Jessica Simpson joins Madonna this year as one of BookFinder's favorite authors.
By Michael Stillman
BookFinder has issued its annual report of Top Ten Lists of the most searched for books, and as always, they are a curious mix of the popular and the hard-to-find. There aren't a lot of classic works here, and some might not unfairly be labeled "trash," but at least they are books, which places them a step up the ladder from most television fare or what you find on YouTube. So be thankful that some people still buy printed words and images.
The BookFinder lists are substantially different from those put out by AbeBooks. BookFinder searches many listing sites, which explains why it receives more searches for obscure or hard-to-find items, while Abe's lists are more inhabited with currently popular and more common works. The first of BookFinder's ten categories provides the ultimate example. Number 1 in Arts and Music, for the sixth straight year, is Madonna's Sex, but due to its rarity, it is only number 362,822 in Amazon's sales rank. This 1992 book of "artistic" photographs, of more than passing prurient interest, has long been hard to obtain, so people keep searching everywhere. Madonna remains an icon after all these years. Runner up in this category is a new entry, Currier and Ives, by Harry T. Peters. I'm not familiar with this book. Do you suppose people misconstrued Harry Peters for Harry Potter?
Under biography, Johnny Cash has slipped a bit from number 1 to 3, with Tim Reiterman's Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People now at the top. I like Johnny Cash better than Jim Jones (I like just about anybody better than Jim Jones), but Jones is certainly the more sensational. A biography of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter now appears as runner up (how long ago did Bob Dylan sing Carter's biography?), while biographies of westerner Charles Russell and decathlete Bob Richards join repeat favorite Universalist Minister Daniel Bragg Clayton near the top.
Rob White's The Lion's Paw is once again the most searched for children's book. None of Madonna's children's books made the list. People evidently prefer her as a visual artist to a written one. Makes sense. The lack of anything from Dr. Seuss ought to be investigated. Here is a trivial factoid: the longest title in this category is five words, with seven containing three or fewer. Seven of the ten biographies contain more than five words in their title. Maybe if we all wrote as if we were writing for children, we would learn how to be more succinct and to the point.
The addition of sports to the Crafts, Hobbies and How-To category moves last year's Popular Science leader, Steve Belichick's Football Scouting Methods, to the leader in Crafts, etc. This has the odd effect of placing the son of the New England Patriot's coach in a list filled with knitting books. Another title in there is recently divorced Jessica Simpson's I Do: Achieving Your Dream Wedding. Perhaps picking the right man should also be a factor. I'm not sure whether Herman Edward Davis' The American Wild Turkey is about the animal or the whiskey.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
