This Ought To Be Good

It is eye rolling time. Book Chief: Conservatives Want Slogans

Liberals read more books than conservatives. The head of the book publishing industry's trade group says she knows why—and there's little flattering about conservative readers in her explanation.

Oh no. Who can she be? Someone lofty and far above us I'm sure.

"The Karl Roves of the world have built a generation that just wants a couple slogans: 'No, don't raise my taxes, no new taxes,'" Pat Schroeder, president of the American Association of Publishers, said in a recent interview. "It's pretty hard to write a book saying, 'No new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes' on every page."

Schroeder, who as a Colorado Democrat was once one of Congress' most liberal House members, was responding to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll that found people who consider themselves liberals are more prodigious book readers than conservatives.

Can't get more unbiased than being called "most liberal" by the AP.

She said liberals tend to be policy wonks who "can't say anything in less than paragraphs. We really want the whole picture, want to peel the onion."

Funny, that doesn't seem to be on display at the DK.

The book publishing industry is predominantly liberal

You don't say? I thought they chose Pat Schroeder to represent them because they liked someone who could emote.

The AP-Ipsos poll found 22 percent of liberals and moderates said they had not read a book within the past year, compared with 34 percent of conservatives.

Is that exactly 22 percent of liberals and 22 percent of moderates, or is that 22 percent of liberals and moderates lumped together? It does matter you know.

Among those who had read at least one book, liberals typically read nine books in the year, with half reading more than that and half less. Conservatives typically read eight, moderates five.

Nine vs. eight? A shocking difference I'm sure. But were we to eliminate new age self-help books how much would the liberal tally drop? By half or so?

By slightly wider margins, Democrats tended to read more books than Republicans and independents. There were no differences by political party in the percentage of those who said they had not read at least one book.

Once again is that Republicans and independents lumped together or not?

Sheesh! Who is writing this stuff, Lewis Carroll?

UPDATE:

For those who do not know, in another life I managed a little independent bookshop in northwest Washington, D.C. Our clientele was almost entirely liberal. I'd estimate 85% were liberal, 10% were moderates, and 5% were conservative, and election returns back me up on this fact. So, I know what well educated, well-to-do liberals read, and it isn't what they are telling the AP they are reading.

Here is how it broke down roughly:

The number one sellers were biography, especially whatever was needed as impressive coffee table eye candy (McCullough's biography John Adams was all the rage I remember). But on a day in day out basis it was the slightly trashy, gossipy ones that kept them coming back. This made up about 20% of our sales.

Number two was fiction. Novels that won prizes (National Book Award, Booker etc.) were highly prized. But mysteries and crime novels sold best. 15%.

Number three was history. It was rare that there was a big history seller, at least nothing like the biographies, but history always sold well. 15%

Number four was what we called "Health and Family," so this would cover everything from books on cancer to baby rearing, or self-help to those Oprah weepers. This accounted for 12%, most of that being self-help.

Number five was travel books. Travel essays made up the biggest part of this area. 10%

Number six was cookbooks. 8%

Number seven was large format books, art books, gardens etc. 7%

Number eight would have been books on religion. In the five years I worked there we never regularly stocked the Bible and special ordered maybe two or three. But we had a crap load of books on Buddhism. 5%

Number nine was science books. 3%

Everything else in the store, e.g. dictionaries, books-on-tape and CD, poetry, drama, humor, political books (really) etc., accounted for the remaining 5%.

According to the AP survey here is what Americans say they are reading:

The Bible or other religious text ....... 64
Popular fiction .................................. 54
Non-fiction history book ................... 54
Non-fiction biography ....................... 48
Mystery or thriller novel.................... 48
Romance novel ................................ 21

No other genre of book got over 3%.