Though we persist in commenting on the various and sundry news items emerging from the entertainment industry, no story has yet broken that eclipses The Biggest Thing Going On In America Right Now. And it’s evident that Americans can’t really take their minds off it either, based on, like, whatever social media feed you may be scrolling through (or comments section you stumble upon), but it’s also evident in… book sales! According to The Guardian, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale moved up more than 400 places to hit the number three spot on the U.S. Amazon Best Sellers chart.
The iconic red-and-white costume from Atwood’s novel (and subsequent Hulu adaptation) has become a favored symbol for women protesting issues such as reproductive rights in the political sphere. Earlier this month, Atwood herself reposted a (kind of corny, truth be told) comic that depicted women shedding their cloaks and bonnets after leaving the voting booth. Unfortunately, given president-elect Donald Trump’s record on reproductive justice, it’s clear many fear the reverse will be true.
But Atwood’s isn’t the only dystopian or political book to see an uptick in sales post-November 5. Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny reached number eight on the chart, and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four reached number 16. Democracy In Retrograde by Sami Sage and Emily Amick reportedly saw a 30,000 percent increase in sales, and Rebecca Solnit’s Men Explain Things To Me climbed more than 40,000 places.
This writer finds it hard to imagine feeling discouraged about election results and deciding to jump right into The Handmaid’s Tale. (Wouldn’t that just increase the existential dread?) But not everyone has swung that way. According to TMZ, the Calm meditation app jumped more than 100 spots on Apple’s App Store chart post-election. It wasn’t completely organic—the company took out an ad on CNN, ABC, and Comedy Central on election night to offer audiences “30 seconds of silence” during the stress and chaos of campaign coverage. The message was obviously pretty well received. You’ve gotta find your zen where you can these days!
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