Bookseller.com points out that Laura Bush’s memoir sold 147,000 copies in its first part-week on sale, making it the second fastest selling book of the year so far. The fastest selling book was Charlaine Harris’ Dead in the Family, which also came out last week.
The former first lady’s book received considerable attention after the New York Times broke embargo to get the first word in on a couple of juicy sections. But then, it probably would have received considerable attention no matter what, given the author. Scribner bet on it, paying Bush an estimated $3.5 to $5 million advance.
Hillary Clinton’s 2003 White House memoir, by comparison, won an advance of $8 million, which it made back its first week with 600,000 sales. Laura Bush might not be there yet, but we suspect a couple more weeks of touring will do the trick–catch her in Fayatteville, Arizona tomorrow.