in ongoing book acquisition and preparation. Given the eclectic nature of my stock, I take pride in having something for everyone whose literary tastes reflect even a modicum of intelligence and sophistication, i.e. I don't sell romances, self-help, or anything that would possibly be marketed as "inspirational" and sold in one of those stand-alone spinner racks at Rouse's. I am far from a snob, as my sports-heavy personal reading will attest, but for Christ's sake, we are the only species capable of self-conscious evolution, and the tools we choose for our intellectual exercise should reflect that responsibility, right?

In that spirit, I present a list of the top-selling authors chosen by some of you, a cross-section of the local commerce-supporting greater New Orleans used book-buying public, as we head into the late, late summer, with appropriate commentary. This list is drawn from market sales since the beginning of 2009, with the limitations being those of my own stock. For example, I'm sure I could sell multiple copies of Confederacy of Dunces every time I sell at a market, but the used copies just aren't there, compared to say, Fahrenheit 451. Also, authors and subjects of books are combined into one category. Bob Dylan, for example, gets credit for sales of books he has written (Chronicles, Volume I and Tarantula), as well as any of the voluminous biographies, critical studies, etc. written by other authors. Finally, this list will be updated throughout the rest of the year, so the list should be quite fluid:

1.) Kurt Vonnegut: No surprises here, right? I think I read my first Vonnegut novel (Dead-Eye Dick) at about 15, maybe 16, and I vividly remember pulling it down from the shelf at the Bossier Parish Library and being transported to a very different place than the science fiction that comprised much of my independent reading at the time. I was probably passionately hooked for about five years, with waning but never fully-diminished enthusiasm since. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

2.) Star Trek books: I have to admit, this one has surprised me, but even New Orleans has its share of nerds, right? This listing is probably skewed by a particular type of book, the photonovel. This was a paperback format in which episodes of the original series were recreated through a sequence of still photographs with word balloons. I have never seen it used with any other t.v. show or movie, and I had the good fortune to buy a cache of several of them about three years ago. I believe I am sold out now, and I do not expect the more conventional Star Trek book sales to be able to sustain this ranking.

3.) (tie) Ray Bradbury: I have to admit I finally read Fahrenheit 451 about six years ago. I knew I would be sympathetic with the subject matter, but I truly did not anticipate the emotional power of the writing. I have since devoured several of Bradbury's short stories, and find him a true poet, particularly of a kind of nostalgic melancholy, much in contrast to the technological optimism many associate with science fiction.

3.) (tie) Walker Percy: Finally, a hometowner, the Kierkegaard of Covington, the chronicler of the existential angst afflicting the bourgeoisie, despite their best attempts to lose themselves in moviegoing and sloe gin fizzes.

5.) (tie) Robert Heinlein: Science fiction makes a big splash, with three of the top eight, including the dean of Golden Age military SF and author of Stranger in a Strange Land, one of the more unusual works of the 1960's, written by the most unlikely of suspects.

5.) (tie) Hermann Hesse: Question: Who is the only Nobel Prize winner on our list, as well as the only one whose book titles have inspired both a 60's rock band and a Keanu Reeves movie? William Burroughs? No. Philip K. Dick? No. Aldous Huxley? No. It would be the author of Steppenwolf and Siddhartha, the man whose work has probably fueled more dorm room acid-fueled inner journeys than any other Nobel winner save, I don't know, Pearl S. Buck?

5.) (tie) James Joyce: Now this one is a pleasant surprise. I know New Orleans has historically seen a lot of Irish immigration and influence, but who knew that one of the most challenging writers of the previous century would be so embraced. I haven't actually sold a copy of Finnegan's Wake yet, but the other major works of the Joyce ouvre have all been represented.

5.) (tie) J.D. Salinger: As with Joyce, all of the major works are represented in the sales totals, including the collections of those pristine, Steuben crystal short stories that launched a thousand New Yorker subscriptions.

I will spare you the ever-expanding tie that follows, but I will let you know a few of the writers/subjects who seem poised to make big splashes in the coming weeks: James Lee Burke, Albert Camus, Bob Dylan, Ernest Gaines, Aldous Huxley, Henry Miller, George Orwell, Anne Rice. I will post new rankings every week as the markets move along, and you can follow your favorites, not to mention helping them out. If you find it appalling that a hack like Vonnegut sits smugly at the top of the greater New Orleans market bestseller list, while Faulkner languishes in relative obscurity, cast your vote by stepping up and purchasing that copy of The Reivers, and make your voice count! Additionally, if you would like where your favorite author rates on the list, send an inquiry to mpbookfreak@hotmail.com. If you would not like your email published, please specify.

While we're on the subject, let's turn to the digital mailbag. Jason in New Orleans writes:

after reading your blog, my brain exploded from sheer intellectual satisfaction. damn you, mike. you owe me at least a cerebral cortex.

Thank you for your, um, kind words, Jason. It is exactly such feedback that keeps me going until the Macarthur Fellowship comes in. As for the cerebral cortex, let me talk to a couple of New Jersey rabbis I know who may be able to facilitate that. And I'll throw in the instantaneous Hebrew fluency for free!