Next time some jerk from New York (they're always from New York, unless they are from Philadelphia) whines at you about Miami's cultural insignificance and lack of creative brain power, remember this: We're No. 6 on Amazon Top 20 Most Well Read Cities list.
Now, since this honor is based entirely on sales, maybe we're just partial to buying our books on Amazon. But who cares? We're no. 6!
After compiling data on sales of books, ebooks, magazines and newspapers in print and on Kindle since Jan. 1 2011 on a per capita basis in cities with more than 100,000 residents, Amazon came up with this list:
1. Cambridge, Mass
2. Alexandria, Va.
3. Berkeley, Ca.
4. Ann Arbor, Mich.
5. Boulder, Colo.
6. Miami
7. Salt Lake City, Utah
8. Gainesville (Please note Tallahassee is not on this list; go Gators!)
9. Seattle, Wash.
10. Arlington, Va.
11. Knoxville, Tn.
12. Orlando
13. Pittsburgh, Pa.
14. Washington, D.C.
15. Bellevue, Wash.
16. Columbia, S.C.
17. St Louis, Mo.
18. Cincinnati, Ohio
19. Portland, Oregon
20. Atlanta, Ga.
Florida boasts three cities on the list (did I mention none were Tallahassee?) You'll also note many cities are college towns. Cambridge, Amazon reports, bought the most nonfiction books, while Alexandria was tops in children's books.
However, Miami falls back to #35 if you omit giant-killer-shark related literature from the study.
Posted by: Steve A. | May 26, 2011 at 04:49 PM
Ok, one Tallahassee snub I'll put off as just knee-jerk Gator jingoism, but two is just downright pugnacious! Need I remind you that FSU is, sadly, within the event horizon of our own black hole of stupidity, illiteracy, and overall asshat-ery that is our seat of government? Really, if just half of our legislators knew what a book was, would our government be THIS bad?
Posted by: jwilliford | May 27, 2011 at 02:48 PM
1. You have a very good point there. The politicos make the Noles look like Harvard grads.
and 2. "asshat-ery" is my new favorite word.
Posted by: Connie | May 27, 2011 at 02:51 PM
Not even Oprah or ex-Mayor Daley's book club could get Chicago on the list. Maybe if someone releases "A History of Kielbasa"
Posted by: patrick | May 28, 2011 at 11:46 PM