What We're Reading

Want a window into what's on the minds of Duke readers? Look no farther than your computer.

For the past eight years, the Gothic Bookshop in the Bryan Center has posted its bestsellers list -- a weekly snapshot of what Duke bibliophiles are buying that week.

Kathy World, the store's operations manager, said unlike some bestseller lists, the Gothic's rankings aren't influenced by publisher sales but strictly by in-store sales.

"The list shows that there's a place in the world for independent bookshops that sell a wide variety of titles, many of which aren't carried in chain stores," World said.

Keep Up with Readings

As part of the Duke Stores BTFTK (Be The First To Know) e-mailings, the Gothic is doing a weekly newsletter with new titles and readings.

Click here to sign up for these mailings: Be sure to check the box for general book and author events.

Upcoming Readings

Oct. 11: Osha Gray Davidson and Ann Atwater on The Best of Enemies, 6 p.m. Griffith Film Theater, Bryan Center.

Oct. 17: John Amaechi on Man in the Middle, 7:30 p.m. Page Auditorium.

Oct. 25 Evelyn Bloch-Dano and Alice Kaplan on Madame Proust, noon 240 Franklin Center.

Oct. 25: Toril Moi (and others on panel) on Henrik Ibsen and the Birth of Modernism: Art, Theater, Philosophy, 4 p.m. Rare Book Room, Perkins Library.

The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South has hovered at the top or near the top of the list for several weeks now. While first-year students received a free copy, upperclassmen have also gravitated to the book, and it has benefited from its selection as the first reading by the new DukeReads book club sponsored by the Duke Alumni Association and Duke University Libraries.

The other books in the DukeReads series are likely to show up on the list as well, helped along by the store's discount offer (buy all seven books together and get 30 percent off, as well as free shipping on domestic orders).

World's own book club, made up of several women friends, can take credit for propelling 40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, Oxycontin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania to the front of last week's list. Matthew Chapman, the great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, spent several months covering the 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover Board of Education trial from beginning to end.

Many books are one-time wonders on the list, while others have staying power. One author in particular, men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, has almost a permanent place there, although the titles do change. His latest, Beyond Basketball: Coach K's Keywords for Success, was written with his daughter Jamie Krzyzewski Spatola.

Gothic readers are also partial to books about Duke and by Duke authors, which skews the list to non-fiction. Books about Duke Forest and Duke Chapel show up on a regular basis. Another recent hit has been Duke University: The Campus Guide, first published seven years ago by Princeton Architectural Press.

Some books are likely to appear on a regular or seasonal basis, World said. The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White still gets early semester recommendations from professors and usually appears on the list every September.

Other best sellers are surprises but distinctive reminders of what gets read at a university. A few weeks ago, coming in at No. 10 was Young Man Luther: A Study in Psychoanalysis and History, a closer look at Erik Erikson's best-selling 1958 psychobiography of the religious reformer. Other best-sellers reflect recent visits from prominent speakers and scholars -- John Waters and Yvette Christianse both made it this week.

World said the list is also a good barometer also of current interests. It reflected the first sparks of interest in Illinois senator Barack Obama, as well as Elizabeth Edwards' fight against cancer, chronicled in Saving Graces. "It's always been fascinating to me what people are buying," she said.

How do Gothic readers hear about books? "Sometimes it's word of mouth; sometimes it's book review sections," said World. "We don't think TV has much of an influence. We're more apt to have someone come in who's heard an author on National Public Radio."

Store displays also help by encouraging browsing, World said. They've mounted displays for poetry month, summer crafts, end-of-school-year travel and most recently for DukeReads.

"I don't think a lot of people realize how big the store is," World said of the 3,600-sq.-ft. Gothic. "I heard one student say ‘this place is secretly huge.'"