Doubleday is now promoting Dan Brown’s new book The Lost Symbol. If you didn’t already realize it, Dan Brown is the author of the insanely popular bestseller The Da Vinci Code. Mention this book in polite company, and 10 people will give you 25 opinions. Or just ask the Gear Diary contributors and watch your inbox get flooded with responses.
So why is this big news for Gear Diary?
Well, a few reasons. One, we like books around here almost as much as shiny gadgets. Two, The Da Vinci Code was one of the best selling adult novels of all time. Combine that with the report we ran last week on 70% of Kindle users being over 40. So we have a device that skews towards an adult reader demographic, and a book by a record shattering author. Could “Lost Symbol” be the book that brings ebooks into the mainstream?
I am not a publishing insider, but I did spend 3 years as a manager for Borders. I still giggle/shudder when I think about the sheer volume of Dan Brown books we sold at the height of Da Vinci Code fever. At one point we had a small wall of Da Vinci under our new hardcovers table. Remarkably, we went through them. I didn’t think there was anyone in the greater Framingham, MA area who still hadn’t read it, yet it just kept selling. And when people bought it, they asked for more books. Other Dan Brown books, similar authors, people just wanted to read. With the right marketing, would people turn to ebooks if The Lost Symbol was the gateway book?
I know I am going out on a limb with that idea, but a book that has the right kind of “stickiness” with consumers is exactly what ebooks need. When someone can read “The Lost ” on their iPhone and never be without the book until they finish, that drives home one of the benefits of ebooks. And after reading, if they decide they want to read another Dan Brown book, or another historical thriller, there’s choices right at their fingertips. Regardless of whether you enjoy Dan Brown’s work, having people read, and potentially reading e-books, is definitely a good thing.
Pre-order The Lost Symbol on Amazon
Tell Amazon to carry it as a Kindle book