Anirvan has been busy recently. Not only has he recently married the lovely Barnali, but he’s been analysing trends in the second-hand book market. From his latest report, we learn:
“In 1981, first-time author Lynne Cheney wrote a novel called Sisters, a bodice-ripper about nineteenth century feminist pioneers in Wyoming, dealing in part with lesbian relationships. Two decades later, the historian and wife of Vice President Dick Cheney is very much in the public eye, and the hard-to-find Sisters is the #1 most sought after fiction title in America. With Cheney’s opposition to the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment in the news, readers are looking to the novel to learn more about her views on gay/lesbian issues.”
Over a cuppa with my favourite purveyor of second-hand books in Durban, and co-author of a fine book on the politics of cricket, and member of the reserve Bank of South Africa, and my boss, etc, etc, Vishnu Padayachee, I learned that the people to follow in the book market are the Japanese. The community of moneyed bibliophiles there set the trends that the US and Europeans follow, it would seem. So, Anirvan, time to start cracking on enquiries from them .jp domains.