The Bookseller.com

5th July 2008

Amazon tips ants' arseholes for top

19.11.07 Graeme Neill

Amazon.co.uk has tipped a spoof science book as one of the surprise hits of the Christmas retailing period. Do Ants have Arseholes: And 101 Other Bloody Ridiculous Questions (Sphere) by Jon Butler and Bruno Vincent was sitting as high as number four in Amazon.co.uk's chart today [Monday]. The book is a spoof on the successful New Scientist range that includes previous Christmas bestsellers Does Anything Eat Wasps? and Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze.

Amazon.co.uk said that it was outselling other more hotly tipped Christmas titles by Russell Brand, Lewis Hamilton, Rick Stein and Terry Pratchett. It is also selling around 40% more copies than New Scientist's tie-in title for this Christmas, How to Fossilise Your Hamster.

"Every Christmas there is a book that storms the bestseller list unexpectedly and this year's could well be Do Ants have Arseholes?," said Kes Nielsen, head of book buying at Amazon.co.uk. "You often see spoofs selling as many or more than the original in the movie or music world but it rarely happens in books.

"The New Scientist titles have been Christmas bestsellers in both 2005 and 2006 and you would expect How to Fossilise Your Hamster to be pushing for the top spot in 2007 as well. It will be interesting to see if the spoof version manages to outsell this newest genuine release. It will also be interesting to see if anyone believes that Do Ants have Arseholes is factual."

Retail amazon Graeme Neill Christmas Do Ants have Arseholes

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