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.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
