Wednesday, 12 February 2014

The top 100 most searched for out-of-print books in 2013


What do Ray Bradbury, Madeleine L’Engle, Arthur Hailey, Nora Roberts, Stephen King, Salvador Dali and Dick Cheney’s wife have in common? They all appear on the annual BookFinder.com list of the top 100 most searched for out-of-print books in North America.
As usual, the list is topped by Madonna and her famous spiral-bound Sex photo-book, which is still in demand 22 years after its publication. Putting aside the pop star and her sexual antics with Naomi Campbell and Vanilla Ice, the list offers an interesting snapshot of American culture, including guns (four books), needlework (five), food (three) and art (six). The gun-related books include an example of pro-gun lobby fiction called Unintended Consequences by John Ross – a firearms enthusiast who, according to his website, “fires upwards of 20,000 rounds of ammunition per year.” Stephen King has four titles on the list, including Rage, which will never be brought back into print as it concerns school shootings.
Codex Seraphinianus by Luigi Serafini – dubbed the world’s weirdest book – has dropped off the list after a new edition was printed in October 2013. Vincent Price’s ever popularcookbook returns as does Fast Times at Ridgemont High by Cameron Crowe.  The Afronauts, a photography book (pictured above), by Cristina de Middel is a newcomer. Self-published in 2012,  The Afronauts reimagines the true story of the bizarre Zambian space program in 1964. De Middel’s images show Zambians dressing up in Buck Rogers-style space outfits made by her grandmother. Copies now sell for more than $1,000. Birds of Britain (not the feathered variety) and Women Are Beautiful are two other photo-books that are in demand.
There are two Formula One books on the BookFinder list.  A Different Kind of Life is a biography of team manager Frank Williams written by his wife Virginia Williams.  Life at the Limit: Triumph and Tragedy in Formula One is an autobiography by Sid Watkins, the long-time Formula One on-track doctor.  Watkins attended to Ayrton Senna as he died in his wrecked car after a 140mph crash in 1994 and he treated numerous other drivers involved in crashes.  One of the more interesting how-to guides on the list is Mediumship Made Simple, published by the College of Psychic Studies in 1996, although Make Your Own Handcrafted Doors and Windows also looks handy.
The BookFinder Top 100
Sex by Madonna
Rage by Richard Bachmann/Stephen King
My Pretty Pony by Stephen King
The Harvard Classics (51 volumes) edited by Charles W. Eliot
On the Nature and Existence of God by Richard M. Gale
Promise Me Tomorrow by Nora Roberts
The Jerusalem Bible by Salvador Dali
A Treasury of Great Recipes by Vincent & Mary Price
Mandingo by Kyle Onstott
10 The Centurions by Jean Larteguy
12 Labyrinth by A.C.H. Smith
13 365 Bedtime Stories by Nan Gilbert
15 The Afronauts by Cristina de Middel
16 The Body by Stephen King
18 The Angelique Series by Anne Golon
19 Murmurs of Earth by Carl Sagan
20 Beyond the Plough by Janet Woods
21 The Modern Gunsmith by James Virgil Howe
22 A Different Kind of Life by Virginia Williams
24 Finding the Winning Edge by Bill Walsh
25 Cards As Weapons by Ricky Jay
26 Country Landscapes in Watercolor by John Blockley
27 Advise and Consent by Allen Drury
28 Dark Carnival by Ray Bradbury
29 The Pink Dress by Anne Alexander
30 A Pattern Book of Tatting By Mary Konior
31 The French Advance by Tony Kosten
32 Unintended Consequences by John Ross
34 Cyborg by Martin Caidin
35 Phoebe and the Hot Water Bottles by Terry Furchgott & Linda Dawson
37 Airport by Arthur Hailey
38 Mediumship Made Simple by Ivy Northage
41 Ilsa by Madeleine L’Engle
43 Sisters by Lynne Cheney
44 On the Mountain by Peter Dombrovskis
45 Anybody Can Do Anything by Betty MacDonald
46 Sam’s Sandwich by David Pelham
51 Covenant with Death by John Harris
52 Fast Times at Ridgemont High by Cameron Crowe
53 To Drop A Dime by Paul Hoffman
54 Hello Baby by Jenni Overend
55 I Go Pogo by Walt Kelly
57 Drum by Kyle Onstott
58 Colt .45 Government Models by Charles W. Clawson
59 The Big Country by Donald Hamilton
60 The Book of Indians by Holling C. Holling
61 Apple Pigs by Ruth Orbach
64 Almonds and Raisins by Maisie Mosco
66 Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns by Barbara Brackman
67 Birds of Britain by John D. Green
70 The Act of Creation by Arthur Koestler
72 Hell, I Was There by Elmer Keith
74 Good Vibes by Jay Cronley
75 Betty Feezor’s Carolina Recipes by Betty Feezor
76 History of Art by H.W. Janson
77 Basic Building Data by Don Graf
78 The McCoys: Their Story by Truda Williams McCoy
79 The Barrakee Mystery by Arthur Upfield
80 The Law o’ the Lariat by Oliver Strange
81 Women Are Beautiful by Garry Winogrand
82 Golden Book of the Civil War by Charles Flato
83 Bowman of Crécy by Ronald Welch
84 The Chestry Oak by Kate Seredy
85 The Black Sun by Kyle Onstott & Lance Horner
86 The Colorado Kid by Stephen King
87 Turkish Delight by Jan Wolkers
89 Angels on Horseback by Norman Thelwell
90 Women and Men by Joseph McElroy
91 The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes by Kenneth Nathaniel Taylor
92 The King Ranch by Tom Lea
93 Pookie by Ivy Wallace
95 Macauley by Arthur Bryant
97 A History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt
99 The Ark/Noah’s Ark by Rien Poortvliet


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