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The Amazon Alphabet: From Audio Books to Zane

By posted at 6:01 am on January 20, 2011 6

coverYou’ve probably noticed that Amazon, like many sites, employs an “auto-complete” feature on its search box. When you start typing in letters, it suggests things that begin with those letters. It’s probably safe to assume that it suggests the most frequently searched words, so, if we look at Amazon’s book section we can type in letters and discover, for each letter of the alphabet, the most popular searches on Amazon. Last time we did this, about a year and half ago, vampires were the dominant theme. This time around, the vampires have mostly disappeared and things are perhaps a touch more literary. As we termed it last time, you might consider this exercise, the ABCs of Amazon (a peek into the reading habits of America and, like it or not, a primer for what’s popular in the world of books):

(Amazon has been known to personalize and regularly adjust its results, so your Amazon alphabet may vary.)

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6 Responses to “The Amazon Alphabet: From Audio Books to Zane”

  1. The Amazon Alphabet: UK Edition | Other Stories
    at 6:39 am on January 20, 2011

    [...] just read a post on The Millions in which they go to the books section of Amazon.com and use the auto-fill suggestions to see what [...]

  2. Lydia Kiesling
    at 7:57 am on January 20, 2011

    I think Water for Elephants represents the transference of vampire stuff. Team Edward and so forth.

  3. Casey
    at 10:35 am on January 20, 2011

    i was looking through the top-selling books a couple days ago. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a topseller. I wonder if this censorship controversy was just a big publicity stunt planned 100 years ago to boost autobiography sales.

  4. ian
    at 4:06 am on January 21, 2011

    Here’s the equivalent list from amazon.co.uk, for comparison:

    Agatha Christie
    Bernard Cornwell (historical adventure novels)
    Cookery books
    Diary of a Wimpy Kid
    Ebooks
    Fashion
    Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
    Harry Potter
    Ian Rankin (Scottish crime novels)
    Jamie Oliver (TV chef)
    Kindle
    Lee Child
    Martina Cole
    Nigel Slater (TV chef)
    One Day
    Paul McKenna (hypnotist/self-help guru)
    Qi (TV general knowledge show)
    Room
    Sophie Kinsella
    Twilight
    Usborne children’s books
    Vampire diaries
    Weight watchers
    X-men
    Yoga
    Zen (detective from a series by Michael Dibdin)

    So obviously vampires haven’t jumped the shark in UK yet. Nice to see 2 TV chefs AND weight watchers on the list, in perfect karmic balance.

  5. ian
    at 4:09 am on January 21, 2011

    Just read comment #1.
    D’oh!

  6. What I’m Reading Weekly Roundup | readingwritingpublishing
    at 4:02 pm on February 9, 2012

    [...] The Amazon Alphabet A strange exercise, but ridiculous how well it displays today’s reading/publishing trends. I’m tempted to do a Google Alphabet. (Ha! A is for Amazon! B is for Best Buy! Geez – if we’re so consumer driven, what’s the deal with this economy?) Why do YOU blog? Again with the blogging theme, but as always – Marian raises some good points and gets some good feedback in the comments. Death of another format? Pimp My Novel seems to think that e-books, while they might not necessarily spell the death of all “p-books” (god, how I hate that term!), the new digi-book (makin’ up mah own) will mean death for certain formats. Large Print for one – and I agree with him. But I sort of think it’s okay? I mean – I feel like Large Print books are sort of a waste to make. Artwork I LOVE Done by a good friend. But seriously – I wish I didn’t do co-editions because I’d sign him up to illustrate a picture book IMMEDIATELY! 2011 Notable Children’s Books In Books Les Miserables – Victor Hugo [...]

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