Book Sales on the Rise With New President Elected

Follow along to see what novels are trending in light of the recent election that took place and why.

Katelyn Ratliff –
Book Bans Book Culture General Fiction Pop Culture Science Fiction Trending
Black background with shadowy hands, book covers of 1984 by George Orwell, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

With President Donald Trump poised to serve a second term as president and women’s rights up in the air, sales have increased on popular titles, such as The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451. While sales are on the rise for all three of these popular novels, the question must now be raised: are they becoming our reality today? Follow along to find out.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

According to Hanna Nguyen’s Salon article, as well as reports from CNN, the feminist dystopian novel earned itself a skyrocketing 6,866% increase in sales, a rank promotion from 209 to No. 3, and placed No. 9 on Barnes and Noble’s list of bestselling books, and is also a high seller on Amazon. The novel focuses on what the elimination of women’s rights looks like in a world dominated and controlled by men. With Donald Trump re-elected in office, this story seems to be coming all too true for many readers.

Black background with woman in red cloak and white hooded cap. "THE #1 WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER" in small white text at the top, with "MARGARET ATWOOD" in bold white text on the top, and "THE HANDMAID'S TALE" in white text near the bottom.
IMAGE VIA BOOKSHOP.ORG

1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Additionally, we are seeing a drastic increase in rank for the novels 1984 by George Orwell as well as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, according to Hanna Nguyen. Orwell and Bradbury’s novels hit No. 13 and 18, respectively, on Amazon. All three of these dystopian and science fiction novels were seen coming and going fast when Trump was in office during his last presidency, and they won’t be leaving any time soon.

Red background with eyeball and the title, "1984" in white handwritten text at the top of the cover, and "George Orwell" in white handwritten text at the bottom.
IMAGE VIA BOOKSHOP.ORG
White and black background with "60TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION" at the top in white text, a book of matches in the middle of the cover, "FAHRENHEIT" in bold white text in the bottom middle, "451" in red text in a black circle, and "RAY BRADBURY" in red text at the bottom.
IMAGE VIA BOOKSHOP.ORG

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder

Another popular title hitting the Top 10 Bestsellers in sales, according to CBS News, is Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, which addresses Snyder’s concerns that we are headed for another totalitarian disaster with the direction our country takes with certain political leaders.

Cream-colored background with thin red stripes on either side of cover. "ON TYRANNY" in big black bold lettering, followed by a thin red separator, followed by black text that reads, "TWENTY LESSONS/FROM THE/TWENTIETH CENTURY" followed by another thin red separator, followed by the text, "TIMOTHY SNYDER," in big black lettering.
IMAGE VIA BOOKSHOP.ORG

“Fiction and non-fiction books that feature fascism, feminism, dystopian worlds and both right-and-left leaning politics rocketed up our sales charts with the election results.”

Shannon DeVito, Barnes and Noble’s chain director of books, CBS News

With all four of these popular titles hitting the shelves with every elected Trump win, we hope you have a chance to read them yourselves! What other popular books, movies, or shows do YOU see becoming more popular? Let us know on all Bookstr socials! We hope this was an educational read for you during these unprecedented times. Happy reading!

For more articles on shelf awareness, click here!

To view these books and more dystopian and sci-fi novels, check out our shelf here on Bookshop.org!

FEATURE IMAGE VIA CANVA / KATELYN RATLIFF