Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Birds do it, bees do it — and so do the French


We all know that Americans love a nice juicy bit of celebrity gossip. Whether it's movie stars or rock-and-rollers or politicians, if there's anything going on, we love to hear about it. Well, it turns out we're not alone in that. Apparently the French can't get enough of the adventures of their president Nicolas Sarkozy, recently married to model and singer Carla Bruni. And their fascination with Sarkozy's story is reflected in the hard numbers of their bestseller list. The Number One nonfiction book in France is a biography of Sarkozy's ex-wife Cecelia. And the Number Two nonfiction book in France is also a biography of Sarkozy's ex-wife Cecilia. For reasons that are unclear, the Number Three nonfiction book in France has nothing whatsoever to do with le monde Sarkozy, but never fear. The Number Four nonfiction book in France is—wait for it—a biography of Nicolas Sarkozy.

At the moment the only politician-related book on the American nonfiction bestseller list is a prescription for change by former conservative congressman Newt Gingrich. Somehow, it's just not the same thing.

—Jim

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