‘Going Rogue’ Palin trumps best sellers in first week
Watch out James Patterson, Stephen King and Dan Brown. Sarah Palin has you beat — at least this week.
All that experience on the campaign trail has served Palin well. The 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, who is popular among many U.S. conservatives, has excelled in the first week of her multi-state, campaign-style media tour to promote her new book which was released on Nov. 17.
The former Alaskan governor’s memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life” topped the charts in its first week of publication. Nielsen Bookscan said the new author eclipsed best-sellers Patterson and King whose books also debuted that week.
In a comparison of other first week book sales by current or past presidents or vice presidential candidates, Palin came in second only to former President Bill Clinton who sold about 606,000 copies of his memoir ”My Life” in its debut week. The former Republican vice presidential candidate’s sales at 469,000 were just above Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s “Living History”.
The figures don’t include numbers from big box stores Wal-Mart, Sam’s, BJs or libraries.
Fans have told of driving for hours to wait in long, snaking lines at Palin’s book-signings which are reminiscent of last year’s campaign stops.
Palin’s sales were far above those of President Barack Obama, for his 2007 best-seller “Audacity of Hope”, which garnered him so much success as he launched his run for the presidency.
That was the shortest stay on the best seller’s list ever. Gone like a bad dream.