What the best seller list says about the world

The recent hardcover best seller list features quite a cast of unique characters in the nonfiction section.

In the top ten are such authors as The Rolling Stones Keith Richard, political pundunit Glenn Beck, actress Portia de Rossi, TV newsman Jon Stewart, Howard Stern "Wack Pack" member Gary Dell'Abate, singer Ricky Martin and comedian Adam Corolla.

The other two titles in the top ten are "That Last Boy" a book about baseball's Mickey Mantle and another book about Mark Twain.

Wow.

I'm not sure what this says about the book buying public. I just thought I'd point it out as it looked a little odd to me with it seeming like 'celebrity' authors had taken over a section, that while it has seen its fair share of famous authors, usually includes some more 'intellectual' titles, like offerings from Malcolm Gladwell and the like.

The books currently on this list do cover a wide range of subjects, including drug use (Richards), anorexia (de Rossi), and coming out as a gay man (Martin).

And I'm sure that former President George W. Bush's memoir "Decision Points" will hit, probably at the top, of this list shortly, where it will sit until the next big thing arrives.

If you go beyond the top ten, there are more political titles and more biographies with a splash of humor thrown in. And there always seems to be some title about a dog, doesn't there? Currently it's "Oogy", the story of an abused dog who learns to trust again.

But this is how it should be, right? Some fun stuff with some serious stuff?

I always find it interesting to see what's on this list. It seems to pretty accurately reflect the times.

I know I'm in probably in the minority in that I check the best seller list often to get ideas about what to read next.

It may not seem like much, but if just one person descibes me as well-read, then I'm happy as I think that's a huge compliment.

So while others might always be looking to see what's trending on Yahoo, I think the best seller list is a more accurate gage of what's really happening and how people feel about it.