Putting Stephenie Meyer into the vault for a minute, here is another woman who is going to sell a lot of books - Sarah Palin. The first signed copy of her book, Going Rogue, is now listed for sale and the price is $115. I can’t decide whether that is expensive or cheap. I guess it depends on how her political career goes. If she challenges Barack Obama in 2012 and becomes president, then $115 will be a bargain. Signed copies of Going Rogue are going to become reasonably plentiful once her booktour kicks off.
Her booktour starts on November 18 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s interesting to see her appearances closely mirror appearances made by Palin and John McCain when they were on the campaign trail. On December 7, Palin appears at the massive Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, which is close to the location of last year’s Republican National Convention, where Palin likened herself to a pit bull (an odd comparison as this breed of dog is now infamous for attacking toddlers.)
Going Rogue is getting a huge media lift - interviews with Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters will be televised this week, and she’ll be doing the rounds of the right-wing talk radio and TV shows. Here is the NY Times’ review.
Obama’s books and his own book tour were key factors in his bid to gain the Democratic nomination and then helped to define his beliefs once the actual presidential campaign was under way.
In terms of collectibility, Palin has a long, long way to go in order to match Obama. The most expensive Obama book sold by AbeBooks is a signed 1995 first edition of Dreams From My Father that went for a huge $12,500 during the early days of his presidency.
UPDATE - the first signed Sarah Palin book sold shortly very quickly after the post was written. The Oprah effect?
Fire is fascinating - I love sitting around campfires and burning things. But fire and books don’t mix…or do they? The Fine Books Company of Rochester, Michigan, has bundled together the complete fireproof science fiction collection - 
The nose knows according to the experts. 
3. 
You might have thought J.K. Rowling was rather old hat these days. A little bit forgotten even. It’s Dan Brown everywhere you look at the moment and then wham! AbeBooks goes and sells a $6,000 copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. It was a first edition of the 
Over a period of about 10 years, beginning in the late 1990s, book collector John Gilkey of Modesto, Calif., acquired an impressive array of rare first editions by authors including Mark Twain, Beatrix Potter and Vladimir Nabokov. Money was no object because Gilkey didn’t buy his books. He stole them.