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Where to Find Bestsellers 179 Views


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Let's face it, we all want to be reading what the cool kids are reading. Or, we want to at least get a copy of what they’re reading so we can slip Don Quixote inside the dust cover and fool everyone at the beach into thinking we're with it. Same difference.

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Transcript

00:04

Where to Find Bestsellers, a la Shmoop. Honestly, you could find a bestseller just

00:10

about anywhere.

00:11

A doctor’s waiting room…

00:13

A bus seat…

00:14

A bathroom stall. But suppose you actually want to seek one

00:18

out; not just stumble upon one by happenstance.

00:20

Who do you ask? Where do you go? Is there a dress code?

00:26

Whoa, horsey. Let’s take a step back. First of all… what is a bestseller?

00:34

In short, a bestseller is a book that… sells… the best.

00:39

In other words, more people across the country are reading that book than just about anything

00:43

else.

00:44

Doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good. But it sure is popular. Just like that Karen Larsen

00:50

phony. Okay, sure. You want to be reading what all

00:54

the cool people are reading.

00:55

If it has such mass appeal, there must be something in there that will grab you as well.

01:01

You’ve tried calling, “Bestseller! Yoo-hoo, bestseller!” out your bedroom window, and

01:07

no response.

01:08

So… where to? You can look inside a newspaper, for starters.

01:12

First, of course, you’d have to get your hands on a newspaper, which isn’t the easiest

01:16

task these days.

01:17

You might have better luck tracking down Bigfoot, and then seeing if he’s got a copy of Grisham’s

01:21

latest legal thriller on him. Assuming, however, that you are able to locate

01:29

one of these elusive publications…

01:31

…check the Arts and Entertainment section, and you will see something called “The Bestseller

01:35

List.”

01:36

It’s just what it sounds like.

01:39

A list, sorted with the best-selling book at the top, that will show you at a glance

01:44

who the most popular books on the block are this week.

01:47

You can also find Bestseller Lists online. Which is probably the easiest way, since it

01:51

means you don’t have to leave your house…

01:53

…or engage in any stealthy newspaper hunting. Once you’ve identified the biggies, you

02:00

can either go to a brick and mortar bookstore…

02:02

…which may be even tougher to find than a newspaper…

02:05

…or, once again, go online. Like, to Amazon or some site like that.

02:11

Do a search for the titles that interest you, add ‘em to your cart, and purchase away.

02:15

You’ll be ready for hours of relaxing beach time before you know it.

02:20

And there’s an added bonus to staying ahead of the curve and reading Bestsellers before

02:25

they sit on the shelves for too long.

02:27

A number one New York Times best-seller is almost guaranteed to become a movie…

02:30

…so you can get a jump on the stories that are likely to be hitting your local AMC in

02:35

a year or two.

02:36

When people start getting excited about the movie coming out, you can look at them smugly

02:40

and say, “I know what happens.”

02:42

Worth the price of admission right there, isn’t it?

02:45

The Classics certainly have their place, and you can generally learn a heck of a lot more

02:49

about the human condition by reading those…

02:52

…but once in a while, you just want to read what all of your friends, parents, neighbors,

02:56

and neighbors’ cats are reading. So if you’re looking for some entertainment…

02:59

…and you don’t happen to have any tap-dancing hot dogs in your fridge…

03:03

…a best-seller may be the way to go.

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