Retail Politics Entangle Book on Obama

Da Vinci Code follow-up sells 1M copies in 24 hours

(NEWSER) - To the surprise of exactly no one, Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code follow-up, The Lost Symbol, is a smash hit, selling, between its hardcover and e-book editions, 1 million copies in its first day on the shelves, the New York Times reports. Amazon and Barnes & Noble both say it’s the best first day any adult fiction book has ever seen. More»

Company promises to restore gay, lesbian titles to ranking system

(NEWSER) - Amazon.com says “an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error” caused thousands of gay and lesbian-related titles to be removed from sales rankings and some searches, the New York Times reports. The company—the target of online outrage after the changes came to light—says the "glitch" has now been fixed, although some still doubt it was an error. More»

Dem's speeches good for language-learners, more inspiring than local pols'

(NEWSER) - The Japanese version of Amazon.com features an unlikely bestseller: the collected speeches of Barack Obama, with Japanese translation and accompanying CD, Reuters reports. Obama’s inspiring but straightforward rhetoric is perfect for teaching English in a country that hankers to learn the language. He “uses words such as ‘yes, we can,’ ‘change’ and ‘hope’ that Japanese people can memorize,” the publisher says. More»

(NEWSER) - Hillary Clinton delivered her long-awaited address tonight to the Democratic convention and drove home the point quickly and repeatedly: The party must unite and elect Barack Obama. Clinton, after a lengthy standing ovation, said she hasn't worked for the past 35 years on health care and women's rights only to have it all "squandered" by another Republican administration, CNN reports. More»

FBI joins investigation of plan against Dem candidate

(NEWSER) - Authorities say the armed man arrested near Denver on Sunday never posed a "credible threat" to Barack Obama despite reports he threatened the Democratic candidate, AP reports. "We're absolutely confident there is no credible threat to the candidate, the Democratic National Convention, or the people of Colorado," the city's US attorney said today. More»