Odd books in odd places

Would you bet a book on cupcake design would be a big seller? Or how about books titled “Erotic Poems” or “Awkward Family Photos?”

Thanks to emerging market trends, such off-beat books are big sellers – just not in traditional bookstores or big online sites such as Amazon. Publishers are increasingly turning to non-book retailers to sell their wares, according to an article in the New York Times. Lowe’s is selling books on cooking and home projects. Craft store Michaels is carrying the cupcake design book, and Urban Outfitters carries Awkward Family Photos.

The success of this new strategy lies in putting carefully selected physical books in front of people’s eyes, at full price. This may seem like a reversal of the trend toward e-books and online search capabilities, but in a way it reflects an emerging digital mentality – geographic space is becoming fragmented as an organizing concept. Heuristic thinking (a speculative exploration of possibilities) is in. As a colleague of mine commented, bookstores should have been offering free coffee – instead of coffee shops offering free books and newspapers.

So what is next? I’m trying to think of a book that will go over well at gas stations. Awkward Oil Changes? Don’t steal my idea, but you can purchase the following books to explore other options of selling books.